Your piano is most likely very special to you. However, if you do not tune your piano on a regular basis, it will not sound as good as it should. Here we will discuss why your piano will need to see a piano tuner on a regular basis.
When you see a piano tuner, the piano strings can be tightened and stretched. When a piano tuner does this, the pitch will be brought up to a frequency that vibrates just as it should. They will generally use piano tools and methods to tune your piano. Tools that are generally used include a tuning lever, commonly referred to a “hammer”, a tuning fork, various mutes, or an electronic tuning device.
Now you may be thinking this sounds pretty simple and that perhaps you could learn to do it yourself. There are many people out there that have tuned their own piano. However, take this into consideration. There are about 230 strings in every piano. Each string is stretched to 150 to 200 pounds of pressure on average against a cast iron plate. This depends upon the thickness of the strings. There is a pull of between 18 and 20 tons by the time the wooden frame of the piano gets added into this!
You will want to be sure to tune your piano to make it sound good. But you should also tune it so the string tension on the strings when added together is up to A440. It should also be equalized against the cast-iron plate and the soundboard.
So, just how many times per year should you be turning your piano? Piano tuners recommend you do it three or four times for the first year. After this, you can do it one or two times per year. Unless you play more frequently, such as daily piano lessons or in a concert hall. In this case, you would want to do it more frequently.
There are times during the year that may make the instrument go out of tune. One such reason for this is when the humidity rises. When this occurs, the soundboard will most likely swell. If this happens, the crowned shape increases in size. The strings will begin to stretch, giving them a higher pitch.
When the weather changes to being dry, the soundboard will flatten. This, in turn, lowers the tension on the strings, which causes them to go flat. The pitches will not equally change, so, therefore, every piano goes out of tune.
Normal playing of the piano will result in the piano needing to be tuned. The more you play it, the more often it will need to be tuned.
Moving a piano can also cause a piano to go out of tune. If you are moving to a new house, it is advised that once you move, you allow the piano to set for a few months to acclimate itself to its new climate, and then call in a professional to tune the piano for you. If you are just moving the piano to a new room in your house, or even across town, it is unlikely that you will need the piano to be tuned.
Piano tuners recommend that even if no one is playing the piano, you still have it tuned once per year. This will keep everything correctly aligned.
If you are looking for a piano tuner, it is best to seek the services of a professional, such as Tampa Piano Tuning. Here you will find the best service for your piano by a company that truly knows what they are doing.