Here is the ultimate guide to having your piano tuned, including the reasons why, and what you need to do:
Why Does My Piano Need To Be Tuned?
The heart of your piano is its wooden soundboard. Wood shrinks and swells in response to the amount of relative humidity (rH) in the atmosphere. Although the soundboard may appear flat, it is in fact slightly curved, which we call a crown, so that there will be a down-bearing from the strings. The purpose of the down-bearing is to efficiently transfer the vibrations (sound waves) onto the soundboard, where the grain and the timber serve as a natural amplifier. So the crown is likely to increase in an atmosphere high in rH, and decrease when rH is low. This will make the piano go sharp or flat, even if a note is not played. There are metal strings within the harp of your piano that can also be prone to changes in tension. Like a guitar or violin, these strings must be at the correct tension to be perfectly in tune. Lots of things can cause the piano to lose its tuning. It should be tuned by a professional tuner like me every six months or so. Without this regular attention, the sound will deteriorate. Issues with the way your piano plays (‘the action’) will be noticed by your tuner, and there will be an opportunity which would not otherwise occur, to correct faults. As mentioned above, you may not notice the tuning falling out, as one gets used to things. Awareness of tuning accuracy is something that most people have to learn when they are young. So the parent with a poorly maintained piano is neglecting their child’s musical education!
Why Is My Piano Out Of Tune?
It is important to know that the total amount of internal tension within your piano, at British Standard Pitch, is likely to be around 16 tons. (This will vary according to your instrument, so I have made a reasonable guess.) There are many reasons why a piano may lose its tuning, but the amount of internal tension can sometimes cause a ‘ping’ that in fact was a string losing pitch. With a modern piano this is much less likely, but central heating is the usual cause of trouble. Changes in the weather can also be a problem. Humidity and temperature should ideally be kept at a constant 42% rH. So when, for example, there is a hard frost outside (You’ve heard of freeze drying?) there is very little moisture in the surrounding air. We naturally want to be warm inside our homes, so we switch on the heating. Warm air can hold, and is thirsty for, more water. If it can’t find any, in a vase of flowers for example, then moisture will be pulled out of any wood in the building, causing shrinkage and warping. In your piano this will probably cause loss of pitch, getting greater as you reach the higher notes. Alternatively, and this is frequently the case during the damp summers we have been having lately, the dampness from a high rH has been absorbed into the wood of the piano, causing swelling. As explained earlier, this forces the piano to go sharp in places, which sounds terrible. Unchecked, this can lead to string breakage, which can be very expensive to repair. All this can happen without the piano being played at all, so you might as well play it as there is a hidden cost anyway!
What Else Can I Do To Look After My Instrument?
Moving the piano can dislodge delicate moving parts. It can also cause the strings to lose their tension. If you move house, have your piano tuned when you’re settled in. It may need a second tune a few months later as it adjusts to the new environment. When you play, avoid continued banging of the keys. A good technique at the keys avoids damage and the need for extra tuning and services. EMSPiano can be a great help with this problem, because pianos can be difficult to play for a variety of technical reasons. Usually, there is excessive friction associated mainly with the keys, and when this is minimised, the piano is transformed. Where it was sluggish and dull, it becomes responsive and bright; where it was almost impossible to play pianissimo, the action becomes light and responsive. Even when the touch weight is excessive due to poor design, EMSPiano can usually make it significantly better. So call me in to see what improvements I can make. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.