Should I tune my piano?

[chrism05]

Hello everyone! I have been playing for 9 years, and I have always gotten my piano tuned by an experienced tuner. Since it would save a lot of money, how feasible it would be to learn how to tune a piano myself with a tuning kit? Is there any risk that I could damage my pianos? I have an old 1920s upright and a 1960s grand. Please let me know what you all think!

[lelle]

I was curious about this too since I have been thinking about tuning my own grand. Apparently it's pretty difficult and requires a lot of training to do well, you can clearly break stuff if you are careless: https://findyourmelody.com/can-i-tune-my-own-piano/

Hope that helps!

[cassidybole]

Attempting to tune a piano without proper training can pose a risk of damaging the instrument, especially for valuable and older pianos like your 1920s upright and 1960s grand. The delicate internal components of the piano can be easily damaged if not handled correctly. Additionally, improper tuning can result in the piano sounding out of tune or may cause further issues that require costly repairs.

To ensure the best possible outcome and to protect the integrity of your pianos, it is advisable to leave the tuning to a qualified piano tuner who can provide the necessary expertise and care for your instruments.

[timothy42b]

It's not that hard to get a given string tuned to the right pitch.  Setting that pin so it stays at that pitch takes as much skill as playing the piano very well.  Tuners earn their fees. 

There are also thousands of parts that need adjustment or repair - but not all tuners do that anyway so it's not as much of a factor.

Tuning as an exercise in mastering a new skill is always worth it.  But tuning to save money is not viable.  IMO of course.