Have Your Piano Tuned During the Winter Months

It's very important to tune your piano during the winter months, especially in colder climates. In most homes, the humidity levels dry out to a certain extent which can throw your piano out of tune quite a bit. Floors and and exterior walls can also get quite cold during the wee hours of the morning which is another problem.

Instead of encapsulating your piano in a quarantine tent (you know that thing "ET" was placed in when he got sick in that blockbuster movie?) simply call your piano tuner and schedule a piano tuning. After all, enjoying your piano during the cold, dreary winter months is one of the best times of the year to practice hard and make lots of progress.

Now THAT'S progress.

The "Mom-Jump-Starts-the-Kids-on-Piano" Craze

It's happening now and it's been going on for years. Mom used to play piano so the family decides to get a used piano. The next thing you know, Mom is playing again, the older kid is taking lessons from the piano teacher and the toddler is getting lessons from their mother. It's a family project and it's been going on since the early 1700's.

Most piano teachers do not take on students until they are five years old so in the mean time, go for it Mom! Get a used piano, start playing again, help the older kids with their lessons and jump start your toddlers as soon as they can behave themselves at the piano.

It's a family project that really pays off and is often passed down through generations.

Getting Your Piano Ready BEFORE the Piano Tuner Arrives

Here are a few tips on how to be ready for your piano tuner when they come to work on your instrument:

ALL THAT STUFF
Please clear the music books, candles, photographs, sculptures, toys, misc paraphernalia, live animals, etc. off the top of your piano.

KEEP A LID ON THE NOISE
Let the family know that it should be fairly quiet in the house when the piano tuner starts to go through the tuning procedure. (This is not necessary during repairs of the piano in many cases, just during the tuning session.) The quality of your tuning is determined by several factors. One if them is whether your piano tuner could hear what they were doing while tuning your piano.

So please turn down the:

• X-Box air strikes in the boys room
• Teenage diva screaming matches over clothing
• The fully-loaded, state-of-the-art John Deere lawn mower right out side the window
• The washing machine that makes "that weird noise."
• The dishwasher that whispers right over all harmonics while we are tweaking the high treble on your piano
• The hockey game on the giant screen
• The Dyson
• The toy drones
• You Tube
• And please let your Beagle out soon.

"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!"
Let your piano tuner in the door, please. All tuners have a sixth-sense when it comes to hearing the "stuff" flying off the piano onto a nearby coffee table while we're staring at the "Welcome to Our Home" sign that's right next to the hornets' next at the front door (because you "never really use that door"). Let us in and we will gladly help you remove all the stuff from your piano. We do it everyday.

LOVABLE PETS
After your tuner greets the dogs, cats, chickens, snakes, parrots, guinea pigs or in my experience, wallaby's, bring them into another room and keep them there so the piano technician can move around the piano area without the boa constrictor slithering down the high treble into the toolbox. (Many tuners love animals, but need to get the job done quickly and efficiently so they can move on to the next service call so, "it's nothing personal, it's just business.")

THE "HURRY-IT-UP" FACTOR
Piano tuning sessions vary from about 45 minutes to 3 hours in some cases. On-site repairs can take seconds or hours in some cases. If your piano tech is coming for the first time, leave a little extra time for them to finish the work properly.

Yes, piano tuners can be "eccentric." 

Remember: We are a product of YOUR environment.

Help us be more normal, please.

Thank you.