All pianos are designed to sound their best when tuned to A-440, also known as “standard pitch”. Technically this means is that the A above middle C will vibrate at exactly 440 cycles per second, this frequency is considered the standard throughout the world. Having your piano tuned to standard pitch is essential for both students studying the piano and for pianist playing the piano with other instruments. The student must learn the notes tuned to standard pitch for ear training purposes, and the pianist playing with other musicians will sound out of tune or off if the piano being played is not tuned to standard pitch.
For most people 2 times a year will work fine, keeping your piano in good working order and in relatively good tune. However 4 times year is the best – with every season change the climate and humidity fluctuation will cause your piano to go out of tune, to ensure their pianos sound great year round most concert pianists, piano teachers and other professionals will have their pianos tuned 4 times a year. Even if your piano is not being played you should have it tuned 2 times a year to keep it in good working order. If you neglect your piano and do not have it tuned for a few years you will likely need a pitch raise and have the possibility of causing structural damage to the soundboard.
If a piano has not been tuned for more than a few years it will have likely fallen considerably flat, possibly a complete half-step or more. When this happens the piano will need 2 complete tunings. With the first tuning the piano will be tuned over standard pitch or "over-stretched". The tension being applied from bringing the piano up to pitch will cause the strings to settle back, hence the reason for over-stretching the strings. After a week or so, the piano will have settled back closer to standard tuning and will then need a fine tuning. After this second "fine tuning" your piano will be right where it needs to be. Once your piano has been pitch raised it’s important to keep it tuned twice a year to avoid this strain on the piano in the future. Pitch raising is very common when purchasing a used piano, or getting a piano from a friend or family member as the piano usually had sat dormant without being tuned for an extended period of time.
A very effective way to help maintain standard pitch and protect the inner workings of your piano is to install a humidifying system. This system will regulate the humidity year round keeping your piano safe from the seasonal weather changes(extreme dryness in the winter and extreme humidity of the summer). These are very worth while investment that serve many purposes.
For more information on these units, please visit: http://www.pianolifesaver.com
Once you’ve had your piano tuned to perfection, take the opportunity to have Jason record pieces you or your children have been working on with World Class Studio results.
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Institutions: Concert Halls, Radio Stations, Museums.
Noteworthy Pianists that I have tuned for Concert or Radio performance.