Piano Tuning and Repair Information

People often ask me how often they should have their piano tuned.  Generally speaking, a piano should be tuned at least twice a year. Many professional and semi-professional musicians choose to have their pianos tuned three or four times a year. Brand new pianos (and restrung pianos) generally need to be tuned four times in the first year. Pianos in churches are typically tuned 4-6 times a year and a piano in a recording studio or concert hall will be tuned before each use. It all varies based on the situation and there is no one size fits all answer.

Having your piano tuned more often will allow your piano to stay at a relatively consistent pitch, producing a more stable tuning. Fluctuations in humidity cause the tuning to drift up and down. Since humidity tends to be seasonal, (higher in the summer, lower in the winter), tuning twice a year is a good general guideline. This also allows for any minor repairs to be made. The longer a piano goes without service, the less stable it will be once it is tuned. Pianos that have gone more than a year or two without tuning usually need to be tuned more than once in order to produce a stable tuning. This is known as a pitch raise. If an old piano hasn't been tuned in many many years, it may not be possible to safely bring it back up to standard pitch without causing broken strings, or potentially even damage to the frame or bridges.