Piano Tuning

Since the time of J.S. Bach, pianos are tuned using equal temperament, which means that they can play in any key. Before this, keyboard instruments could only play in certain keys; in the rest of the keys, they sounded hopelessly out of tune. On the other hand, each key had a distinctive quality, or "color", (which was why some composers chose a paricular key), and this distinction is lost with equal temperament, in which all the keys sound the same. Bach, however, was delighted with the new equal temperament system (as were his contemporaries), and composed a set of preludes and fugues in every key, major and minor, called "the Well-Tempered Clavier", to showcase the new temperament system.

When tuning pianos, I use an electronic tuner to assist me, but do a great deal of the tuning by ear, using the best of both worlds; the electronic tuner is infallibly accurate as far as pitch is concerned, and saves time, but in the end it is the ear that is the best judge, so the tests are done by ear.

I consider myself mainly to be a technician, but can do minor repairs and adjustments; if it is a simple repair that doesn't require ordering a part,i.e., a key that sticks, there is no charge.

RATES

The fixed rate for tuning a piano is $85, which includes minor repairs (if parts are not ordered), and a six-week guarantee.If a string needs to be replaced, the charge is $25 per string, except for bass strings, which have to be specially made, and the charge is $35 per string. A service call is $25