Frequently Asked Questions
How often do I need to have my piano tuned?
Manufacturers recommend that you have your piano tuned at least once every 6 months. I will tell you that, once your ear begins to bother you, it’s time to schedule a tuning. I only say this because everybody has different life priorities, and sometimes a piano isn’t going to be at the top of the list. I understand that. However, I will caution that once you let a piano go past 24 months without a tuning, it’s likely that the tuning will slip beyond what can be regained within one tuning session.
Is my brand of piano any good?
Does your piano do what you want it to? Does it sound the way you’d like, play the way you’d like? If it does, then I’d say it’s good. There have been, at one point, over 10,000 piano manufacturers in existence. It would be difficult to give an opinion on each one (although if you wanted to get a more concrete answer, pianobuyer.com and its companion, The Piano Book by Larry Fine, are excellent resources).
I need to get rid of my old piano. will you take it?
As of now, I do not take pianos. I can assist in disposing of them for a fee, but this does involve the destruction of the piano. If the instrument is still in good working order, I would highly suggest either finding someone local who may want it or hiring a moving company to help you take it away.
Is my piano worth anything?
This question can be tricky, mostly because the piano market can vary greatly depending on your location. Because this piano technician is based in Central Illinois between Bloomington, Springfield, and Peoria, the used market could be described as saturated. New pianos are still coming in steadily from Asia and occasionally from New York (Steinway & Sons), Massachusetts (Mason & Hamlin), and Europe, although not as often. The US was flooded with mediocre pianos from the 1950’s through the 1980’s, up until Japan and Korea began to show that they could produce pianos of greater quality for less. This resulted in the closing of many US piano factories, due to a lack of sales and quality being produced.
All of this is to say, unless there is a recognizable name on the fallboard, it’s unlikely that your piano is worth much beyond the musical capacity that it can bring you (which is certainly not nothing).
Should I put my pet dog/cat/bird/rock away before you arrive?
No, please. I would love to meet them. Unless they have a problem with me, I have no problem with them.
How should I deal with the environment my piano is in?
Our temperate climate loves to swing from humid to dry and back again all too often, especially in spring and autumn. It’s during these swings that you’ll notice your piano begin to fall out of tune. When the relative humidity drops in the air, the wood of the piano dries up as well, which causes the strings to lose a bit of tension. This causes the pitch to fall, resulting in the piano being out of tune. The reverse occurs when the relative humidity in the air goes up. So what are we to do?
The best thing is to stabilize the humidity as best you can in the room that the piano is in. For the dry seasons, place a humidifier in the room. In the humid seasons, a dehumidifier. Ideally, you want the relative humidity to be at around 45%. If you can keep it from dropping below 30%, that will be enough to keep your piano healthy. Try not to let it get above 60%. But most of all, try to minimize the swings. The more the humidity changes (and the more drastic those changes are), the more likely the wood will crack and split.
There is also the option of installing a Dampp Chaser system, which is both a humidifier and dehumidifier designed specifically to be mounted inside of a piano. This can help maximize the longevity of the tunings that you receive, as well as the life of the piano. If you’d like to learn more about these systems, you can contact me and ask.
Do you offer group discounts?
Yes! For 2 or more pianos, I will reduce my rate by $10 to $115 per piano. This extends to scheduling multiple people in the same city or general area in the same day.