The Piano Technician’s Guild defines piano voicing as:
“Voicing is the adjustment of a piano’s tone or quality of sound. Tone can be changed without affecting the pitch. For example, turning the bass or treble knobs on your stereo changes the tone but does not alter the notes the musician recorded. A skilled piano technician can voice a piano to change its tonal personality from mellow to bright or robust to delicate. The degree of change possible depends upon the piano’s design and condition.”
In a piano, musical sound is produced when a felt-covered hammer strikes one or more strings that have been tuned to the correct frequency. The quality of sound produced is determined, to a large degree, by the stiffness and density of the felt on that hammer.
Voicing, also called tone regulation, is the process of adjusting the tone of the piano. The goal is to obtain a pleasing, consistent tone quality at every possible dynamic level, from a soft and sweet pianissimo to a full and rich fortissimo. In a well regulated piano this is accomplished by careful and judicious needling of the hammers.
Our professional and very experienced piano tuner can help your piano deliver the full, warm, rich, pleasing sound that it was designed to produce.
Symptoms that your piano may need voicing services include:
- Harsh, metallic or “zinging” sounds when notes are played
- Rapid decay in volume when notes are played and sustained, especially in the 5th and 6th octaves
- Unevenness of tone from one note to the next
- Difficulty achieving a soft, sweet pianissimo when desired
If your piano just isn’t sounding like it used to, our technician will explain exactly what needs to be done and give you an estimate of the cost.
Also, if you have an idea of the tonal quality that you would like your piano to deliver, our technician will work with you to achieve that desired sound. Our piano tuners are highly trained for the job.
Call us at 909-824-2561 if you have any questions about our piano voicing services or if you wish to make an appointment.