Piano tuning, can it be done by an amateur?

sgosden · June 2016

So the girlfriends mum wants rid of their piano, which of course means giving up some space in my mancave/music room to accommodate it.

Problem is its tuning is gone, and now each note is vaguely flat, and I'm sure the moving process will put it even further out.

so the question (s) is (are): How easy is it to tune a Piano?

I can do guitar and bass by ear, but that's just 4 or 6 strings.

any notable apps that could help?

How much does the change of tension on each note affect the rest ect?

am I best to just fork out to get a professional job done?

know any piano tuners in the south Oxfordshire are?

Cheers people

BahHumbug · June 2016

Well I ain't no expert but my understanding is......

1. Get an appropriate sized widget for your tuning pegs.

2. Start at a handy reference note, eg middle C. Use a piece of cloth to damp two of the middle C tricord strings and tune the remaining string.

3. Tune all the remaining C octaves, a single string on each.

4. All the other notes are done by going through the cycle of 5ths. Eg having established Cs, you are looking to tune all the Gs a relative 5th from the Cs. But it has to be a slightly flattened 5th in order to achieve even temperament across the full range of the instrument. I believe tuners do this by ear by listening for beating at a particular frequency. Basically getting even temperament is where most of the skill lies.

5. Having done a single string of all notes you then tune up the bicords and tricords.

Something like that. Personally I'd get a man in.

BahHumbug · June 2016

(Ducks and runs for cover)

stickyfiddle · June 2016

BahHumbug said:

Well I ain't no expert but my understanding is......
1. Get an appropriate sized widget for your tuning pegs.
2. Start at a handy reference note, eg middle C. Use a piece of cloth to damp two of the middle C tricord strings and tune the remaining string.
3. Tune all the remaining C octaves, a single string on each.
4. All the other notes are done by going through the cycle of 5ths. Eg having established Cs, you are looking to tune all the Gs a relative 5th from the Cs. But it has to be a slightly flattened 5th in order to achieve even temperament across the full range of the instrument. I believe tuners do this by ear by listening for beating at a particular frequency. Basically getting even temperament is where most of the skill lies.
5. Having done a single string of all notes you then tune up the bicords and tricords.

Something like that. Personally I'd get a man in.

All of that, especially the bit about getting a man in!

octatonic · June 2016

Forget trying to do it yourself.

You'll only make it worse.

sgosden · June 2016

((Effort + time) / cost ) x likelyhood of me fluffing it up = get a man in

I'm going to be really disappointed if the bloke isn't a jazzy old guy with sunglasses and a black hat on

sgosden · June 2016

what sort of cost should I be expecting?

John_A · June 2016

£80-£100 And I would also say get a man in

hobbio · June 2016

Get a man in!

It's possible to tweak the odd string yourself, but if the whole thing needs tuning then you really need a pro.

EricTheWeary · June 2016

When I was a kid we used to have our piano tuned regularly by a blind chap. No one ever really played the bloody thing, I think it was more my mother's idea of a charitable act to keep him in employment. Must be some still out there.

hobbio · June 2016

There are loads around, but some are deffo better than others. I know a really good one but I don't know if he'll travel to Oxfordshire.

John_A · June 2016

@erictheweary - Where were you based as a child? I was in the North East and the school used a blind piano tuner

BahHumbug · June 2016

£80 to £100 seems a bit steep... I was quoted £40 recently.

BahHumbug · June 2016

There's a guy based in Faringdon called David Martin. I haven't used his services but he's recommended by friends. davemartinpiano@hotmail.co.uk. Apparently the best way to contact him is by text message on 07773 148386.

gusman2x · June 2016

You also need to be careful that the strings can take the extra tension if it's not been tuned for a long time. The one in our rehearsal room is a semi tone out as the tuner said that there was too great a risk to tune it up to concert pitch.

That could be bullshit though, maybe the guy was just shit.

John_A · June 2016

A semitone out may need a couple of visits it's a lot to go in one session without risking undue stress, but the piano was designed to be tuned to concert pitch so should be OK structurally, cast iron is pretty strong stuff

John_A · June 2016

BahHumbug said:

£80 to £100 seems a bit steep... I was quoted £40 recently.

Maybe, was just going off what a mate of mine used to pay, but that was for a Grand piano, an upright may be cheaper

EricTheWeary · June 2016

John_A;1100753" said:
@erictheweary - Where were you based as a child? I was in the North East and the school used a blind piano tuner

West Midlands. I think training up blind people to tune pianos was pretty common practice once upon a time.

not_the_dj · June 2016

EricTheWeary said:

John_A;1100753" said:
@erictheweary - Where were you based as a child? I was in the North East and the school used a blind piano tuner
West Midlands. I think training up blind people to tune pianos was pretty common practice once upon a time.

We had a blind guy come out to do ours when we lived in Stockport, then again when we'd moved to the midlands....and at my late Grandads in Basingstoke.

viz · June 2016

Get a man or woman in. If you do it yourself, remember the number of beats you need between tempered 5ths changes depending on how high up the octave you go

Sassafras · June 2016

sgosden said:

((Effort + time) / cost ) x likelyhood of me fluffing it up = get a man in

I'm going to be really disappointed if the bloke isn't a jazzy old guy with sunglasses and a black hat on

If you're expecting Ray Charles, forget it.

sgosden · June 2016

Sassafras said:

sgosden said:

((Effort + time) / cost ) x likelyhood of me fluffing it up = get a man in

I'm going to be really disappointed if the bloke isn't a jazzy old guy with sunglasses and a black hat on

If you're expecting Ray Charles, forget it.

exactly who I was hoping for*, then me and all the street can go outside and twist again, like we did last summer!

*I am very aware of the impossibility of this,

PolarityMan · June 2016

If I was tuning a piano I'd drop it down to Ab so it djents more.

Phil_aka_Pip · June 2016

sgosden said:

what sort of cost should I be expecting?

I last paid my bloke £45

Doing it yourself - if you can stand the hassle of undoing all your errors ... what @BahHumbug said about the cycle of 5ths plus the "5th"s are equally tempered so have to be slightly flat - listen for a beat frequency of about 4Hz and then you'll be about right.

Or you could use a good quality electronic tuner like the Yamaha job. My piano tuner chap doesn't like electronic tuners but I got him to humour me and allow it to be sat on the piano while he tuned it. He was quite impressed, as the tuner agreed with him! I don't think all electronic tuners are good enough to do that with though.

hobbio · June 2016

sgosden said:

Sassafras said:

sgosden said:

((Effort + time) / cost ) x likelyhood of me fluffing it up = get a man in

I'm going to be really disappointed if the bloke isn't a jazzy old guy with sunglasses and a black hat on

If you're expecting Ray Charles, forget it.

exactly who I was hoping for*, then me and all the street can go outside and twist again, like we did last summer!

*I am very aware of the impossibility of this,

You sure you weren't hoping for Chubby Checker?

axisus · June 2016

I remember as a kid my mum would get piano tuners in for her baby grand. They were often blind, apparently they were utilising their extra hearing ability. My mum always liked tô hear them sit and play some music as a test. The last one my mum had in just plugged a little box in and did it via that, so not a job requiring talent any more!

EricTheWeary · June 2016

Just googling blind piano tuners. They have an Association so I guess there are a few and it's on a list of what are described as 'blind trades' - jobs that blind people have been encouraged to do rather than more mainstream occupations, so there is an element of stigma to it as well as old fashioned, low grade work.

Dominic · June 2016

I would always recommend a blind piano tuner ( we used to have one )

The deaf ones aren't as good !

english_bob · June 2016

sgosden said:

Sassafras said:

sgosden said:

((Effort + time) / cost ) x likelyhood of me fluffing it up = get a man in

I'm going to be really disappointed if the bloke isn't a jazzy old guy with sunglasses and a black hat on

If you're expecting Ray Charles, forget it.

exactly who I was hoping for

I was thinking of this guy:

Highly recommended for lending "proper actor gravitas" to ridonkulous chop-socky-meets-East-End-Gangster beat 'em up films.

ArchtopDave · June 2016

I usually pay £60 for tuning.

Some of the pegs were getting worn, so I "bit the bullet' a couple of years ago, and got the piano (Baby Grand) restrung and reconditioned. Cost a good wad. If you've ever paid for something like this, you'll never worry about the cost of a packet of guitar strings ever again.

WezV · June 2016

My Granddad's brother was a blind piano tuner, it was his only career option at Blind school. My Granddad used to drive him around and do all the repairs in his van. And that is why i grew up loving the smell of hide glue

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Piano tuning, can it be done by an amateur?

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