Piano Tuning

All of the piano manufacturers suggest that you tune your piano twice a year. If you tune your piano every six months, it is "in tune" and ready to play. Also, the less you have to turn the tuning pins, the better. Regular servicing by a qualified piano tuner-technician will preserve your instrument and help you avoid costly repair in the future. Because your piano contains materials such as wood and felt, it is subject to change with climatic conditions. Changes from hot to cold or dry to wet cause the material to swell and contract, affecting tone, pitch and action response of touch.  

Piano Tuning Schedules & Recommendations

Here is what just some of the major piano manufacturers recommend regarding the regular tuning of a piano. Remember, in addition to making you piano sound musically in tune, note-by-note, key-by-key, keeping a piano in tune is also about keeping it properly maintained. String tension is a critical part of how every piano has been finely engineered overall.

Yamaha Pianos

hands playing a finely tuned piano.
"Tuning means correcting the pitch of every note by tightening the strings. Each piano string is normally stretched to a pressure of about 90 kilograms (198pounds). Eventually, though, it will stretch further with use and lose some of its tension, causing the piano to lose its correct pitch. The strings need to be tuned a minimum of twice a year to restore them to their proper tension." 



Yamaha also manufacturers the Bösendorfer brand of pianos.

Steinway & Sons Pianos

Steinway upright piano.
"With normal use and conditions, a piano should need only periodic tuning, perhaps twice a year. For reference, a concert piano is tuned before every performance and a piano in a professional recording studio is tuned several times per week. Tuning is a craft practiced by professionals and, for best results, no one other than a trained technician should tune your piano."


Steinway & Sons also manufactures Boston Co. pianos and Essex pianos.

Kawai Pianos

Grand piano with bench.
"All pianos need to be tuned regularly. The amount of time between tunings for a fine instrument depends on many factors, especially the stability of the temperature and humidity and the amount of use the piano receives. In general, Kawai recommends 2 to 4 tunings per year. However, your piano technician can best recommend the appropriate interval for your specific environmental conditions and use." 

Bechstein Pianos

Grand piano.
"All climate changes - shifts in humidity and temperature - affect your sensitive instrument. The mechanical stresses on your instrument as well as temperature and humidity changes have an impact on the tension of the strings. Therefore, over time the tuning starts to become irregular. Your piano should be tuned at least twice a year. Treat your upright and your grand piano to a regular tuning service . . . This preserves the value of your instrument and your musical enjoyment. It's worth it." 

Baldwin Pianos

Baldwin Upright Piano
"Any new piano should be tuned several times during the first year. After the first year, a piano should be tuned at least twice each year."

Wurlitzer Pianos 

Child's hands playing a piano.
"In the first year, Piano Manufacturers Assoc International recommends that you have your piano tuned four times. After the first year, you should have it tuned at least twice a year."

Alamo Piano Tuning & Repair

(210) 596-9730