A piano should be tuned at least twice a year for the greatest possible sound. There’s nothing wrong with trying to do it yourself if you’re a new piano owner or a budding pianist. Find out in the following how to tune a piano. To tune a piano, one needs only a few basic tools, including:
- Tuning lever
An upright piano tuning lever is a compact, tapered wrench which gives you the ability to manually tighten or loosen every tuning pin. It is also known as a tuning key. When tuning a piano, a tuning lever is absolutely necessary; using any other device could potentially cause irreparable harm to the instrument.
- Mutes
Mutes are affordable rubber wedges that are placed on piano strings in order to reduce the noise of specific strings or separate a single string in order to tune it. Mutes can also be used to change the pitch of a string.
- Electronic Chromatic Tuner
An electronic tuning device, often known as an ETD, is a portable piece of equipment that can determine the note that a key is currently playing as well as the amount of deviation it has from the desired sound. Tuning fork is a far less modern option and are preferred by certain more traditional tuners. However, electronic tuners are by far the most popular tool used for tuning by professional tuners. Avoid using simple guitar tuners since they might not provide the level of accuracy required for piano tuning.
- Screwdriver
Some musical instruments, like upright or grand pianos, may well have a door that serves the purpose of shielding the soundboard and strings from external elements. If your piano has additional hardware like this, it is a good thing to keep a screwdriver on board so that you can simply remove these pieces & access the strings. If your piano does not have additional hardware like this, it is not important to keep a screwdriver on hand.
- Light
Bring a torch or flashlight that you can position so that it illuminates the internal workings of the piano without requiring you to use your hands. This will allow you to keep all of your fingers free for tuning the instrument.
- Dust Cloth
Since many pianos are left unused for years, the strings may be covered with grit and grime; therefore, you should always have a towel on hand to help wipe away the dirt and dust before playing.
Can a piano be tuned by anyone?
Tuning a piano on your own is a difficult task that requires an extraordinary amount of patience and talent; there’s a good reason why piano tuning is considered a professional profession. Even though the method of tuning each pin may appear simple (albeit slow going), professional piano tuners learn specific skills and knowledge over the course of years to provide a tune which is both extra accurate (in tune) and much more sturdy or long-lasting. This allows the piano to be played in tune for a longer period of time. If you have never tuned a piano earlier or have little interest in devoting years to practicing, you should think about contacting a professional piano technician. They will be able to tune your piano to perfection.