A piano should undergo tuning twice a year to achieve optimal sound quality. However, if you are a new piano owner or an aspiring pianist, you may wish to learn how to tune your instrument.
Keep reading to discover the steps involved in tuning a piano.
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Thursday, June 15th
Tools Required for Tuning
You will require essential tools to tune a piano, including a tuning lever (a tuning hammer, wrench, tuning wrench, or tuning key), which tightens or loosen each tuning pin individually. It is an essential tool and should not be substituted with any other tool as it can cause damage to the instrument.
Additionally, an electronic chromatic tuner can help identify which note a key currently plays and how far off it is from the target note. Mutes, which are rubber wedges, are also needed to dampen the sound of specific strings and isolate a single string for tuning purposes.
A screwdriver may be necessary to remove extra hardware like cabinets or doors that protect the strings and soundboard. A light source such as a flashlight or spotlight is recommended to see the piano’s inner workings better, and a dust cloth can come in handy for wiping away dust and grime that may have accumulated over time.
How to Tune a Piano
Here is an essential step-by-step guide for piano tuning:
1. Set up
Before you tune your piano, make the room as quiet and isolated as possible:
- Close the doors and turn off any appliances, especially ones that make humming sounds.
- Remove any cabinet doors to the piano strings (if applicable), gently dust off the strings, and set up a light to see the workspace.
- Inspect the piano strings and pins for any damage. If the piano has significant issues, consult a professional.
2. Prep middle C
Locate the strings that produce the middle C note. While most pianos have three strings for this note (and many others in the middle of the piano), older pianos may only have two strings. After identifying the corresponding strings, use rubber mutes to silence the outer strings (if your piano has three strings) or the left string (if your piano has two).
3. Tune one string of middle C
To tune a piano using an electric tuner, play the middle C key loudly and firmly to identify the corresponding note on the tuner. As pianos commonly go out of tune by becoming flat as the string tension weakens, expect several flat notes.
Locate the pin that the single unmuted string is wound around, and gently adjust it using the tuning lever, turning it counterclockwise to loosen it slightly and clockwise to tighten it up to a true middle C. When working on the pin, try to be gentle and twist it as little as possible to avoid over-loosening or over-tightening.
Remember to play the note as you tune it continuously.
4. Set the pin
Piano tuning professionals utilize a method known as “setting” to complete the tightening of a pin, resulting in the string holding its tune for an extended period.
Although various tuners may use different techniques while setting a pin, one common way is to perform a final tightening motion that raises it slightly above pitch and then conduct a single gentle loosening motion to achieve the precise correct pitch.
5. Tune the rest of the notes in the octave
Once your center middle C string is in tune, repeat the process for each center string in the notes from C4 to C5.
6. Tune the first unison string
After tuning the middle strings of each note from C4 to C5, it’s time to tune the outer strings that play for those same notes, which is called “tuning the unisons.” Begin with the first unison by unmuting the tuned center string and untuned left string of middle C so that you can tune a note to the previously tuned string.
Set aside the electronic piano tuner for this process, as tuning unisons by ear is more reliable. Play the note loudly and firmly while listening for beats, warble, disharmony, or wah-wah-wah soundwaves. Work on the new string’s pin gently until both strings ring in unison and clearly.
7. Tune the rest of the unisons in the octave
After tuning the first middle C unison string, repeat the same process for every other left string in the notes ranging from C4 to C5. Afterward, repeat the same procedure for each right string in the octave. By doing so, you will have an entirely tuned middle octave on your piano, referred to as “setting the temperament.
8. Tune each octave to the temperament
Begin tuning a new octave, such as C5 to C6, and use the temperament notes as a guide by comparing each note with the previously tuned note in your temperament. Tune one string at a time while muting other strings using your mutes until you are ready to tune them (note that the higher treble section of the keyboard has three strings per note, while the bass strings may only have one).
Tune the piano “to itself” during this phase instead of relying on an electronic tuner to achieve the most harmonious sound. Professionals may apply various techniques and theories during this stage, including major thirds, fourths, fifths, the equal temperament model, inharmonicity, and hand stretching octaves to obtain exceptional fine-tuning.
This article is a re-post, with minor modifications, of “How to Tune a Piano: 8 Steps for Piano Tuning,” published on masterclass.com
