1

Most pianos are okay being tuned twice a year. If you're playing your piano for hours everyday, then once every three months. Pianos that are being played for a recording or concert should be tuned right before the performance.

2

Temperature and humidity levels change throughout the day and year, so your piano does too. Things like your air conditioning, fireplaces, and direct sunlight can effect your piano tuning! High humidity causes the soundboard to absorb moisture and expand, which tightens the strings making them sharper. Therefore, low humidity will make the strings go flatter. Colder temperatures also make the strings go flat, while hotter temperatures make the strings go sharp.

3

Surprisingly, pianos go out of tune almost immediately; however, it is only by a small amount. Larger changes happen gradually over weeks and months. If you're about to play for a performance, then ideally your piano should be tuned right before the performance. A piano in your home won't need to be tuned as often. 

4

Spray a microfiber cloth with a disinfectant bleach to wipe down the keys. Use a microfiber cloth dampened slightly with water to wipe fingerprints and dust off the outside of the piano. Be gentle! Never spray directly onto the piano.

5

Tuning adjusts the tension on the strings, which changes the pitch of the keys you play.

Repairing includes things such as fixing broken strings, broken hammer heads, or other small parts inside the piano.

Regulating is the process of making small adjustments to the piano action so every key is uniform and plays as best and efficiently as possible.

7

Most tuners should take around 1.5-2 hours. Depending on the quality of your piano, your tuner may need to tune your piano twice. If your piano is of a higher quality and only needs one tuning, then they can take time to do other small repairs beyond tuning to make your piano feel like brand new.

8

When you adjust a tuning pin, you are changing the tension on the string, which changes the pitch/frequency. Turning the pin clockwise makes the string tighter/sharper and counterclockwise makes the string looser/flatter. We want to adjust each string to a specific pitch/frequency. 

9

Yes! I can make other small repairs such as: repairing broken strings, fixing sticky keys, stopping buzzing noises, piano voicing, and regulating the piano action to make it feel like new.

10

When raising the pitch of a piano, you add tension to the strings. As you continue tuning, the first strings you started with start to settle and go slightly flat again. Sometimes you can compensate for this and tune slightly sharp so the piano settles into the correct pitch once you're done. But if the piano is too flat to start, it's best to tune up to pitch once, let it go flat, then tune it once more.

11

Both methods are valid forms of tuning. One tuner may prefer tuning by ear, while another prefers ETDs only. Many even use a hybrid form of tuning, such as initially tuning with an ETD to get quickly to pitch, then checking aurally.

12

Overtime, hammer felt gets more and more compressed as it hits against the strings while playing the piano. This creates a brighter tone. With voicing, we can insert a needle into the hammer felt to break it apart and soften it. This will provide a more mellow tone.  This can be done to a few keys or across the entire piano.