Every piano owner knows that their piano must somehow be tuned. But why is it necessary and why must it be done regularly?
What is piano tuning for?
Basically, sounds are made when the metal strings in the piano are struck by hammers. These metal strings are under very high tension. Imagine pulling a string at both ends with much strength, that is exactly what happens.
Overtime, the piano metal strings loosen. Consequently, the sound drops in pitch and a same note will sound a little lower than what it used to sound. These metal strings in the piano loses tension (gets loose) at different rates depending on how hard or how much they had been struck. As a result, some sound higher/lower than others, producing awfully clashing sounds.
That’s why piano tuning is needed to bring all these pitches back to match each other, for your piano to sound perfect again!
Why must piano tuning be done regularly?
“My piano sounds just fine even after 2 years of not tuning it, so why bother?”
“Why waste money on piano tuning when my piano still can be played?”
Well, you should do it because it keeps your piano healthy. All the metal strings lose tension each day and they are going to get unnoticed until a lot of tension is lost. When this happens, the tuner has to adjust a lot to get them back in pitch. This puts a lot of stress on the metal strings in a short moment and their life will be shorten significantly, which means that they will break much sooner.
On the other hand, when tuning is done frequently at once every half a year (or at most once a year), the strings do not have to be strained that much each time, preserving their life. In fact, the strings do not even break at all when appropriate care is given!
Furthermore, corrosion of the piano metal strings (rusting) eats away the metal, which raises stress levels, increasing the chances of breaking. This can be minimized when a tuner (who is also a piano technician) performs checks regularly during the tuning session and suggests remedies to prevent such things from happening.
So, if you don’t want to see strings start breaking in your piano, get started on piano tuning frequently now.
P.S It's gonna cost you much more to replace strings as compared to piano tuning sessions!
Looking for a piano teacher, piano tuner or piano mover? Let us know and we will help!