Tuning a piano involves the precise adjustment of approximately 230 tuning pins. It is a complicated process that requires concentration, highly developed skills, and a solid technique.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY PIANO BE TUNED?
Having your piano tuned on a regular basis is the most fundamental aspect of maintaining your piano. Changes in temperature and humidity, normal use, and the laws of physics all work together to cause a piano to go out of tune.
For best results, a piano that receives light to moderate use should be tuned every six months. Pianos that receive heavy use or that are subjected to extreme environmental conditions may need to be tuned more frequently than this.
Absolute minimum maintenance, even for a piano that rarely gets played, is once a year.
PROFESSIONAL LEVEL PIANO TUNING
At Domeny’s Piano Service, we offer only the highest level of service to our clients. Our piano tuning, which we call a Premium Tuning, is a professional grade piano tuning that conforms to the highest possible standards.
PIANO TUNING COST
Our Premium Piano Tuning Package costs $240. In addition to tuning your piano, we also check and adjust pedals, tighten accessible pinblock bolts (and plate perimeter bolts in grands), tighten the bench leg bolts, clean the keys, and screen the piano for additional service needs. Please be aware that pitch adjustments, when needed, will incur an additional charge (see below).
PITCH ADJUSTMENTS
If your piano has not been serviced regularly, or if it has been exposed to extreme conditions, it will most likely need an additional service called a pitch adjustment which will add to the cost of the tuning. A pitch adjustment is a rapid, rough tuning that restores the pitch of the piano to the international standard of A = 440 hz, that is, the note A above Middle C is tuned to a frequency of 440 cycles per second. This rough tuning is then immediately followed up with a premium tuning.
When a piano is not on pitch, it cannot be fine tuned until a pitch adjustment has been performed.
Our standard pitch adjustment charge is $115.
EXTREME PITCH ADJUSTMENTS
Occasionally we encounter a piano that, due to neglect or exposure to extreme environmental conditions, is a quarter of a note or more off pitch. In these extreme situations, more time is required in order to bring the piano back to standard pitch. Consequently, in these situations, the pitch adjustment charge rises incrementally as the severity of the pitch change increases.
If our technician determines that your piano needs an Extreme Pitch Adjustment, he will alert you to this early in the service call, and will give you a total estimated tuning cost, including the cost of the Extreme Pitch Adjustment.
Also, please be aware that when a piano undergoes the extreme changes resulting from an Extreme Pitch Adjustment, it will need to be tuned again in one month. Because the needed changes will be much smaller in this follow-up tuning, the resulting tuning will be both more precise and more stable than the first tuning.
Call us at 909-824-2561 if you have any questions or if you wish to make an appointment for our piano services.