musicteach
New member
Hey, lemme ask ya something, how hard is it to tune a baby grand piano? My piano at work seriously needs a tune up and without paying for it out of my own pocket, we don't have the funds for it currently.
Tuning a piano
- Thread starter musicteach
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I would, personally, leave that task to a professional tuner ... there are special tools required for the task, not to mention multiple strings per note (up to three for most notes) that have to be tuned individually. Some tools you will need:
The seasoned piano tuner usually takes 60 to 90 minutes to tune the average piano - sometimes longer, depending on factors such as humidity and temperature variances where the piano is physically located.
If the piano has not been tuned in several years and/or is sorely out of tune, it may take several complete tunings to bring it back up to concert A 440.
There are things in this world that are best left to those who regularly practice learned skills ... and piano tuning (and pipe organ tuning) is best left to the professionals.
- tuning fork (A-440) or
- electronic tuner device
- special tuning hammer to turn the pins - pliers won't do it nor will a crescent wrench, nor a socket on a ratchet
- an ear for tuning ... without the tuner device, one will need a good ear to hear the 4th and 5th intervals after tuning the three A strings to A-440 via the tuning fork
- now the big one ... lots and lots and lots of time ... patience is required like you would not believe, especially for the beginner.
The seasoned piano tuner usually takes 60 to 90 minutes to tune the average piano - sometimes longer, depending on factors such as humidity and temperature variances where the piano is physically located.
If the piano has not been tuned in several years and/or is sorely out of tune, it may take several complete tunings to bring it back up to concert A 440.
There are things in this world that are best left to those who regularly practice learned skills ... and piano tuning (and pipe organ tuning) is best left to the professionals.
musicteach
New member
Sadly, I have to agree with you. It's not getting bad yet, but it's getting there. G abouve middle C makes me cringe, quite literally. We don't really use it anymore, we use the electronic keyboard mainly because the music department ran out of funds to keep it regularly tuned ages ago. It's a shame though, it still has a really good quality of sound. Aside from the tuning hammer, I've got the tuner, and ear. The rest of the school owned instruments I do myself (that need it of course). I'm not really a percussionists, so the hardest part for me was tuning the percussion instruments. You have no idea how many drum heads I replaced out of my own pocket that year. I'd like to be able to tune it up myself, but that would obviously require more tools than I have 
Aha well I suppose I shall need to find funds for it somewhere. May have to wait for another year, though. After the trip over Spring Break anyways.
Aha well I suppose I shall need to find funds for it somewhere. May have to wait for another year, though. After the trip over Spring Break anyways.
I've not had my piano tuned in years... I don't practise at home too often because I don't want to upset the neighbours (although they've been nothing but nice to me and never actually complained about the noise). Still, when I have to play at home, I will often use a MIDI keyboard instead. It is a full range weighted keyboard, but of course - not even close to the real thing.
When I do happen to play my piano though... The E an octave above middle C is so absoulutely out of tune that it hurts. I've been meaning to do something about it, but without having to call a tuner. I spoke to a friend recently and he said he'd let me use his tuning kit. So, next week we'll see...
Even though Lars makes a good point, I'm willing to take a risk and have a go at this one note (key?). If you're on a really tight budget, and are decided to do it, you can find some pointers on the Internet. Here's what I came up with after a few minutes of googling. I'm sure you'll find more if you look hard enough. Let us know how it goes (if you go through with it).
When I do happen to play my piano though... The E an octave above middle C is so absoulutely out of tune that it hurts. I've been meaning to do something about it, but without having to call a tuner. I spoke to a friend recently and he said he'd let me use his tuning kit. So, next week we'll see...
Even though Lars makes a good point, I'm willing to take a risk and have a go at this one note (key?). If you're on a really tight budget, and are decided to do it, you can find some pointers on the Internet. Here's what I came up with after a few minutes of googling. I'm sure you'll find more if you look hard enough. Let us know how it goes (if you go through with it).
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musicteach
New member
You know Mat, if it belonged to me, and wasn't the school's instrument, I would feel a little braver about attempting to tune it myself. So I think I will either pull funds out of somewhere (magic of being the band director is working on a tight budget) or it'll simply have to go into the storage room for a bit.
John Watt
Member
This reminds me of the sixties when there were two companies in Canada that made electric pianos,
smaller scale versions of uprights with two strings per note, and a big pickup running along the bottom.
It was those or a Fender Rhodes, and rock bands had to tune them up every time you moved them.
smaller scale versions of uprights with two strings per note, and a big pickup running along the bottom.
It was those or a Fender Rhodes, and rock bands had to tune them up every time you moved them.
It's a real shame when an instrument goes into a storage room because there aren't enough funds to maintain it...
I finally borrowed a tuning kit from my friend a couple days ago. After having browsed through tens of threads about tuning I wasn't sure if should touch anything at all... But eventually I did. I was very careful and it took me a few minutes to get it right, but I managed to tune that "E". A small victory on my part. 87 seven keys to go
I finally borrowed a tuning kit from my friend a couple days ago. After having browsed through tens of threads about tuning I wasn't sure if should touch anything at all... But eventually I did. I was very careful and it took me a few minutes to get it right, but I managed to tune that "E". A small victory on my part. 87 seven keys to go
musicteach
New member
It's a real shame when an instrument goes into a storage room because there aren't enough funds to maintain it...
I finally borrowed a tuning kit from my friend a couple days ago. After having browsed through tens of threads about tuning I wasn't sure if should touch anything at all... But eventually I did. I was very careful and it took me a few minutes to get it right, but I managed to tune that "E". A small victory on my part. 87 seven keys to go
With the trip in the Spring, the music dept is a little strapped for cash right now. Pretty much everything is going for the trip, maintaining the department, and paying the band staff (aside from me and my assistant band director) what little commission we can afford to pay them. Luckily though, we have an amazing Band Parents Association who make magic happen and can do so much with so little. Little known secrete: for a successful band program (especially at the high school level) an active and involved BPA is an unmeasurable tool for success. As a band director, it is incredibly hard for the parents to hate you/not be involved. Why? Because that rubs off on the students. Trust me...first hand experience with that. Anyways the point is that somehow no idea how, but somehow, they've come up with some extra funding presumably from one of our running fundraisers to be used for instrument repairs. Of course I'm going to repair the ones that we use on a regular basis first, but if I have enough left over (and maybe a bit from my own pocket) I can get the grand tuned.
Quick story: when I first got hired here, I had just moved back to the US with my new wife (had just been married almost a year) and had obviously started to look for work. It was two weeks before the 4th of July, and my predecessor had just passed away two weeks before hand. I got a call from the principal because I had just sent them my resume to get my name in their brains. So a week later we officially interviewed, and a few days later I was hired as the band director. He thought it would be a good idea for me to go to the 4th of July parade and meet the band. Well I was meet with stiff resistance at the very least. For that entire first year, the parents all hated me. With a passion. Grown men and women. The *only* two groups that would give me a chance within the band were the freshmen and the seniors at the time. I think it's pretty obvious why the freshman gave me a chance--they were freshmen and new to the band. I was later told by the Senior Drum Majour before she graduated that the Seniors even though it was their program, and they loved my predecessor, but they saw that I cared about them. It was that group of seniors that turned the BPA in my favour. But that was at the end of the year. Before hand...not only did I tune all of the instruments by myself, repaired what needed to be repaired out of my own pocket, but got the percussion new heads and sticks again from my own pocket.
John Watt
Member
It's nice to read about life on the scholastic side, thank you for sharing.
Too bad you don't feature Caribbean steel drums.
Hammering them out to tune them would have helped with your frustrations.
And don't be shy. If the drum major and flag bearers marched up and trampled you into to the turf,
like this movie I saw last night, put up some pics.
Too bad you don't feature Caribbean steel drums.
Hammering them out to tune them would have helped with your frustrations.
And don't be shy. If the drum major and flag bearers marched up and trampled you into to the turf,
like this movie I saw last night, put up some pics.
markyoutube
New member
If you want to learn piano then you have to check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4LnlMc0JZU I hope its useful for u
musicteach
New member
Oh dear...not sure I needed to know that! But thanks for sharing, I think?
Who was that directed at, if I may?
JHC
Chief assistant to the assistant chief
Even old dogs still enjoy a Bone
musicteach
New member
Dorsetmike
Member
musicteach
New member
Or maybe a baribone?