GEOFF BUTTERWORTH

Most experts recommend once a year, however, if the piano is used frequently then many piano owners like to have it done every six months. Exceptions where tunings are done more often are 1.) a piano that has been moved, 2.) studio pianos played four or more hours a day, or 3.) pianos in concert halls. 

 

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I HAVE A VERY OLD PIANO, CAN A PITCH RAISE BE PERFORMED ON IT?

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My answer is yes. Over my years of experience, I have performed hundreds of pitch raises on pianos, sometimes even over a 100 years old (one over 150). Other tuners may give a different answer to this question, because there is a risk of strings breaking on old pianos when a pitch raise is performed. However, as long as you are prepared for that possibility, strings can just be replaced. The most extreme example I have seen with this is four strings breaking during a pitch raise. Though more often than not, no strings will break. In the event that a string does break, treble strings (steel wire) cost $25 to replace and bass strings (copper wound) cost between $30-$50 to replace. Once replaced, strings normally last the rest of the life of the piano.

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IF MY PIANO ISN'T HOLDING TUNE, WHAT CAN I DO?

FULL RESTORATION $7,000+ vs PINBLOCK TREATMENT $140​

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​All of the tuning pins of your piano are screwed into a piece of wood called the pinblock. When tuning the piano, the tuner turns the pins, however, overtime, an old pinblock can become weakened with hairline cracking and many of the pins can get loose and not be able to be tuned. One common way to fix this is a full replacement of the pinblock, which costs thousands of dollars and is very extensive. Other things in the piano are typically replaced when doing this, like the soundboard and action. In this type of restoration all of the strings have to be taken off, replaced, and all the pins removed and replaced. This type of restoration usually only makes sense in a piano that has a high-end brand name that will make the investment spent worthwhile. This can also make sense if the piano is a family heirloom and very sentimental and important to the owner.  However, it may not make sense to do this to most pianos. In most cases, there is a pinblock treatment procedure that can be done to save the life of the pinblock and enable the piano to be tuned for years to come. A full restoration of your pinblock could still be done in the future.​ I have done this pinblock treatment on many grand and upright pianos with a high rate of success. A pinblock treatment takes about an hour and a half and a tuning must be done afterwards.​​

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I WAS TOLD MY PIANO COULD NO LONGER BE TUNED, WHAT CAN I DO?

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There are extreme cases where a piano can no longer be tuned in its current condition, most often a weakened pinblock (see section on pinblock treatment).  I have encountered many pianos that customers had been told could no longer be tuned. However, many of them just needed a pitch raise and a standard tuning to be up and running again (almost always, with some exceptions) and the families were shocked that after an hour and a half, they had a piano to enjoy again. I think that some longtime tuners would give this diagnosis because there is a slight risk when you do a pitch raise that one or more (in rare cases) strings can break.  Strings can be a little bit of a hassle to change, and the bass strings have to be specially ordered because of copper lengths. But in my experience, I have preformed thousands of pitch raises, I do occasionally see strings break, but most often, I have no strings break during a pitch raise (about 90% of the time).  When a string does break, some I can replace that day, and some have to be ordered. But I feel it should be up to the customer to know that it is possible to get their piano to concert pitch as long as they understand the slight risk of a string breaking, but sadly many were given diagnosis of no hope for tuning their piano for this reason. I am passionate about this because I have tuned pianos that families are enjoying playing now that sat there for years untouched, with no one in the family learning or enjoying the pianos, because they were told it couldn’t be tuned anymore; when in reality, it wasn’t very far gone.  

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IS SILENCE NECESSARY

DURING MY TUNING?

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Although I use the top tools and software to ensure your piano is in perfect tune, a large part of tuning relies on the tuner's ability to hear what is going on inside the piano. Tuning is a listening art. Although complete silence is not necessary, to get the best tuning possible, it is recommended to minimize the background noises that can hinder the tuner from hearing what they need to hear. This includes loud machines (vacuums, blenders, coffee grinders) or fans in use for a long period of time, kids playing in the vicinity, barking dogs, or especially radios or televisions with music playing.