What makes a piano go out of tune?
How often should I get my piano tuned?
Why does my technician hit the key really hard while tuning?
How much does a tuning cost?
Can I move a piano myself?
My piano has a nice looking cabinet.Does that make it a good instrument?
What is A440?
Do you assess pianos for free?
What is a player piano?
What is a drop action piano?
What is a birdcage piano?
Do you service, buy or sell organs or digital/electronic pianos?
How old is my piano?
What is a square grand?
Did you do your own website?
What kind of piano do you have?
How does one get training in piano technology?
What makes a piano go out of tune?
Your piano's worst enemy is fluctuation in humidity.
During humid months, the soundboard in your piano swells and
exerts extra tension on the strings, which makes them go sharp. In the
drier months, the soundboard dries out and shrinks, releasing some tension
on the strings, causing your piano to go flat. Contrary to popular belief,
it is not moving a piano, excessive play, or no play at all that makes it go
out of tune. When a piano is new (under 10 years of age), more frequent
tunings will be required before the strings "stabilize".
This is true of all makes of pianos regardless of where they were built
or what name is on the front.
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How often should I get my piano tuned?
It all depends on what you use it for. If you are a concert
pianist, your piano could be tuned as often as once per week. If you play your
piano at home its a good idea to get it done at least once per year. If your
budget can handle it do it twice per year, when humidity levels are not too
high or too low. People who are sensitive to minor changes in pitch on a
piano will likely notice their piano needs tuning before someone who can't tell
the difference. New pianos will require tunings more frequently than older ones until the strings "stabilize" over time.
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Why does my technician hit the key really hard while tuning?
Giving the note a hard tap after the tuning pin has been turned
with a hammer equalizes the tension along the length of
the string, and prevents it from wanting to return to it's original untuned position.
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How much does a tuning cost?
A number of factors determine the cost of a piano tuning. If a
piano has not been tuned for a while, it may need a pitch raising, which gives the
strings a good stretch and prepares them for tuning. The piano may require a double
tuning. The distance the technician will have to travel to get to the piano's location
will factor into it as well. My prices are listed under "Services". If you think they are too high, you are free to shop elsewhere, because my fees are non-negotiable!
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Can I move a piano myself?
Think seriously about doing it yourself. I always recommend hiring
a professional piano mover for many reasons. Remember that an upright piano, especially an
older one, can weigh as much as 1000 pounds. It is very easy to injure yourself trying
to move something this heavy. I've heard stories of clients who've dislocated shoulders,
had hernias, or lost a finger or a toe because the piano fell on them. You can also
do a lot of damage to either your property or the piano if it happens to fall during a move.
Professional movers have the correct equipment and the knowledge of how to do it without
hurting themselves, your home or the piano. Should this happen, they are covered by
liability or workers compensation insurance which you wouldn't have if you did it yourself.
Remember, these things are heavy and moving them requires complete understanding of how
gravity and inertia work!!
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My piano has a nice looking cabinet.
Does that make it a good instrument?
The outside of a piano is much like our clothing. It has no bearing
whatsoever on the acoustical properties of the piano, as sound is transmitted from the
soundboard, not the cabinet. What makes a piano a good instrument is what is happening
inside. Think of the piano as if it is a car - a good paint job doesn't change what's
happening under the hood!! The only way to be sure that you're also getting a good
instrument is to have a qualified piano technician look at it BEFORE you buy it and pay
to move it into your home, not after it's too late. Don't buy a piano based strictly
on it's appearance - it can be deceiving, especially on the older pianos.
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What is A440?
A440 refers to the frequency in cycles per second of the
"A" above Middle C in a piano. Once that note has been set, the rest
of the notes in the piano are also set at certain musical intervals from that
note. The result is a piano that is at "concert pitch". This is the
pitch at which all orchestral instruments are tuned so that they sound good
when played together. For a piano, it means that it can be played with other
instruments that are also at concert pitch.
On some pianos, it is not always possible to bring a piano up to concert pitch
because of the risk of string breakage or general poor condition of the piano
due to aging. In this case the piano is tuned at "relative pitch",
so that it is evenly flat. However, a piano tuned at this pitch cannot be played
with other instruments that are tuned at concert pitch. They must be tuned to
match the piano if it is necessary to play it with other instruments.
It is always desirable to leave a piano at A440, or concert pitch, but when
this is not possible, the piano should be tuned so that it is evenly flat,
since it is ultimately better to have it tuned evenly flat, than not to tune
it at all.
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Do you assess pianos for free?
Only if you can figure out a way to get it to me, otherwise,
I do charge!
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What is a player piano?
A player piano is one that will play when the person
pumps a foot pump causing air to make its way through miles
of rubber tubing to react to information on "rolls" that represent
the notes to be played. The player mechanism is very complex, and the
rubber tubing inside the mechanism dries out or becomes brittle which can
prevent air from being transported to the action to play the note. They make
certain pianos very difficult to service, as the mechanism is quite often in
the way of the action of the piano, which your technician needs access to in
order to be able to tune it properly.
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What is a drop action piano?
A drop action piano is an upright piano that has a
"drop" action or mechanism. Drop action pianos are
usually very short, under 40 inches in height. They are sometimes also
called spinet pianos. A drop action piano can be detected, if when the top
lid of the piano is open, the "hammers" are almost level with the
back of the keys, and the back of the keys stop short of the action.
The depth of these pianos is usually greater also, and the distance they
protrude from a wall is anywhere from 6-10" greater than a traditional upright.
These pianos are usually bad choices for instruments for several reasons.
Their touch and tone is generally poor because of the size of the soundboard
and indirect lifting action of the keys, and they are extremely difficult
pianos to service, even for something as simple as a broken string or loose
action screw. If you are not sure whether a piano you are considering
purchasing is a drop action piano, you should hire a technician to rule
out the possibility. Many technicians will not bring a badly out of tune
drop action piano up to concert pitch for fear of breaking a string while
doing so.
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What is a birdcage piano?
A birdcage piano is one in which the wires for the dampers
are in front of the action, instead of behind it as one would find in a
traditional action. What makes these pianos difficult to tune, is that
the wires make it difficult to place mutes for tuning, and the damper felts
are mounted above the hammers, leaving little room for proper mute placement
in the treble section of the piano. The wires in front give the appearance
that the action is behind or in a "birdcage", hence the name.
This is also a poor choice for an instrument because many of these pianos
were built in England and do not handle the extremes in humidity found in
Southern Ontario, and as such, often do not hold a tuning very well.
Many of these pianos have beautiful cabinetry, and so it is easy to be
fooled into buying this type of piano.
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Do you service, buy or sell organs or digital/electronic pianos?
Sorry - I deal in acoustic pianos only, however there are
many piano technicians who are also organ technicians who may be able to help you.
Digital or electronic pianos are normally serviced by the manufacturer, not the
dealer where the unit was purchased.
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How old is my piano?
This is a service that I used to offer for free.
Due to an overwhelming number of requests, I've had to discontinue doing this.
There are many websites available elsewhere that can do this for you for a fee.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
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What is a square grand?
A square grand piano is an older model piano, made
in the mid to late 1800's. Instead of the usually curved shape found on
modern grands, a square grand is rectangular in shape, often about 6 to 7 ft.
long, and about 4 ft. deep. These pianos are also difficult to service as
the tuning pins are found at the back of the piano far from the keys, instead
of at the front as is found in modern grands. Because it is necessary to be
both playing the piano and turning tuning pins at the same time, tuning this
type of piano is very challenging. Also because of their age, many are in
such poor mechanical condition with cracked soundboards, bridges, and
pinblocks, that they are usually nothing more than showpieces.
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Do you do your own website?
Yes, I do. All of the graphics and design are my own
creations.
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What kind of piano do you have?
I have three pianos (don't ask, long story), both are on
my personal top 10 list of favourites. One is a Canadian Heintzman Upright grand
that I rescued from an unheated storage locker and restored. It is over 110 years
old but in incredible condition for it's age. Pianos number two and three are Japanese
Yamaha U1's, one is about 30 years old, the other 10. They are all incredible instruments and
as such, will stay with me until I'm gone! I like playing all of them
because they couldn't be more different. The Heintzman has a beautiful
rich mellow tone, great for classical pieces, and the Yamaha has an amazingly
easy touch, great response and clear bright tone, good for contemporary pieces.
Since I'm in the business, I keep the best ones for myself. So when people ask me
what my favourites are, I can speak from personal experience!!
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How does one get training in piano technology?
At the present time, sadly, there are no in house programs available in Canada. There are several schools of piano technology located in the United States.
The good news is, I am developing a distance education program in Piano Technology that
will enable you to study from home at your own convenience and at a self-imposed schedule. To
inquire more about this please visit
http://www.learnpianotechnology.com.
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