Servicing Pianos in the Hardin County, KY Area
All About Pianos
Pianos range in size from the little upright spinet, standing three feet high, all the way up to the concert grand which tops nine feet in length. Most pianos, with few exceptions, have 88 keys and hammers. Typically, there are 230 strings which together hold, between eighteen and thirty tons of force.
Why so many strings? Because only the large, bass strings on the left side have one string. For the rest of the piano, each hammer strikes two or three strings at once. In order to tune a piano, every string has to be carefully adjusted.
To learn more about pianos and tuning continue reading or
contact Babbling Brook Piano with questions.
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Parts of a Piano
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Keys are usually identified by their note and octave number. So A4 on the keyboard is the A found in the fourth octave near the middle of the keyboard. The keyboard starts with A0 on the far left (bass) and normally goes to C8 on the right (treble). Either A4 or C4 have traditionally been where tuners start working.
When a key is pressed, the hammer moves forward and strikes the string(s). Then the key should return to its rest position when released. This process is very complicated with lots of interrelated, moving parts. ​Making small changes to these parts is known as regulation.
The piano's strings all end coiled on tuning pins. The pins are steel and set in a hardwood pinblock. The pinblock isn't usually visible on upright pianos because it is hidden by the metal plate. To tune a piano, the tuner has to give each pin a slight turn.​
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Tuning Pins
Strings
Hammers
A0
A4
C4
C8
Kneeboard
Why Tune a Piano
Why tune a piano? An obvious reason is so they will sound better. A piano that is flat will sound dull. An out of tune piano will sound terrible with other instruments that are in tune. Also, children learning to play pianos that are badly out of tune will learn notes at the wrong pitch. So why do pianos lose pitch?
All pianos change in pitch with time. Seasonal weather changes can cause pianos to become flat or sharp. Repeated changes in temperature and humidity eventually cause the tuning pins to lose their grip in the wood pinblock and they can slip causing the string to drop in pitch. Playing a piano loudly can eventually have the same effect. After about six months to one year's time pianos need to be re-tuned to sound their best again.
How Are Pianos Tuned?
Before any piano can be tuned it is important to inspect it for obvious problems. Tuning pins can be tested a little to insure they are holding properly. Sometimes hammers need to be repositioned, or strings reseated on their anchor pins. These are easy problems to fix so that the piano can be tuned. It might happen that an inspection reveals evidence of a serious problem, such as a cracked pinblock, which would make tuning the piano impossible. Obviously, it is good to learn this before any time is spent attempting to service the piano.
After inspecting the instrument, preparations can be made to tune it. During this process, a tuning lever, rubber wedge mutes, and felt mutes are all utilized. Usually, A4 is set first and then the rest of the piano is tuned based on this note using intervals such as octaves, fifths, fourths and thirds.
This can all be done by ear (aural) or can be done with a tuning device. I prefer to utilize both, but favor how the piano sounds over what the tuning device says. If the piano is really flat, it will be necessary to roughly tune it once or twice before fine tuning it to insure it will stay in tune.
