"Call Me In January"

[Glyptodont]

I called our piano tuner recently to do the tuning on our grand piano.   I'm no great judge of whether any piano needs tuning.  I just read here on the forum that pianos can stand to be tuned about twice a year.

A little bit like the farm  boy who "takes a bath every Saturday night, whether he needs one or not."

The tuner showed up, took the music rack panel (technical name?)  off of the top of the piano, and started playing chords in a systematic way.  Then he went on to play  what seemed like chromatic exercises, going from the bass to the high treble.  After a couple of minutes of this, he turned to me and said, "this piano doesn't need tuning.  Call me in January."  [It had last been tuned by the same man in Sept. of 2004.]

In this "checking out" he did, he played quite a few of the test chords at what he called the "transition points" or something.  [I may have the term wrong.]  It seemed like that's where the stringing changes -- like the octave above high C.  He said, "those chords even sound good."  He also made a comment to the effect that the piano had a nice sound, to his ear anyway.  It is a 5'8" Howard grand, which was Baldwin's second line in the early 1990's.

He has been the regular tuner on this piano for quite a few years so he knows it.  He said the piano has "exceptional tuning stability."

I was pretty happy about the situation.  I told him, "that's good news indeed."  He said, "for you, not for me."  Like everyone, I suppose he could have used the tuning fee.  I offered to pay him, but he said, "no, I'll see you in January."

I was pretty intrigued by the whole affair.  Thought I would share it with the forum.  Any comments, please pass them on.

[hgiles]

Sounds like an honest guy to me.   My dealer suggests that most higher quality pianos will not need tuning more than once a year, unless you must have the piano perfectly in tune in winter and again perfectly in tune in summer.

It is the change/variance in climactic conditions that will have your piano going out of tune more than time itself. 

[donjuan]

Absolutely - your tuner is correct.  Only once a year, during the winter is necessary.  If you tune at any other time of the year, it will quickly go out of tune again. 
who told you pianos should be tuned twice a year??

[Glyptodont]

Reply to DonJuan--

Who told me to tune twice a year?  Well, I can't cite the specific posting, but I thought I saw this on either this forum or another forum.

Actually, it was 9 months since last September's tuning.  But it appears you are right.

When the tuner told me to "call him in January," he added a comment or two which I should have included in my original posting.

He said, "this piano has been located here for quite a while (15 years) and has had regular tunings.  So it has settled down. "   I understand that a newly delivered piano, or one that has changed environment, may not hold a tune so well.  Ditto for a piano that has been left untuned for many years.

Another comment the tuner made was - -  "you are not a BANGER, are you?"  Essentially he was asking what I played.  (Rachmaninoff concertos six hours a day = bad;  light mellow pieces an hour a day = good.)   I mean, with respect to holding tune. 

I asked him if the piano needed to be voiced.  Well, the piano has only had light or intermittent use, and is not that old.  He just laughed.  He said, "not for quite a while, if ever."  Since he said he liked the sound qualities of the piano, need for voicing at this time is probably nil. 

Thanks for taking the time to comment--

[donjuan]

wow, this tuner of yours must be either lazy or very VERY honest!  Most tuners will say, 'yeah, I suppose it could be voiced, that will be 150$..' (whether or not it actually needs voicing..) 
By the way, be careful with voicing - the chemical treatment to brighten the tone is very irreversible.  If you find the piano too bright (Yamahas are like that..), ask about steam treatment.  It is temporary - so you can experience for a few months at least what its like, and if you like the tone less bright, then the tuner can then try the needles to fluff up the felt.  This is a little more permanent, but over the year the tone will gradually brighten up again.

Did you think your piano needed voicing?

[Glyptodont]

DonJuan asked, "Do YOU think your piano needs voicing?"

Actually, I didn't . . . er, I don't.  But I'm pretty much a "babe in the woods" as far as some of this technical aspects go.  To my somewhat amateurish ear, the piano sounds fine. 

In likelihood it does not need voicing.  It has a deep, rich, resonant bass and a clear midrange.  The very highest notes on the keyboard are just a clang to me, since I have damaged hearing and do not pick up very well above around 3500 cycles. [In other words, I can't hear them.]

One key point to note here -- the tuner told me he LIKED the sound quality of the piano.  If he had made "sniping" comments about the tone or sound quality, I would have more reason to worry.

The tuner is not very money hungry at this point -- he is very far on in years and perhaps is moving toward semi-retirement.  Perhaps this is a good thing for me.

Appreciate your help--

[donjuan]

Glad to add some input.  Good luck!  Call him in January!