Holly Answers Your Questions about Piano Tuning and Maintenance

Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of questions from my students and their families about tuning and maintaining their pianos. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about keeping your piano in tip-top shape.

Q: So… do I really even need to tune my piano? What’s the point?

A: Yes, yes you do. Keeping your piano in tune is important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it helps maintain the strings, which need to be kept at a certain tension for optimal functioning. As the strings become slackened over time due to use and the environmental conditions, they gradually go out of tune. If the piano isn’t tuned regularly, the strings can become more vulnerable to wear and tear and, ultimately, breakage if you keep playing on them while they are too slack. Letting your piano go very far out of tune also makes it more difficult to get back in tune later, resulting in excessive tension being put on the strings when the piano is finally tuned again.

Secondly, regularly tuning your piano can also help you develop your ability to discern pitches, giving you a reference for correct pitches. It’s helpful to know whether you made a mistake or the piano was just out of tune. 😊

Tuning is only one aspect of regular maintenance. Other maintenance items might include things like regulation, which maintains the other interior parts of the piano besides the strings and pins, and humidity control. For a deep dive on more aspects of piano maintenance, see the Piano Technicians Guild website on Piano Care.

Q: How often should I tune my piano?

A: Tune your piano as often as you would go to the dentist—every 6 months is standard. If you simply can’t afford to tune it twice a year, tuning it once a year is adequate.

The only exceptions are when your piano is brand new, has recently been moved, or was just tuned after having been severely out of tune. In those cases, you may need to tune it as frequently as once every three months for a period of about a year, as it will tend to go out of tune more quickly.

Q: How do I find a good piano tuner?

A: Piano tuners, also called piano technicians, are certified by the Piano Technicians Guild. All registered piano technicians must pass a rigorous exam on piano maintenance, tuning, and repair. They are qualified not only to tune your piano but also to address any maintenance issues. To find a piano tuner, visit the Piano Technicians Guild website.

Q: How should I maintain my piano?

A: It’s a good to get into the habit of washing your hands before you play to protect the keys from excess dirt and oil from your hands—or heaven forbid, marker, crayon, play-dough, etc.!

Dust is the enemy of pianos. After you finish practicing, wipe off the keys and the case (the outer part of your piano) with a dry, lint-free cotton cloth. Thin dishtowels are excellent for this.

Do not use cloths made of microfiber or any abrasive materials. Never use any cleaning agents or water. At your next appointment, your piano tuner will vacuum the inside of your piano to help keep it dust-free.

Buying a cover can also be a great investment for your piano, especially if it will remain unplayed for any length of time, but it isn’t strictly necessary.

Humidity is also a major factor in piano maintenance. Optimal conditions are 40-50% humidity at room temperature. As best you can, try to avoid extremes of temperature, but pianos are fairly hardy except in prolonged extreme humidity and heat (above 90ºF) or cold (below 38ºF). Your technician will recommend any additional equipment you might consider to help regulate the humidity.

Q: My piano tuner mentioned something about voicing—what’s that?

A: Voicing involves making adjustments to your piano’s hammers to achieve a specific sound. Usually, this involves “voicing down” the piano, mellowing out the sound after the tone has become too harsh and bright. The most common cause for this is compaction of the hammer felts, the white layer of material that surrounds the hammer. Over time, the strings compress and dig grooves into the hammer felts, creating a sound that can be overly bright due to the felts becoming harder and denser. Think about what it would sound like if you hit something with a tennis ball as opposed to a cotton ball!

From my own experience having worked with many knowledgeable people over the years, voicing will only need to be done once every 10 years or so to maintain a piano’s sound, not to shape the sound of a new instrument. If your piano is less than 10 years old, avoid voicing it too early. It can take considerable time for the sound of a new instrument to “mature.”

If you purchased your grand piano used and don’t know anything about how it was maintained previously, try this trick. If you want to see if it needs to be voiced, check the hammers for grooves by depressing a few keys in the middle of the piano around middle C. If you can see deep grooves in the surface of the hammer felts, it might be time to get it voiced.

If you have an upright, don’t try this at home! Let a qualified piano technician remove the front cover of the piano so you can inspect the hammer felts together at that time.