FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: How To Tune A Piano

Question:
I have got a piano, and I want to tune it myself. Not in order to save money, but I just want to do it myself. I have played piano for more than 25 years and have tuned a lot more simple instruments like guitars and so. I would say that I have well qualified ears. The piano have just been moved to my place, and I have allready tuned it up, and now it sounds ok. It is tuned a little bit below 440 hz (probably because of the moving). The former owner told me that it could hold its tune on 440 hz, and I believe that. So now I would like to tune it all from the buttom (not just correct the bad tones) and to 440 hz. Is the following procedure correct: I am starting with tuning the A to 440 hz. Then I move further either a fifth up or a kvarter down and I tune the fifth a bit low and the fourth a bit high? I keep doing this until I have a whole octave tuned and tempered correctly. After this I tune all the other keys by octaves. Are there anything I should be aware of in particulary? I can imagine that when I tune a deep key, it will influence all the other keys. Is this a problem and can I do something about it? Shall I i.e. tune all the keys between the mid octave and slowly move deep and high or what? Is there any way to do it more correctly in order to wear the piano less out?

Answer:
Avoid moving the tuning pin in large swings up and down. if you are pulling up and over shoot only drop in a tad below, you may find this hard at first. expect some broken strings, more so when you start getting confident. See if your local tuner will lay a scale for you for the first time. Reading books is OK however, trying to show someone who as never tuned a scale how to tune by print only, is like trying to explain colour to a Blind man who has never seen.