Falcetti Pianos

Piano Tuning Services

Keeping your piano tuned is the most important…and the most misunderstood piano maintenance issue that you will face. Having your piano tuned on a regular schedule by a good piano tuner will protect your investment, as well as provide you with a well-voiced and well-tuned instrument for your greater enjoyment. Many piano tuners will notify you on a regular schedule (like your dentist) when your piano is due for another tuning.

• How often should I have my piano tuned?
It is wise to have your piano tuned twice a year: once before the holidays, around Thanksgiving; and then again in June or July, as the weather warms. Ideally, a piano tuned four times a year, according to the seasons, sounds at its best. But twice a year is acceptable; once a year is a must.

• Why do pianos go out of tune?
Larry Fine, author of The Piano Book: Buying & Owning a New or Used Piano, gives the best answer to this question: “By far, the most important factor causing pianos to go out of tune is the change in humidity from season to season that occurs in most temperate climates, affecting all pianos, good and bad, new and old, played and unplayed. The soundboard, glued down around its perimeter and bellied like a diaphragm in the center, swells up with moisture in the humid season and pushes up on the strings via the bridges on which the strings rest. This causes the strings to be stretched at a higher tension, raising their pitch. In the dry season, the opposite happens. The soundboard releases its moisture to the air and subsides, releasing the pressure on the strings, which then fall in pitch. Unfortunately, the strings don’t rise and fall in pitch by exactly the same amount at the same time. The process is more random than that, with the result that the strings no longer sound in harmony with one another and need tuning.” (Fine, Larry. The Piano Book: Buying & Owning A New Or Used Piano. Boston: Brookside Press, 4th ed., 2002)

As a practical tuning hint, notice how your piano sounds at different hours of the day. How can it sound so badly out of tune and squirrelly in the morning, and so beautifully in tune in the afternoon? Keep a written or mental “log,” and you’ll notice that your piano comes into “tune” as your room warms to its average temperature. For the best tuning job, set your thermostat and have your room at its average temperature in time for your piano technician to begin tuning ― never on a cold morning before the furnace has done its job, or on an unusually-hot afternoon if you don’t have air conditioning.

• Is it true that pianos should never be placed on an outside wall?
In historic homes with single wall construction and drafty, single-pane, windows, keeping the piano away from an outside wall was good advice. Seventy-five years ago “Music Parlors” had massive wooden sliding doors that were kept closed because there was no central heat ― just a fireplace in each room. Today’s homes are built with central heating/air conditioning, adequate insulation, and double-pane-insulated windows that are rated to prevent Ultra Violet rays from bleaching furniture and ruining drapes. The outside wall factor is no longer important in most cases. However, never place your piano near a fireplace, insert, or stove ― or position it over or near a heat register.

• Should I place a humidity control device on my piano?
For the best answer on this question, we’ve asked Artie Doran, one of New England’s most respected piano technicians to answer this question: What’s the greatest gift you can give to your piano? Without a doubt, it is a Piano Life Saver System manufactured by Dampp-Chaser. This System can be installed in your piano by a Certified piano technician, and it works silently 24 hours a day, to provide a constant 42% relative humidity required to properly maintain your complex and precious instrument.”

New England’s varied seasons are an environmental challenge to pianos. It is common for winter home humidity to drop to 20% or less and summertime rise to 80% or more! The wood in your piano will shrink and swell in dimension, causing the piano to go out of tune. This fluctuation also creates instability in touch and tone, and in many cases, the soundboard can crack and tuning pins lose their grip, keys to stick, strings to rust. Piano Life Saver System to the rescue! As a Certified Installer and Field Expert, I have provided nearly 500 systems to my client’s pianos. It is a terrific product. It is UL listed, carries a 5 year warranty, is easy to use, and has a proven track record over many decades. Take the stress out of your piano’s life! It will thank you with years of beautiful music and lower maintenance costs.

You can reach Artie Doran at: 508.404.8724 or by email at: artiedoran@gmail.com

There are many fine piano technicians in the Boston area.
Please call us during showroom hours at 508.655.1117

If you need your piano tuned you can contact either:

Artie Doran
artiedoran@gmail.com • Phone: 508.404.8724

Michael Wilson
michael@modernpianoboston.com • Phone: 617.817.3620

Or please call us during showroom hours at: 508.655.1117
Monday-Friday 11am-6pm
Saturday, 10am-5pm & Sunday, Noon-5pm
We’ll respond within 24 hours or sooner.