All About Piano Tuning
Ask the average Josephine or Joe how a piano works and they’ll tell you that when you press down a key, a hammer hits a string which creates a sound. Vague … and mostly true.
Mostly.
The actual answer, my friends, is much more complicated.
What people don’t realize is that most keys have three strings that work together to produce the louder, fuller sound we hear. Think of it like three violins playing the same note together at the same time. The sound they produce has a richer texture and is dramatically more exciting to listen to. But it’s also more difficult to keep three violins in tune with one another versus keeping one lonely violinist in tune who is playing by themself.
Enter our hero … the piano tuner.
When tuning a piano, a piano technician has to deal with around 220 strings! Each key strikes anywhere from one to three strings, meaning that for most of the keys you have multiple strings that must be pitched in unison.
Complicated, yes. So, before we get too far into the weeds, maybe we should take a step back and address how and why pianos are pitched the way they are.
The Weird Science of Sound
Most people don’t realize that how we make music and what we listen to is kind of like a genetically modified organism, or GMO. Now technically, a GMO is a plant or animal bred by humans to heighten certain desirable traits like apples that are modified to be more resistant to browning or cotton that’s modified to be resistant to insects.
When it comes to music, we’ve forced notes to fit together in neat, mathematical ways, accentuating desirable traits, but fighting against the physics of how sound works in nature.
For example, piano tuners use something called equal temperament when tuning, which divides an octave into 12 equal steps (half steps) within an octave so that the distance between any two half steps is the same even though that’s not how sound naturally works.
In the past, other tuning systems existed, so music sounded very different in the time of the Roman Empire, Medieval Europe, or even during the days of Bach and Beethoven. Every tuning system has to make compromises to fit all the notes into one octave, and none of them are perfect. That’s because the sound itself isn’t that tidy.
So, with all of these hurdles, what exactly does our hero, the piano tuner, do?
Step-by-Step Piano Tuning
As we mentioned earlier, many keys strike more than one string at a time. In order to tune the piano properly, the first step is muting those extra strings so the piano tuner can focus on just one at a time. To do that, they use a long strip of felt called a temperament strip. This way they don’t have to keep moving little mutes all over the place.
Next, the tuner tunes the temperament, a central octave (or two) in the middle of the piano. This is the foundation for tuning the entire piano. Tuning the temperament is the most important step, as well as the most challenging. It is the most difficult and important part to get right, because if the temperament is off, the entire piano will sound off no matter what you play.
Different tuners have different methods of accomplishing this. Some use an electronic tuning device (EDT) while others do it by ear (aurally). Some tune only one octave. Some tune two octaves. Some use intervals (the distances between two different pitches) and use either fourths and fifths or thirds and sixths. But no matter how they do it, they all have the same goal…to evenly space all twelve of the half steps the exact same distance apart from each other within the octave.
Once the temperament is correctly tuned, the piano tuner works up and down the piano, tuning by octaves, each new one based on the last. As they go, they slightly “stretch” each octave. This ensures that not only will the octave be in tune, but the next octave will be in tune with the first pitch, and the octave beyond that will be in tune with the first pitch, too. Otherwise, the octaves might sound good, but the further they move the more “out” they sound from the original octave pitch.
Finally, the piano tuner comes back and tunes the unisons, making sure the multiple strings for each note are synced perfectly. If one of the unisons is off, then a note will sound “jangly,” which is the unpleasant noise that people notice as being “out of tune.”
This is the piano technician GMO’ing the sound, so it works right.
Can Any Piano Be Tuned?
No. Not every piano is tunable. When a piano tuner comes to tune your piano, they perform a quick evaluation of the piano’s condition to determine if they are able to tune it and if not, what the piano needs.
Does It Need Repair?
If there is a mechanical issue that interferes with piano tuning, then the piano will require repair work first before a tuning can take place. Examples of these issues include:
- Stuck keys
- Broken action parts
- Damper pedal issues
- Broken strings
Does It Need Regulation?
Regulation issues mean that all the parts “work,” but not everything is aligned properly. This affects the piano’s playability. Examples of this include:
- Hammers bobbling or blocking against the strings
- Dampers not letting off of the strings
- Keys not working or being able to repeat
Does It Need a Pitch Raise?
A pitch raise is required when a piano is too far out of tune to hold a tuning. Often these pianos have gone many years without regular tuning, meaning the piano tuner needs to bring the instrument back into the right range before they can perform a normal tuning. Think of it like a primer coat of paint before adding the topcoat. Once everything is working properly, the piano is ready to be tuned!
For the long-term health of your piano, we strongly recommend you have your instrument tuned twice a year with the seasonal changes.
Perfect Pitch Starts Here
Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding — or at least a glimpse — into the intricacies of piano tuning. More importantly, we hope it gives you a greater appreciation for the art and science of sound and piano tuning and an understanding of why and how tuning your piano with regularity is so very important.
Contact us today to schedule a piano tuning or to address any issues you may be experiencing with your piano.
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