How often should my piano be tuned?

As a baseline, we recommend tuning at least once a year, while some manufacturers recommend twice a year to keep your piano in peak condition.

Every piano, pianist and location is different. It's not easy to give one simple answer to cover everyone and every scenario.

Pianos can benefit from more regular servicing when:

• they are new, or have new strings
• recently moved
• not tuned for a long time
• exposed to humidity and temperature fluctuations
• under heavy usage
• used by concert pianists

In many of these instances, the piano may need to be tuned between two and four times in a year.

What happens if a piano is not tuned regularly?

The biggest risk is that it stops being enjoyable. A piano often drifts slowly out of tune, something that might not be noticeable day to day, but eventually it gets to the point where practice goes from something you look forward to, to something you avoid. In fact, many families have advised that they stopped playing when the piano was not tuned for around 18–24 months. By the time it gets to this point, while a professional tuning can restore the piano, it does not undo the fact that for the last six months that practice may have been unenjoyable.

One thing that we have noticed is that when pianos are tuned yearly, they will sound better than pianos that have had large tuning gaps.

For many families and beginners we recommend tuning at least once a year, and we are more than happy to give tailored expert advice at the end of the appointment.