Piano Tuning

Piano tuning procedureAUGUST 10,

2011 BY JUAN 7

COMMENTS

Learn to tune a

piano aurally,

what follows is the

standard

protocole. First of

all, you will

need some basic

tools, these you

can buy at any

online tool

suppliers on the

internet. You

could buy

everything as a

piano tuning kit or

you can buy them

individually.

What ever way you

choose, make sur

e you buy

the right tools. If

possible try to buy

good quality piano

tuning equipment,

that way you will

have better overage

results and your

tuning will be easier

and more accurate.

Piano tuning tools 

A set of basic piano

tools is not too

expensive, certainly

no more than a

standard

professional

tuning.The first

thing you obviously

need to learn to

tune pianos,  is a

piano in a

reasonable good

state. Bear in mind

that some very old

ones specially if

they still have

wooden frames are

simply not tunable,

so better disregard

those ones as they

will make the tuning

very difficult or

practically

impossible. The

piano can be old

but must hold the

tune, that means it

must be in a good

enough condition to

stand a standard A-

440 tune and hold it

for some time. Also

better to choose a

good size one. Big

uprights and grands

are easier to tune

than spinets and

small uprights.

The tuning

lever or

hammer

A whole chapter

could be writing

about the tuning

hammer, this is

the most

important piano

tuning tool. I

think you could

consider to buy

a good one, no

doubt it’s a good

investment. The

extended ones

with changeable

heads and tips

are the best

ones. A good

tuning lever is

far better than

an ordinary one,

makes the job

easier, more

precise and

professional.

The tuning fork

and two rubber

mutes

An ordinary

tuning fork A-

440. You can

buy them at any

musical

instrument shop.

The tuning fork

produce an

exact pitch that

you will use as a

basic reference.

The rubber

wedges you can

buy or make

then yourself.

The utility of

these simple

rubber wedges

is to mute the

strings we don’t

want to hear.

Felt

temperament

strip

Better to have a

couple of these.

They are strips

of felt about two

or three

millimetres thick

by two or three

cm (one inch)

wide and about

a meter long.

We will need

then to set the

temperament

which is the first

thing we do

when tuning a

piano.

A  metronome

Any metronome

will do, but one

of those small

digital ones

would be

perfect. A

metronome will

be very handy in

early learning so

that we can

practice and

check the

accuracy of the

beat rates we

use when tuning

a piano. When

we are

accustomed to

hearing and

recognizing the

beat rates, then

will not need the

metronome

anymore. 

        TUNING

PROCEDURE –

SETTING THE

TEMPERAMENT

Disclaimer: What

follows is a basic

and general

information

procedure for tuning

a piano. To view the

full protocol and

specific piano

tuning instructions,

please refer to

eBook “How to tune

a piano”

The temperament,

setting the

temperament

The temperament

could be defined as

a group of notes in

the center of the

keyboard,

stretching appro

ximately

one octave

(normally from F33

to F45 or from F33

to A49) that are

tuned in a certain

way. Once the

temperament is set

we will use it as a

reference to tune

the rest of the

keyboard.

Setting the

temperament is the

most important

aspect of tuning.

The quality of our

piano tuning

depends a great

deal on how well

the temperament

has been built.

Although setting the

temperament is not

really complex, its

study required

some time and

practice. Time well

spent I would say,

as once

learned, you can

apply to every

tuning you will

make in future.

Basically there are

two groups of

temperaments. In

one hand the ones

that use mainly fifth

and fourth intervals

and only third and

sixth intervals for

testing. The other

group of intervals

on the contrary

utilizes mainly third

and sixth and only

fifth and fourth to

check and evaluate.

In my humble

opinion, the second

group is better.

Why? Because the

third and sixth

intervals produce

faster beat rates,

about 7, 8 and 9

bps (beats per

second), generally

easier to listen and

judge. In contrast,

the first

temperament

group, the one that

uses mainly fifth

and fourth intervals,

generates slower

beat rates, which

for most of us are

significantly harder

to recognize. 

First step

Mute the

unisons Mute

with a felt strip

the side strings

of every unison

from F33 to F45

(see the picture

above). Leave

unmuted the

center strings as

this will be for

now the only

string of every

unison in the

temperament

that we will tune.

Second step

 Using the

tuning fork Tune

A4 to its

theoretical

standard pitch

440 htz. You will

need a

chromatic tuner

with speakers

that can

generate that

frequency or an

A-440 tuning

fork.

Third step

 Tuning the

temperament.

Now tune the

temperament.

The standard

way to tune the

temperament is

using third, sixth

and fifth

intervals and

tuning them to

specific beat

rates, save fifth

and fourth

interval for

testing. If you

prefer or feel

more

confortable, you

can do the other

way around as

there is not rule

of thumb in this

matter. At this

stage, the center

string is the only

string at every

unisons in the

temperament

that you will

tune.

Forth step

Tuning octaves.

Tuning octaves

is fairly simple.

Tuning hammer

on F#46 (mute

the side strings

with a couple of

rubber wedges).

Strike at the

same time F#34

(already tune)

and F#46. Tune

till you eliminate

all audible beats

and the two

notes sound as

a single one.

Then tune G47

in the same way

and carry on

tuning every

note towards the

upper end of the

keyboard. When

tuning the bass

section apply

the same

procedure.

Fifth step

General review

Review and test

what you have

just done so far.

Take special

attention to the

unisons as they

are the ones

that first go “out

of tune”. Try to

eliminate all the

audible beats or

at least get them

as beatless as

possible. A good

hammer skill

would be handy

at doing so.

Doing the stretch

It’s a matter of fact

that a piano sounds

better when its

upper section and

low section are

stretch. That means

that the high notes

(more or less the

last two octaves)

are tuned sharper

than theoretically

they should, and

the very low notes

tuned lower than

they also should be.

You could ask, why

is that? The reason

is that a piano

tuned in that way

simply sounds

better. That is

commonly

accepted, so an

experience

technician should

do what is called

“the stretch”.

The “stretch” is

tuned exponentially,

that means that the

stretching becomes

more and more

pronounced as you

advance up the

keyboard There are

theoretical tables

that allegedly

determined the

amount of “stretch”

for every key, but

that’s all. In this

matter like in many

others involving

piano tuning there

is not rule of thumb,

and in reality every

tuner do the

“stretch” at his/her

discretion. I think, to

be precise, when in

the lower notes the

stretch shouldn’t be

call that way, but

the “shrink”, as

that’s what really

happens. 

To do the “stretch”

you will need some

practice and

experience. If you

are newbie to piano

tuning I don’t

recommend you try

doing the stretch, at

least not for now.

Just wait some time

till you are

reasonably

proficient.

Important

notice:  Reproducti

on of this article (or

any other article

contained in this

site) in part or in

whole is strictly

prohibited, unless

permission is given

directly by the

copyright

owner. Contact

Juan Olalla

at

:info@howtotuneapi

ano.com

Has this tutorial

been helpful to

you? Do you have

any questions? You

are welcome to

leave a reply. Your

opinion and/or

suggestions are

highly appreciated.

Thanks

© Copyright Juan

Olalla 2011  All

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