As a local Collingwood-based Piano Tuner, Piano Teacher and Jazz Pianist/Performer, I often get asked “Rob, How often should I get my piano tuned and when?” The answer is that it depends on your needs!
Why does a piano go out of tune?
Our extreme changes in humidity swell and flatten out a piano’s “bow” shaped soundboard affecting its pitch. The ideal humidity for a piano is 45% which happens twice a year during the beginning and ending of home heating season. Fall and Spring is a general way to think of it.
Piano Tuners measure 100 cents in every semi-tone. A variance of plus or minus 3 cents is what we need to tune (one “pass”) in order to yield excellent and stable results. A piano that is 30 cents out will need a pitch adjustment rough tuning just to balance the tension before it can be fine tuned with stability. Think of it as getting the “tuning” in the ball park before real precision can be achieved. This is the physics of Piano Tuning.
As a fellow pianist and piano teacher, I know that everyone loves playing a freshly tuned piano. Pure joy!! Happy playing. ~ Robert
How often to tune your piano and when.
A typical “family home” tuning is once per year, at the same time each year, so that the sound board will be at the same shape, minimizing the pitch shift and allowing for a decent fine tuning. Most families will be happy with the results of this type of tuning.
An “advanced discerning professional” tuning should happen twice a year at the times the humidity is around the ideal 45%, in spring and fall.
A “special event/performance” tuning is where you need to have your piano sounding its best for a performance on a specific day. The day of, or close to it, would be required. If the pitch is off you will need an additional pitch adjustment tuning before the actual fine tuning.