There are many factors that influence how well a piano stays in tune but two that are possible to control in your house are temperature and humidity. Keeping an upright against an internal wall or well insulated outer wall away from direct sunlight is recommended. Strating Pianos can give you advice on how to manage this in your home.

Strating pianos uses a tuning method that is modelled on the Yamaha tuning method. The process starts with tuning a single note – A220 to a trusted pitch – either using a tuning fork or digital tuner. From this single reference note all other notes on a piano are tuned. Tuning starts by setting the temperament octave which spans from F3 to F4 using a series of intervals – Major 3^rds, Perfect 4^ths and 5^ths, Major 6^ths and Octaves. From this temperament octave the rest of the piano is tuned.

Tuning a piano is not like tuning a guitar or other stringed instruments. Not only does a piano have about 230 strings, it also has much higher string tensions. In a concert grand, one bass string can have as much as 200kg of string tension – no wonder concert grands are faced away from the audience! All these individual string tensions combined means a piano can have a combined tension of between 20 and 30 tonne! Pianos can go in and out of tune when this tension changes. Keeping a piano at pitch is about having this tension stable.

Strating Pianos recommends having pianos tuned at concert pitch. The international standard is A440. If your piano is well under this pitch, you may need to have the piano pitch raised. There are risks involved in this process and sometimes pianos need to be tuned to a lower pitch. Strating Pianos will talk you through the options before starting work.