Piano Tuning Steps
Steps to Servicing and Tuning A Piano
Check the condition of the piano, it’s frame, particularly, as it may need to take up extra tension during a pitch raise. Generally, the iron frame of a piano carries about 20 tonnes of tension; about 90kg of tension for each string. The technician will also look carefully at the tuning pins, strings and the assess the condition of the pin block (the thick wooden block in which the tuning pins are fixed) as best they can. They will also observe the uniformity and condition of the action parts to see if anything is unusual or out of line, indicating an issue there.
Pitch correction may be needed if the piano has not been tuned for many seasons. A check on the note A4 will show how far from concert pitch of 440 hz the piano may be. Pitch correction refers to a general raising or lowering of tension in the strings up and down the pianos range where the strings have fallen flat or gone sharp of concert pitch. The more tension added or subtracted to the strings the more trauma is created for the piano; the reaction to added or subtracted tension will be instability in tuning accuracy. Think of a visit to the chiropractor or osteopath. When you’ve had your posture corrected after a long time, through various adjustments to your hips, back, neck etc, you will likely be quite sore for the next several days depending on the severity of the adjustments. All the muscles and tendons will be traumatised as they adjust to the new conditions; they are trying to go back to where they were; so it is for the piano.
Tuning can begin when a piano is very close to the desired pitch (usually concert pitch), e.g. when a pitch correction is finished. Pianos that are tuned regularly, such as in concert halls or recording studios rarely need much, if any, pitch raising or lowering; they only need fine-tuning. There’s an old saying amongst piano tuners… ‘In order to get a good quality tuning, you have to begin with a piano that already is in tune’.
The piano tuner first isolates the various strings s/he is tuning by using mutes. S/he then repeatedly plays the notes of the strings (the interval) being tuned while listening to beats made by the interaction of particular overtones, harmonics (or ‘partials’ as they prefer to call them) of the interval. The tuner turns the tuning pin of one string to adjust the speed of the beats and ultimately bring those beating partials of the interval into the desired relationship. For an octave or unison, that usually will be a beat-less tone. For other intervals, it will be a specific rate of beating.
The tuning begins with setting the temperament. An equal temperament comprises a series of intervals within the middle octave of the keyboard that are tuned to progress in beats equally up or down through the octave. The temperament is usually formed by a recipe of 4ths and 5ths through the octave. Then that temperament pattern is transferred, by octaves, up and down the piano’s range of notes.
Servicing can involve tuning, cleaning and performing minor regulation or making adjustments to important moving parts in the pianos action. Regulation is done, time permitting, to correct faults of wear and tear and assist the piano to work in the way it was intended.
