FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Question: How often should I have my piano tuned?
Answer: All manufacturers recommend that your piano be tuned no less than once per year, however, it is entirely up to you as regards how often you want it tuned. It's a question of how good you want your piano to sound, and how long you want your piano's tune to hold. The more often you tune your piano, the better it will hold its tune. Many institutions will have their concert/recording pianos tuned on a weekly or daily basis depending on their needs.

Question: Do you provide warranty for your tunings? Essentially, if my piano goes out of tune within a short period of time, will you come back and
tune it again for free?
Answer: No. No warranty is provided for piano tunings. Your piano will sound excellent once your tuning is finished. Your piano will hold its tuning based entirely on how well you have maintained it in the past. Again, many institutions will have their concert/recording pianos tuned on a weekly or daily basis depending on their needs.

Question: Can a piano be changed in pitch (pitch raise) in one tuning?
Answer: No. If your piano requires a major pitch adjustment, it will continue to go out of tune until the steel strings have stretched to their proportional limit (see Figure 1), and when the sound board normalizes under the newly added tension. This is entirely dependent on how far out of tune your piano was before the tuning, how long it's been since the last tuning, and the general quality and shape of the piano, and the shape of and quality of the strings. (See also Figure 2).








                                                              (Figure 1)







                                                              (Figure 2)

Question: What factors would indicate that my piano won't hold its tune very well?
Answer:
Factor 1:
How long it's been since your piano's last tuning.
Factor 2:
How often your piano has been tuned.
Factor 3:
How close your piano is to the proper tuning curve; especially in the high tension section (see Figure 3 and 4). If your piano is closer to what is depicted in Figure 3, expect fewer tunings to get your piano sounding great and holding its tune well. If your piano is closer to Figure 4, expect many more tunings before your piano stabilizes and holds its tune well.
Factor 4:
How new your piano is is a large factor, as new piano strings will rapidly stretch out over the course of the first 2-4 years before they reach their proportional limit (see Figure 1). It is recommended that new pianos be tuned more frequently for the first 2-4 years.

Proper Tuning Curve






                                                              (Figure 3)

Improper Tuning Curve






                                                           (Figure 4)


Question: What happens when a piano's tuning curve looks like Figure 4, and the technician tries to fine tune it without performing a pitch raise?
Answer: see Figure 5










                                                           (Figure 5)


Question: What happens to my piano if I leave it for a long time without tuning it?
Answer: Your piano will eventually fall towards an improper tuning curve as depicted in figure 4. In addition, your piano strings will not only slowly go out of tune, but the bends in the piano wire over the  friction points on the cast iron plate will become semi-permanent, meaning that it will take a few tunings before the bends go back to where they should be. Your piano will quickly go out of tune after initial servicing while these bends are eventually remediated through tuning. (see Figure 6).







                                                                (Figure 6)


Question: How long will my piano hold its tune?
Answer: The more often you have your piano tuned, the better it will hold its tune. As stated previously, many institutions will have their concert/recording pianos tuned on a weekly or daily basis depending on their needs.

Question: Does my piano need to be at A-440 standard concert pitch?
Answer: No. It may only be necessary if you are a professional musician, or if you really want your piano to be at A-440. Trying to chase perfect A-440 pitch for home and infrequent use will only cost you more money, and will require more tunings to keep it perfect if your piano requires a drastic pitch raise (see Figure 2). For home and infrequent use, it is best to keep your piano where it will require the least amount of tunings to keep it stable and sounding great. This will save you time and money, as less tunings will be required to stabilize your piano, and it lessens the chance of things breaking during servicing, such as strings. If you have a very old piano that hasn't been tuned in say 20-40 years, the chance of old, and potentially rusty, strings breaking during a pitch raise increases significantly, not to mention during the subsequent tunings and pitch adjustments that may be required to stabilize your piano. When broken stings are replaced with new strings, these strings will go out of tune very quickly, and they will require many more tunings to bring them to the same level of stability as the strings around them.

Rosati Piano Services always recommends stability over perfect concert pitch for home or infrequent use, which will ultimately cost the client the least amount money in the long run. Rosati Piano services is interested in keeping your hard earned cash in your wallet, while making your piano sound the best that it can possibly sound. However, for professional use, standard concert pitch is of course always recommended, and is the norm in a professional setting.

Question: Should I wait to have my piano tuned if I have just moved to a new home?
Answer: Yes. You should wait at least two to three weeks before you tune your piano if it was just moved. This allows the wood in the instrument to acclimatize to changes in humidity levels, thus allowing for greater initial tuning stability.

Question: How long will my piano tuning take?
Answer: On the first service visit, tuning usually takes around 1 hour, but can take up to 2 hours. During subsequent visits, tunings begin to take less and less time.