Tuning a Piano - Introduction
or ... When is a piano "in tune"?
Really excellent piano tuning is not a subjective thing.
It is not done by someone with a "good ear" who decides "that sounds pretty good!"
Fine piano tuning is a combination of technical and artistic skill - not unlike being a good musician. And it takes about as long to become a higly skilled tuner as it does to become a highly skilled musician. It takes both knowledge and lots of practice. There are no shortcuts.
There are bad tunings, good tunings, and excellent tunings!
Which do you want?
Often the only question people ask me about a piano is "How often should it be tuned?" The answer is not as simple as you might think. Click here for more info.
People are often unclear about what it means for a piano to be "in tune". There are three objective criteria for determining if a piano is "in tune":
- A = 440 cycle per second
- The unisons are in tune with each other
- The intervals are in tune with each other
Follow the links to find out more.