Tuning

A good tuning is one that is stable and makes the piano sound harmonious. Stable tuning requires a piano that is structurally solid and has a good pin block, but it is surprisingly rare to find a piano that is lacking in these requirements. The most important part of a stable tuning is competent technique on the part of the tuner. Good tools are important. More important is good training, along with experience. Knowing what is happening deep in the pin block is essential. Tuning pins are steel, but they are surprisingly flexible. They bend and twist during the tuning process, but ultimately they relax, unbend and untwist. The trick is to “set the pin” so that happens immediately rather than after the tuner has collected his fee and departed. I take pleasure in feeling the pin move in the block all the way to the bottom of the pin to make sure there is no bend or twist left in the pin to distort the tuning after I move my wrench to the next pin. That makes for a very stable tuning.