Beautiful piano tuning, done by ear!
My tuning price is currently $115. Feel free to contact me if you'd like your piano tuned by someone who really cares about pianos and who loves music! If you're shopping around, don't forget to ask each piano technician you speak with if they are a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) member of the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG). PTG is the only organization that offers certification exams for piano technicians. Only an RPT has had his skills independently tested in a series of three rigorous examinations and is certified by the world's largest piano technicians organization.
Call 303-641-8863 or send me an email to book an appointment. My 20 years of experience and passion for pianos and music are at your service!
What makes my piano go out of tune?
Even the most beautiful piece of music will sound jangly and discordant if the piano is out of tune. And even the most expensive concert grand piano will sound bad if out of tune. Pianos are paradoxical things: they look sturdy - and in some ways they are - but they're also incredibly sensitive and delicate! For example, it takes as little as a 10% change in Relative Humidity to make a piano go out of tune. There are a number of things that constantly conspire against your piano, causing it to go out of tune:
* Seasonal changes in humidity (more humid in summer, extremely dry in winter)
* Daily fluctuations in humidity inside a home
* Changes in temperature (daily changes from night to day, and seasonal changes)
* Playing the piano (hammers can hit the strings with substantial force, knocking them out of tune)
* Moving the piano.
* Sunlight falling across the piano during the day and warming it.
* Being placed on an outside, south-facing wall, especially in older, less-well-insulated houses.
How often does my piano need to be tuned?
When you understand the above factors it's easy to see why a piano needs a tuning every 6 months in most cases (many musicians have their piano tuner come every 3-4 months, and performance and recording studio pianos are tuned every time they're used). The Boulder and Denver area is well known for being dry, especially during winter, when indoor humidity can drop to 10-15% RH. This causes the soundboard to shrink, and the strings slacken, causing the middle two octaves to become discordantly flat in pitch compared to the rest of the piano. In spring and summer, however, humidity in this area of Colorado zooms up, sitting around 50-60% RH most days, with occasional spikes up to 100% RH during thunderstorm season. This causes the soundboard to swell and expand greatly, pushing up against the strings and stretching them, causing the same middle two octaves to go sharp in pitch, and out of tune with the bass and treble. When a piano goes out of tune, notes and chords that should sound harmonious, pure and clean become discordant, jangly, sour and unpleasant. When that happens, it's annoying to play, discourages practicing and, especially in the case of children, trains the ears to accept the discordant sound as correct.
How do I choose a piano tuner?
A gifted piano tuner is not easy to find, since it involves many skills that take years to master, and which require natural aptitude. And since the piano tuning profession isn't regulated by government, literally anyone can take out an big ad in the Yellow Pages without ever having so much as touched a piano. I have been tuning pianos for 20 years, and have been a member of the Piano Technicians Guild for 20 years, 18 of those as a Registered Piano Technician. When I come to tune your piano I check and adjust by ear, one by one, each of your piano's approximately 230 strings. Because I am also a pianist (B.A. in Music) I think like both a pianist and a piano technician and want the piano to sound and play its absolute best. When the job is done, the discordant notes sound harmonious again and the piano once again can produce beautiful music!
Above and beyond tuning to full service.
I have also been restoring pianos for 20 years, so I when I tune your piano I approach it from a holistic perspective. I'm not going to just whip through a tuning and dash off to my next appointment, the way some do. I want your piano to be giving you the richest musical experience it's capable of, so I also check the strings, hammers, dampers, keys, soundboard, bridges, cushioning felts, leathers, etc., and ask myself questions such as: Is the tone as rich and full as it is capable of being? Is the touch as velvety and sensitive and responsive as it can be? Are there any other ways that this piano can be improved so that playing it will truly be a joy? If there are any ways the piano can be improved, I'll let you know what they are and what it would cost. I want you to be able to enjoy the best your piano has to offer.
If you'd like to have a piano tuning or other piano service, such as voicing, regulating or restoration work, you can schedule an appointment by contacting us at 303-641-TUNE or Contact Us via email. While we primarily serve the greater Boulder and Denver area of Colorado, we are often able to travel further afield to accomodate your needs and for restoration work we can have your piano shipped here from anywhere in the country or world.
Pictured above: A lovely 1923 vintage Steinway Model B (7 ft), recently restored in my shop in Boulder, Colorado. It's currently for sale. Please inquire.
