BASIC PIANO TUNING APPOINTMENT

$225 for a 1.5 hour piano tuning appointment. If you have been maintaining your piano regularly, this appointment should be sufficient to meet our goals (your piano sounds and plays great!).

Beyond the first 1.5 hours my labor rate is $120 per hour. How much extra work might your piano need? Give me a phone call and we can discuss your piano’s condition and service history.

Why might extra work be necessary? Entropy. “Things fall apart.” Although a piano may appear to be a “big heavy stable thing”, it really is quite complicated.  88 keys, yes, but 230 strings with a total tension of 20 tons!

There are thousands of moving parts inside the case, made of wood (maple), several types of woven or felted wool felt of radically different thicknesses and densities, and deer buckskin (or synthetic equivalent), which must be aligned and adjusted to exact tolerances for the keys to respond fully to the player’s input. Over many hours of play the wool and leather components wear and compress, throwing off their intricate geometric relationships, reducing the efficiency the mechanisms.

The soundboard is particularly sensitive to changes in humidity — and here in eastern Massachusetts the outside temperature is constantly in flux. When we’re in “heating season”, the humidity levels in our homes (schools, churches, concert halls) drops even lower. As the soundboard shrinks or expands, the tension of the piano wires change too, altering the pitch flat or sharp. 

Use the Contact Us page to reach me, or click on the colored box below to make an appointment.