Planning to have a professional piano tuner come and take a look at your piano? There are a few things you should do to prepare for the visit, to make the visit as quick and easy as possible, In this blog post, we’re going to break down the most important things you should make you’ve done before the day of the visit. Read on to find out how you can best prepare for an upcoming piano tune.
1. Make sure the area will be quiet
It might seem obvious, but this is one of the more common issues we run into. By nature, tuning an instrument requires silence, as we need to make changes by ear. Any ambient noise from nearby will make the process much more difficult and time-consuming.
This means it may be ideal to book a tuning for a weekday rather than a weekend, so the kids won’t be home. You could also plan for your children to be away from home for the duration of the tuning, to help eliminate noise. It’s also helpful if you can ensure that there won’t be any nearby noise from radios, TVs, etc.
Limiting noise also means limiting any other jobs that are going on in the home. Nearby lawn mowing, vacuuming, or renovation noise can make tuning impossible. We always recommend that you book a tuning for a day where no other contractors or cleaners will be visiting, if possible
2. Make sure we will have enough time
Tuning usually takes up to an hour and a half. It’s important to plan your day using this measure of time as a guideline—if you need to suddenly leave and lock up the house, we may have no choice but to stop and try tuning again another day. Ultimately, the tuning process cannot be made any faster, so you must know you have a good window of time to complete the tuning
3. Make sure the piano is clear of objects
Before we arrive, there shouldn’t be anything on top of the piano at all, whether it is upright or grand, so that we can easily open it, as we need access to the inside of the piano. Pictured here to the left you can see an example of a piano that needs to be cleared before we can start work. In this case, everything should be removed, even sheet music.
We also need easy access to all the keys, so there shouldn’t be anything in front of the piano except for the piano stool. If there is anything else next to the stool it can make tuning difficult as we have to move up and down along the keyboard to reach the tuning pins.
We always ask our clients to remove these objects, not just to save time, but also to prevent any damage or other issues which may occur when the objects are handled.
Note that clearing the piano of objects includes the general area around the piano too. In some cases, we may need to remove parts from the piano and lay them on the ground, so having extra floor space helps immensely. It can also pay to sweep or vacuum the area before the tuning visit too, especially if you own a grand piano.
4. Make sure the area is well lit
Besides silence, tuning a piano requires adequate light. Being able to see into the piano is a must, so the piano needs to be in a room with enough light. This can be a trickier issue than it might seem, as many people prefer to keep the piano away from windows, to mitigate possible sun damage. In most cases, natural light of any level will be enough, but if you have a studio with no windows, please ensure that the lights can be turned up enough to illuminate the piano interior.
Ready to play again?
Here at Piano Corner, we can bring your piano to life again, whether you need basic tuning of a full piano restoration. To find out how we can help you get your piano back in top condition and ready to play, talk to us today.
