How Much Does It Cost To Tune A Piano & Everything About Pianola Tuning

Tuning is vital for every musical instrument and the piano isn’t an exception. If you ask professional and genuine pianists about the secret of their melodious play and talent, they will answer something like this:

“The secret of my play is talent and skill, which are polished by the frequent years of studying, ups and down. For its part, inspiration and regularly tuned instrument is the key for a melody sound.”

Professional piano technician

Nonetheless, what is piano tuning? Why is this procedure so important? How often do you have to tune a pianoforte? Is there any difference between tuning the grand piano and the upright piano? How to find a good local piano technician guild? What does the piano tuning cost? Can you tune a pianoforte by yourself? How much does it cost to tune a piano?

Meet the answers to these questions and even more in the paragraphs of this post below!

Why Is It Essential To Tune A Piano?

The piano, whether it is a large grand piano, acoustic piano, or upright piano, it is a mechanism, which has to be serviced by the regular tunning procedure. When you start to play with a new one, you hear a terrific game of sounds, which imperceptibly fade with the passing of years.

Tuning a piano is the first thing that is recommended by piano technicians, especially, if you had to buy a pre-owned one. Piano tuning is a procedure, that prevents the extremely high expenses of servicing your piano because the keys go out of tune.

Imagine the situation as you press the middle C piano key and hear middle D (in the best case) or nothing (in the worst scenery of play). The horrible spectacle, innit?

During piano exploitation, the pianoforte strings are covered by dust and other debris, which may interrupt the process of 440 cycles per second. The lack of regular maintenance on the piano tuner may negatively impact the instrument.

So, to prevent unpredictable cases & extra maintenance costs, you should hold the standard piano tunning regularly.

What Is The Concept Of Piano Tuning?

Piano tuning is a regular procedure, which contains the straight contact of the piano technicians guild with a mechanism. Every pianoforte, except the digital one, should have regular servicing from piano tuners.

The standard tuning procedure contains:

• The dry cleaning of the mechanism.
• The adjustment of strings and other elements with a tuning fork.
• The regulating of pitch and pitch raise.

Traditionally, a piano technician starts piano tuning from the A note because all the notes are tuned from this point. The task of the piano tuner is the achievement of A440, which means the process of 440 runnings per second.

The work of a piano tuner requires assiduity, attentiveness, and skill. The piano tuner hears even the little issues in the piano mechanism momentarily. And this is the key to the role of the piano tuner.

The older piano the more piano maintenance and regular tunning it requires. Missing such services entails discord and odd sound. What’s more, the overall cost of damaging the piano mechanism is also impressive.

Is The Procedure Of Piano Tuning Necessary?

Yes, it is. Piano exploitation and standard pianoforte tuning are inseparable elements. You should tune your piano at least twice a year and there is no variance in the type of piano. Whether it is a traditional acoustic piano in a music school or pianofortes at the assembly hall piano tuning services are essential.

Otherwise, if you neglect the extra expenses, the cost to tune in the future will be over the average cost to tune.

How Much Time Does The Piano Tuning Take?

This aspect depends on the piano’s condition. If the pianoforte was tuned regularly, the piano tuner wouldn’t take a lot of time to its services. In another case, if the piano is in running condition, the tunning will take a decent period of time.

I used to talk to some pianists, who neglected regular tuning for decades, and then a team of several piano tuners worked on the instrument. Making the piano tuned took around three hours of professional piano tuner work.

The result of piano tuning was significant and the piano played the same as 3 decades ago! However, the overall cost of their services per hourly system of charge was also quite impressive.

So, to prevent the sky prices to get it tuned you should practice regular tuning.

Can A Piano Be Tuned After 20 Years?

Yet, it can. However, again, it depends on the condition of the pianola. Sometimes, it is cheaper to buy a new one than tune a piano in extremely running condition. If the environmental conditions for saving the piano were appropriate and this is a typical older piano need, it makes sense to tune the piano.

It’s a good idea to contact the aced piano tuners and ask them for a consultation. They will support you with all the answers to interesting questions and predict the price to make the piano tuned.

It is also worth considering that there is a difference between tuning a piano and repairing it.

Can A Piano Be Too Old For Tuning?

No, it can’t. This factor depends on such criteria:

• The period of exploitation.
• The upkeep and tuning of a pianola condition.
• The environment, where the pianoforte has been in.

If the keyboard instrument looks too old, it doesn’t mean that there is no sense in tuning a piano. It may look ancient, however, the mechanism may have the excellent piano to go. In cases, where the mechanism is damaged by time or experience, there is no sense to tune a pianola if you aren’t ready and don’t expect to pay thousands of dollars.

However, speaking about the antique models of older pianos and concert pianos, which have high art significance and couldn’t be played, the piano tuners recommend making it tuned at least several times in a decade to keep it okay (the unique case, when you can neglect every six months tuning).

How Much Does It Cost To Tune A Piano?

In this section, let’s reveal how much it costs to tune a piano and other aspects of tuning like:

• How much does it cost to make the pianoforte tuned and what is the regular piano tuners charge?
• How to find a good piano tuner?
• Is it possible to tune a piano yourself?
• How often should you make your pianos tuned?

The Cost Of Repairs

The cost of repairs depends on the region of your living and the condition of the pianoforte. The system of tuning costs is a charge by the hour. The average costs for tuning pianos in English-spoken countries may vary:

• Australia: around $185.
• Canada: $65 – $225.
• USA: $65 – $200.
• UK: £55 – £85.

So, the common procedure of tuning with a replacement of a few hammers, strings, and tuning pins will be around $100-$200. For the extensive repair of pianos in bad functioning condition or an antique one, you may pay over $300.

Can I Tune A Piano By Myself?

I don’t insist on self-activity. It’s better to pay a wage to professionals, who have a good eye on servicing the needs of the keyboard instrument. If the repairs are insidious (like dry cleaning), you may handle this procedure on your own.

In cases of changing strings and other equipment, you should contact the specialized staff to prevent the non-nominal mechanism from damaging.

Top 4 Tips For Keeping Your Piano In Tune

I prepared several tips for you from my personal experience, which will keep your pianola in tune longer. So, meet 3 perps for prolonging piano tuning!

Keep Your Piano By An Inside Wall

The first tip: keep your pianoforte by an inside wall. If you install your piano this way, it will hold a stable and appropriate humidity level and temperature. Rapid and frequent temperature and humidity changes wouldn’t cause on your instrument positively.

Use The Humidity Control Systems

The second tip: put the humidifier in the room, where the piano is installed. For this purpose, you can use the traditional home humidifier as well as a special humidifier for the piano. The proper level of humidity in the air impacts not only on tunning but the lifespan of the instrument in general.

Have Your Piano Professionally Tuned Regularly

The third tip: keep your piano in tune regularly. Once a year spend around $150 on the piano needs. It is really worth it and prolongs the service life of the mechanism for years. Such year expanses are more economical and impact the melody of the instrument hugely.

Keep The Piano In One Place

The final tip: keep your instrument in one place and don’t move it from one wall to another if there is no necessity. Frequent movement of your instrument may cause changes in the tension shifts and turn the piano out of tune.

Final Thoughts

Piano tuning is very essential for pianola and impacts the period of its exploitation and sound. It’s recommended to tune the piano regularly (at least one time a year). This opinion is shared by most piano tuners. Speaking about pianos in halls, it’s recommended to tune them after every performance.

Don’t neglect to service your piano because the absence of servicing may impact negatively the mechanism of the instrument.

The average price of running a piano is about $100 – $150. If you need extensive tuning for the instrument in running condition, it will cost over $300.

To find a reliable piano tuner, you may ask your familiars, who play the piano. It’s a good idea to ask about such services in musical instruments shop or surf the forums on the internet to find a piano servicer.

To prolong the tunning, you should meet your pianoforte in one place (desirably by the inside wall) and neglect moving it from one place to another if there is no necessity. Always control the temperature and humidity level in the area, where the pianola is located.

Do not forget that the piano requires not only tuning but also regular maintenance. Learn how to properly clean piano keys.

If you own a digital piano, you can learn how to repair it in this article.