Piano Tuning

What Tuning Does

When I sit down to tune your piano, I am listening for far more than individual pitches. I am hearing the way notes bloom and fade, the way intervals lock together or pull apart, the quality of the silence between sounds. A well-tuned piano does not simply hit the right notes — it resonates. Chords speak with a fullness that draws you deeper into the music.

The tuning process involves adjusting the tension of every string to an equal-tempered scale, the standard that allows a piano to sound beautiful in every key. For instruments that have drifted significantly — perhaps from a long period without service — a pitch raise may be needed before fine tuning can begin. This brings the strings back to working tension gradually, so the final tuning can hold.

How Often Does a Piano Need Tuning?

Most pianos benefit from tuning twice a year, following the natural rhythm of the seasons. The shift from summer humidity to winter dryness — and back again — moves the pitch more than any playing does. Instruments that are played frequently, or that live in spaces with wide temperature swings, may benefit from more regular attention.

Schools, churches, and studios, where instruments bear heavier use and more variable environments, often find that quarterly tuning keeps their pianos at their best. A concert instrument may be tuned before every performance. Whatever your situation, I am happy to talk through what makes sense for your piano and your space.

The Moment After Tuning

There is a particular pleasure in sitting down to a freshly tuned piano. The sound seems to open up. Notes that felt uncertain become sure. The piano stops being an obstacle between you and the music and becomes, instead, a partner. That is what I am working toward every time I open the lid and reach for a tuning hammer.