Why My Piano Won't Hold A Tune?

Piano Not Holding A Tune?

"Why won't my piano hold a tune?" is a very common question. Let's explore a few answers concerning workmanship, age, strings, tuning pins, pinblock, weather, and skill of piano technician.

Tuning Pins and Pinblock

Steinway Pinblock

As pianos age, the tuning pins can bend, they expand and contract at a different rate than the pinblock and therefore can begin to lift up out of the pinblock. Pinblocks can lose the friction which holds the tuning pin in place. If you have a grand piano, tuning pins and pinblocks can be treated to increase friction. Upright pianos need to be tipped over on their back to be treated. If this does not work tuning pins can be replaced with ones which have a larger diameter. One other solution is to control the temperature and humidity with a Piano Life Saver System. However, if the pinblock is cracked, an expensive restoration of the pinblock is needed before your piano will hold a tune.

Weather and Humidity

Temperature and humidity is a large factor affecting the health of a piano. Since woods, steel, screws, glues, plastics, sound boards, frames, pinblocks, felt, leather, piano action, hammers, and tuning pins all expand and contract at different rates, your piano literally is ripping itself apart with temperature and humidity changes.  High humidity causes steel to rust. If you are in a high humidity area, you will need a dehumidifier inside your piano so the steel parts do not rust. There are products on the market that will keep your temperature and humidity stable. One such product is Piano Life Saver. They have never found a location who couldn't benefit from their product. To protect your investment and enjoy consistent pitch and tone between tunings...consider installing one of their products into your piano.

Age and Quality of Strings

Another factor is the age and quality of your strings. Not all strings are created equal. We prefer to use custom Steinway quality string when repairing or restoring a piano. Even with this quality of string, we have seen this new string 100% (or a full note) out of tune after 30 days. Can you imagine having a new piano with 240 new strings? Some companies like Steinway, tune their pianos every month for a year before releasing it off their manufacturing floor for sale. However, some manufacturers do not do this to their pianos and will need at least 4 tunings over a year to two years before a piano will hold its tune. If you are purchasing an acoustic piano, allow a piano servicing budget to keep your piano in top shape. 

Piano Technician 

Piano Technicians are all different. Unfortunately, some are so pressed for time, they compromise on the quality of their work. For example, a piano will fall out of tune faster if it is tuned flat to sharp and not sharp to flat. Tuning a piano goes faster tuning flat to sharp...the "in tune" spot is easier to find flat to sharp. However, the tension between the bridge and tuning pin needs to be in balance with the rest of the string or the string will quickly go out of tune. Find a quality piano technician you like and keep them.

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Why Does My Piano Need a Pitch Raise?

Pitch Raising (or Lowering)

It's a very high probability if your piano has suffered some neglect and hasn't been tuned in a while, your piano will need a pitch raise before fine tuning can begin. A piano that is 5-10% or greater out

of tune is a little like a water bed...when you push down on one corner, the corner on the other side pops up. With around 15 tons of pressure internally, all the piano strings need to be very close to in tune before final tuning can begin because the intense pressure will move around while tightening or loosening strings. Piano tuning can actually pull the other piano strings out of tune if a pitch raise is not performed, which leads to tuning the piano over and over and over again until the whole piano is close enough to being in tune start final tuning. A pitch raise will save time by bringing this pressure into balance so final tuning can begin. According to Inventronics, Inc:

"...Pulling up adjacent strings affects the pitch of the strings that have already tuned. The settling process on a string is not complete until another octave or so has been tuned. Aural unison tuners should be aware that pulling in two outside strings to the tuned center string will affect the pitch of the center string. The amount is roughly equal to one-fifth of the net pitch change. As a result, when there is more than a few cents pitch change involved, tuning unisons aurally can actually leave them out of tune in the end! To avoid getting into this situation, give the piano a quick pitch raising (or lowering) before trying to do a fine tuning. If the piano is more than five to ten cents flat, it will actually save time to do a quick pitch raise before attempting to fine-tune the piano."

This quote describes how we tune most of the piano. We tune one string to our electronic tuner then tune the other two strings or other string by ear. If the piano is too far out of tune, the resulting string pitch will be out of tune with respect to the rest of the piano.

New pianos also need a pitch raise. New pianos need 4 piano tunings over a one to

two year period of time once they leave the factory before they will hold a tune. One exception to this statement is Steinway pianos. Steinway will tune their pianos every month over a year period of time before selling their pianos because they understand what is needed for all of the parts of a new piano to settle. Pianos need time for the wood, harp, screws, tuning pins, pin block, strings, and bridge to settle before the piano will hold a tune. Recently, I changed out a broken string for a new string. Only 30 days later, it was 100% (or a full note value) out of tune. Imagine having a new piano with all new strings. A new piano will need pitch raises until it will hold a tune.

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How Often Should I Tune My Piano?

How often should I tune my piano is a common question at Piano Tuning & Repair | Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Blackfoot. Some concert halls have their piano tuned once a week. I understand from a reliable source Vladamir Horowitz had his piano tuned once a month (I like mine tuned once a month).

For the most part, it depends on how sensitive you are to your piano being almost in tune. As a minimum, you should tune your piano at least once a year. Tuning your piano twice a year is better. If you live where you experience 4 seasons, once each season would be more ideal since weather, humidity, temperature differences plays a part in a piano holding a tune. To keep your piano at an ideal temperature and humidity, we recommend installing the piano life saver from Dampp-Chaser. If your piano is brand new, it is recommended your piano be tuned 4 times the first year. Make sure to have a trained piano technician tune and maintain your piano to protect your investment and enjoyment of your piano.

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