FAQs

How often should I have my piano tuned?

For the home piano, the short answer is once about every 6 months in the Houston area.

However, many factors like weather and how much the piano is played can contribute to it going out of tune. The quality, age, and purposes of the piano (practicing at home vs. professional concerts) must also be considered.

Not many people know this, but the pianos played in concerts (like at the Houston Symphony) and the ones you hear in recordings are tuned on a weekly basis! Not to mention the maintenance, regulations, and voicing that are performed regularly to keep a top-end piano sounding its best.

  • Most home pianos get tuned on a 6 month basis

  • Some churches or serious students have the
    piano tuned every     3 months

  • Some professionals or pianos used for concerts
    are tuned either     once a month or once a week

I can help keep track of your schedule with automatic reminders. Discounts are available for pianos tuned more frequently or if you have multiple pianos in need of a tune.

*Brand New Pianos*

Brand new pianos are recommended by the manufacturers to be tuned up to 4 times in the first year (every 3 months). New piano strings are very elastic and take time to stabilize - especially in a new region and climate.


What’s a “Pitch Raise” tuning and why do I need one?

A pitch raise or “pitch correction” is a special tuning performed to:

  1. Roughly bring the piano up/down to pitch (A = 440hz)

  2. Put the necessary tension back on the strings/bridge/soundboard

  3. Stretch the elastic, steel strings back out.

Pianos that haven’t been tuned in more than 6 months and/or have been in an adverse climate tend to need pitch raises. A “regular” or fine tuning would then be performed on the piano after the pitch raise on the same day.

Depending on the age, quality, and environment of the piano, I generally perform a pitch raise tuning on a piano when it is more than 15 cents flat or sharp (there is roughly 100 cents between two notes on the piano).

The more that I have to “crank” the piano and stretch out the strings, the less likely that it will hold that tuning. If I just tuned it “regularly,” the piano would be out of tune before I left your house and walked out to my car!

Why does a piano go out of tune?

Believe it or not, the biggest factors are humidity and temperature changes. The wooden soundboard is slightly curved to help amplify the sounds of the piano. The moisture changes in the air expand and contract the soundboard and change its shape.

Humid Conditions: As the soundboard absorbs moisture from the air surrounding the piano, it swells, producing an upward bulge. Through the bridge, this puts additional tension on the strings. Now, the pitch is too high (sharp) in the lower mid-range and extreme treble strings.

Dry Conditions: When the soundboard shrinks and flattens, the tension of the strings over the bridge becomes inadequate. The pitch of the mid-range and treble strings is now flat.

Cracked Soundboard: Over time, constant changes in humidity levels, with the corresponding shrinking and swelling of the soundboard, will damage the integrity of the soundboard. Initially you will see this damage in the form of a crack.

Glue joints, like the ribs attached to the bottom of the soundboard, bridge caps, and other wood connections, will begin to work loose and start to make annoying buzzes and vibrations while playing the piano.

The ideal relative humidity for a piano is about 40-45% according to the piano manufacturers. Most homes in Houston that I have measured are between 55-65% (even with normal, comfortable AC use). The movement of the soundboard and, subsequently the strings, is the primary reason a piano goes out of tune.

However, it is the wide and fast swings in temperature and humidity that ultimately do the most the most harm and make the piano go out of tune very quickly!

What can I do about the humidity and how can I keep my piano in tune for as long as possible?

Your piano is made primarily of wood, felt, and metal. Fluctuations in humidity can impact all these elements. In the same way a door sticks on a humid day, or hair gets frizzy, humidity fluctuations impact the components of your piano.

While it is impossible to completely account for every weather fluctuation (like the Great Texas Freeze of 2021), there are certain steps that we can take to minimize the adverse affects:

  1. Install a Dampp-Chaser Humidity Control System in the piano by a certified installer (that’s me!)

  2. Keep the piano away from windows, vents, outside walls, or outside doors that get used frequently. Keep blasts of AC or direct sunlight from hitting the piano.

  3. Limit vast swings in temperature. If you’re going out of town, consider keeping the HVAC setting in a normal range. However, if you’re gone for many months, it might be cheaper just to have the piano tuned again when you return. Just limit extreme heat/cold as to not damage the piano.

What is a Dampp-Chaser? How does it work and how is it different from a regular, portable dehumidifier?

Simply, Dampp-Chaser dehumidifiers use dry heat to push away moisture from the piano, and more specifically, the soundboard. It is installed inside the piano and uses a humidistat sensor to automatically turn on and off to keep your piano within the preferred 40-45% humidity range. Brochure Link

  • Easy to Maintain

  • Energy Efficient

  • Silent

  • Virtually Invisible

  • Extends the Life of Your Piano

  • 5 Year Warranty

  • Helps Resale Value

In upright pianos the system is installed inside the cabinet. It is virtually invisible, maintenance-free, and completely silent.

In grand pianos, the system is installed underneath the piano and a piece of black fabric covers up the bottom, keeping the system out of sight.