5 common reasons your piano goes out of tune
- The piano is new – strings on new pianos stretch…A LOT
- The piano has been recently moved
- The weather has gone through seasonal changes in humidity and temperature
- The piano is located near an air vent, frequently open window, or in the path of a breezeway
- The piano has had heavy and/or excessive playing
While these are not all the reasons a piano goes out of tune, they are certainly some of the most common. Let’s take a look at each of them.
The piano is new
There is nothing like buying something brand new. The look, the feel, the smell – we all love it. Pianos are no exception. They look, sound and feel great. However, they don’t stay in tune for very long and for good reasons. Wooden parts settle and change, and most importantly, the piano’s strings do a lot of stretching. Piano wire does this stretching for the first few years of its life. This is also true for newly re-strung pianos.
Unfortunately, there is nothing an owner can do prevent this from happening. Just play it, have it tuned over and over and eventually the excessive string stretching will stop. Your goal as a new piano owner is to break it in. Playing it continually and having it tuned and serviced is the fastest way to a more stable instrument.
Pianos on the move
Moving a piano is no easy task. It’s best to let professional piano movers handle the job. But, even when done by professionals, your piano can go out of tune after being moved. Here’s something to know. It’s not usually the actual move that causes the piano to go out of tune. It’s the change of environment and subsequent re-adjustment of the pianos soundboard to the new humidity level that causes it to go out of tune. And, because this change will likely affect the tuning, don’t have your piano tuned immediately after the move. Wait about a month for the piano to re-acclimate to its new home.
Changes in Humidity
Because pianos are mostly made of wood, they are reactive to changes in relative humidity. One of the largest components of the piano is its soundboard, also made of wood. Solid spruce wood soundboards are the most common because they conduct and amplify the small sound vibrations of the strings really well. But, those same qualities that make the wooden soundboard a great resonator also make it sensitive to changes in humidity. During seasons with high humidity levels, the soundboard will absorb moisture and expand upward in a grand piano and toward the player in a vertical one. The opposite occurs during the dryer season months. This will cause the strings of the piano to stretch tighter during high humidity levels and relax during lower levels of humidity. This slight tightening and loosening coupled with small movements of the bridge (the part that connects the strings to the soundboard) are one of the primary reasons pianos go out of tune.
Location, location, location
Like Real Estate, the location of your piano matters. Your piano can stay in tune longer, have fewer problems, and last longer if care is taken when selecting where to place it. Avoid close proximity to air vents, frequently open windows and doors, and placement in the direct path of a breezeway. All of these things can cause your piano to go out of tune more frequently. This is mostly due to the exaggerated effect of humidity changes (See paragraph above). Direct sunlight should also be avoided as this not only causes tuning problems, but can damage piano finishes as well.
Heavy or Excessive playing
Some players are just heavy handed and some just like to play a lot. There is really nothing wrong with either of those things. But, most pianos will go out of tune more quickly with this type of playing. Pianos are built with varying degrees of ruggedness, so some just go out of tune more easily. This becomes more evident with heavy and/or excessive playing. Smaller spinet verticals and baby grand pianos are often the most delicate. There is not much a player can do if the piano is under built for the type of usage it receives.
There is one thing for sure about pianos. They are a lot like people. Give them a comfortable, stable home and they will likely last a long, long time.