True for Pianos Too

Seeker

Saw this post from Anastasia Pike, a superb harpist with whom I've had the pleasure to share a gig just once. What she said about regular regulation for harps is IMO equally true for pianos if you want to keep them at performance ready level of preparation. Where things differ is in her using a certified Lyon & Healey technician for her Lyon & Healey harp. Here we wade into the alligator infested swamp around "Steinway technician", "Yamaha technician", and so forth though I think that the Shigeru-Kawai post purchase technician comes closest to that.

"Harps are living instruments —they respond, shift, and change over time, just like we do. That’s why regular regulation is so essential.
I often think of it the same way I think about personal healthcare: you don’t only take care of yourself when something is “wrong.” You check-in, you recalibrate, and you maintain balance, so everything continues to function at its best. Our instruments deserve that same level of attention and care.
Having a certified @lyonhealyharps technician regulate my harp makes an extraordinary difference in sound, responsiveness, and overall ease of playing. The smallest adjustments can completely transform clarity, color, and control.
Deep gratitude to @harpwolf for such meticulous work, and for making my harp sound so beautiful and alive. It’s a gift to have someone who listens so carefully not just to the instrument, but to the music it’s meant to create.
🪉Maintenance is not optional — it’s essential."

ShiroKuro

Seeker Maintenance is not optional — it’s essential

So very true!

I am wanting to get my piano tuned soon, but between my work schedule and the tuner’s availability it’s a little challenging…

pianoloverus

I've had my bought new Mason & Hamlin BB for around 19 years. Although I've always had it tuned twice a year, I've only had touch up voicing and minor regulation done on it. I asked my incredible tech several times if he thought additional work was necessary and he said "no". I don't think he meant that the piano was absolutely perfect regulation and voicing, but more that the very tiny improvement possible was not worth the expense of a comprehensive voicing and regulation.

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus tuned twice a year

I wonder if this is part of the reason why your piano doesn't need more work.

When I bought my piano, it was about 20 years, the previous owner was the only owner. But he didn't take very good care of it, and it was obvious that he hadn't had it tuned regularly. (I had to convince him to get it tuned before I bought it so I could evaluate it).

After I had it for about a month, I had it fully regulated and voiced, and it was amazing the improvement. I've now had the piano for about 7 years, and I have it tuned twice a year -- not because it goes out of tune, but because I like how it sounds better that way. It sounds great, is incredibly stable, etc. I imagine that this regular tuning makes a big difference, beyond just the "freshly tuned piano" sound.

Obviously, a piano of the quality of an M&H BB is just such a good piano, but I'm convinced that taking care of it meticulously like that makes a huge difference as well.

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro I wonder if this is part of the reason why your piano doesn't need more work.

Tuning does not affect or improve voicing or regulation. It's possible that other pianists playing my piano or other techs evaluating it would think it needs voicing or regulation. Except in extreme cases, the need for voicing or regulation is subjective.

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro I've now had the piano for about 7 years, and I have it tuned twice a year -- not because it goes out of tune, but because I like how it sounds better that way.

Virtually all pianos start going out of tune to some degree very quickly after they're tuned which is why concert grands are usually tuned before every performance. This is probably why you like the sound of your piano more after it is tuned. Some pianos are more stable than others for a variety of reasons including build quality and humidity control but this just means they go less out of tune than other pianos. Different people listening to the same piano would disagree about how out of tune the piano is based on how acute their hearing is even though the amount a piano is out of tune can be easily measured precisely by an electronic tuner machine.

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus Tuning does not affect or improve voicing or regulation

No, of course not. But there’s something about pianos that are regularly tuned that seems to keep them in better condition overall. Maybe it’s as much the tuning as it is the fact that pianos that are regularly tuned are also (more likely to be) regularly played, which keeps them in better condition as well. (Not including pianos that get pounded on, like a music school practice room piano).

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus Virtually all pianos start going out of tune to some degree very quickly after they're tuned

You’re not telling me anything I don’t know here.

All I was trying to say was that my piano is incredibly stable, which is not surprising since it’s a Yamaha C2, and Yamahas, and the C-series, are famous for their reliability/stability. Nevertheless, I love having it tuned more regularly than it probably objectively needs.

I’m not saying “my piano is so stable if you checked it with an electronic tuner in 6 months, the device would show it to be still perfectly in tune.”

Please have some faith that your fellow posters are not all complete idiots…

rogerch

My piano tuner has a chopstick sugar coater that he uses to do a small amount of voicing every time he tunes my piano. The piano always sounds great when he’s done!

ShiroKuro

rogerch chopstick sugar coater

What is this? Presumably it’s a kitchen implement, but I’ve never heard of it!

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro No, of course not. But there’s something about pianos that are regularly tuned that seems to keep them in better condition overall. Maybe it’s as much the tuning as it is the fact that pianos that are regularly tuned are also (more likely to be) regularly played, which keeps them in better condition as well.

Regular playing of piano does not keep them in better condition overall. But even if what you said is true it would mean that the playing and not the tuning that's keeping the piano in better condition overall.

rogerch

ShiroKuro rogerch chopstick sugar coater

What is this? Presumably it’s a kitchen implement, but I’ve never heard of it!

It totally sounds like it should be a kitchen implement!

As I understand it, "sugar coating" means very shallow needling of a hammer, where the needles only penetrate about 1 millimeter.

A chopstick sugar coater is a skinny tool the technician can use to voice the hammers by sticking the tool through the strings. The action does not need to be removed. Obviously this greatly limits what can be done.

At the end of my technician's visit, my piano is in tune and slightly more mellow than before the tuning. I think this somewhat counteracts the tendency for my piano to get brighter and brighter over time. Eventually my piano will need more thorough voicing, but it still sounds great to me five years after getting new hammers and playing almost every day.

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus Regular playing of piano

But why wouldn’t regular playing help? If you don’t play a piano, it gets sticky and stuck and over time its condition worsens.

Perhaps I’m taking about something intangible, objectively harder to measure. Perhaps it’s my imagination, I’m willing to concede that. 😁

But a piano is like a living object. And I believe that regular playing of an instrument, along with regular maintenance, helps keep the instrument in much better condition than it the instrument were neglected.

And I’m convinced that the quality of my current instrument is augmented by the care and attention I give it.

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus But even if what you said is true it would mean that the playing and not the tuning that's keeping the piano in better condition overall.

Sorry did you add this after (while) I was posting?

If so, we’re sort of thinking about the same thing! But see my comment above.

To reiterate: Tuning and playing alone isn’t enough, but I believe it’s also essential to maintain a piano’s condition.

ShiroKuro

For the record, I should add that I certainly don’t believe that just tuning and playing could have improved the condition my instrument was in when I bought it. IOW it needed to be regulated and voiced, and as you say, just tuning or playing would not have made a difference. But after that work was done, I think the benefits of the work would have rapidly disintegrated if the piano were not played regularly.

ShiroKuro

I edited my comment above (to fix typo or autocorrect)

ShiroKuro

rogerch that’s super interesting, thanks for the explanation! Can you remind me what kind of piano you have?

rogerch

ShiroKuro rogerch that’s super interesting, thanks for the explanation! Can you remind me what kind of piano you have?

1951 Steinway M. I’ve had it for 30 years. 5 years ago it was refinished, restrung, it got new hammers and action parts, and various other repairs. The work was expensive but totally worth it!

ShiroKuro

rogerch The work was expensive but totally worth it!

I bet! Especially for a piano like that!

danno858

rogerch I like the sound of your piano. I think you said you live up in Northern California - who is your tech up there? I found a couple willing to travel here from Santa Barbara which is a bit closer to me, but I'm looking for a good one....

rogerch

danno858 Thanks! Yes, I live in the Sacramento area. You’re near LA right?

My tech is David Brisson. He does great work. He seems to be in high demand these days!