Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Advice on touching up my own tuning?

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone could offer me advice about touching up my own piano's tuning. An issue that has been resolved in combination with heavy playing has left me a lot of broken strings, and I either have to call in a technician all the time or many of the notes on my piano are quite out of tune.

All I wish to do is to be able to touch up new strings. I realize an amateur job is not ideal but I can't keep spending money on technical work. If anyone could point me to on online guide or maybe a book, and also a place to get a cheap wrench that will do a good job, it would be much appreciated (piano is a M&H AA).

Thanks!

You're generally going to get a lot of flak here from people trying to discourage you from doing anything yourself to your piano.
Then there will be others who will support you in your endeavor.
Invariably this thread will probably degenerate into a bit of mudslinging between the two sides.

Needless to say, it will be quite entertaining to the rest of us should this happen.

Back when I was a poor student I was given an old beat up Emerson upright that had some loose pins and a few broken strings.
There was NO way in the world that I could afford tuning, let alone having the rest of the work done.
So I bought a low-cost tuning hammer (wrench) from a local piano restoring shop (Montreal Piano) and a few oversize pins to replace some old pins that wouldn't hold tension.
Using a cheap guitar tuner for one octave, and then doing the rest by ear, I managed to get this thing very playable.
After that I only had to occasionally bring out the tuning hammer to tweak up a single pin that had drifted slightly.
That kept me going until I actually had enough money to buy a proper piano.
If I hadn't resorted to doing that I would have had no piano to play at all.
(But remember, I wasn't doing this on a nice M&H).

Now you are able to download programs like Tunelab (http://www.tunelab-world.com/) which is certainly better than what I had at my disposal.

Try to read as much as you can on this site obviously (you can learn an incredible amount by hanging out here), and try not to be too discouraged.

I feel that too many people here simply forget what it was like to be poor.

Check out this DIY Tuning Thread

Buy a tuning hammer.
Don't sweat the brand so much as just buy a student hammer.

Here on Piano World there is www.PianoSupplies.com
You can buy a very useful one here.

It is simple.
Your new strings are going flat, raise them.
It really is that simple, raise them until your ear likes the sound.

There is something to be said for raising them very slightly sharp and then lowering them to where you want them to be.

The next time you have your piano tuned, ask your tuner to show you a little tuning hammer technique.

Being able to see it done is the "Picture is worth a thousand words"

If my clients are curious, I encourage them to do as much as they would like.

Don't break strings.

If the string breaks ... put a new one in

I found this book very helpful when I was studying tuning lever technique. Remember this: tuning is all about lever technique. Beginners almost invariably move the pin way too much, and it's hard for newcomers to realize how sensitive tuning pins can be.

As far as wrenches go - steer clear of the cheap levers. This will handicap you from the start. The best buy in my opinion is the Levitan Classic available from Pianotek for $135: It is extremely light and rigid and gives much better feedback then less expensive tools. It's almost as light and stiff as a Fujan which costs hundreds of dollars more. Me and Steve Fujan compared it to his lever last year in Grand Rapids. While not quite as stiff, it comes close, much closer than the standard professional levers that sell for $60-100.

http://www.pianoteksupply.com/products-new.aspx

Me too. The replies thus far all show that professional techs are seldom offended or threatened by clients (often higher level musicians) correcting the occasional wayward note themselves.

It doesn't happen too often, but I've been known to sell tuning equipment from time to time, to assist.

And the advice about asking the tech for a primer on hammer technique is right on...you'll be amazed ad how little the movement is in proper tuning....

FWIW

RPD

Thanks for the responses! I did have a feeling I might get a little flak for this. My technician is actually really great, but it's hard to afford those constant pitch touch ups. Now I have some great resources, thank you! I will try to be as knowledgable as I can before I start to mess around.

Go to the your local library and check out Arthur Reblitz's book on Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding, Second Edition. In the section on tuning, he explains how to start hearing the beats. I think this will help a lot.

I got started with this website: http://piano.detwiler.us
There is enough information there to touch up a few notes.

Kees

There is a book by c c chang called Fundamentals of Piano Practice. http://c0431582.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/book.pdf

It is a free download and his practice recommendations have been discussed on various forums with just as much, umm, controversy as ET vs EB.

He does have a short section on piano tuning. I've always been curious whether his recommendations make sense or not. Has anybody looked at this?

The Reyburn Cyberhammer is a great option for DIY-ers. You can skip all the time and effort to study "Diff'rent Strokes" and get a nice, solid result without any chance of bending pins.
http://www.reyburnpiano.com/Technicians_Tools/Pages/200_Series_CyberHammer.html

Since it's an impact hammer, every time you bump it, the bottom of the pin turns in the block. It's much easier to learn for people who've never tuned before, than for those of us who use traditional levers.

I also like the Levitan lever, but this one avoids any chance of piano damage such as ovaling out the tuning pin holes by flagpoling (bending the pin on its long axis). It also gives you a stable result, which is otherwise another difficult task to master. And you can use it in the traditional way as well.

It's not designed for grands, though; the ergonomics is different. He has a new design for that ($$$).

--Cy--

This is one of the many things you'll need to watch out for as you learn how to tune. Simply "turning" the pins, or "pulling" the lever until you achieve the correct pitch will not do.

Think of it this way: Hold your hand with your palm facing you and your fingers pointing in the air. Your fingers are the pins. With your other hand, twist your index fingertip. The base of your finger holds still. When you let go, your finger (pin) returns to its previous location.

Read as much as you can about this. Some people refer to this phenomenon as "residual tension." Read about setting your pins, read about setting your strings, and you'll be part of the way there. Because "knowing is half the battle" right?

Hi musicman,

there is a neat online tuning tutorial by a steinway tech. Very good general guide on the subject, it helped me a lot when I started out.
http://www.blackstonepiano.com/tutorial/tutorial.htm