[pianotech] tuning stability or the piano

[Chuck Behm]

Hi Marshall - When a piano goes out of tune in a big way in a short amount
of time, it's natural for non-tuners to raise their eyebrows and attempt to
pin the blame on the tuner. Don't take it personally, just accept it as
human nature - most people don't really understand much about the reasons a
piano goes out of tune, and the best you can do is to evaluate and clarify
the situation.

What I would offer to do is to look over the piano to ascertain the
problem, and then present what solutions seem reasonable. Like Del
suggested, make sure that you are able to visit the school when the person
in who made the complaint and whoever is in charge in terms of budgetary
matters can be present.

If the problem is sections of the piano which are flat or sharp of other
sections, the problem most likely is that the soundboard has reacted to
humidity changes, and has swelled with excess humidity or (more likely in
the winter) compressed with dryness. Explain that the reason the piano
sounds so bad when the left hand and the right hand are played together is
that the bass strings, which run over a bridge near the bottom of the
soundboard are not as affected from changes in the curvature of the
soundboard as are strings in the middle of the keyboard. Lift the lid, if
necessary, and point out the position of the bass bridges and the treble
bridge to illustrate your point.

Probably the best solution for this problem, if it is the culprit, is the
installation of a humidity control system. Shoot them a price, and tell
them that retuning the piano would make more sense after the system had
been in place for several weeks, and the piano had stabilized.

If, on the other hand, there are individual notes that are wildly out of
tune, slipping pins would be the most likely problem. Explain the options
available (you have my promos on CA treatment, and repinning an restringing
- use those if they would help), again shooting them a price, and let them
weigh the benefits of plowing money into a older grand against applying
those funds to a newer instrument.

Sometimes, it's not the tuning at all that the person is displeased with,
but the tone. If that is the case, consider the condition of the hammers,
the bass strings, etc. Again, you have promos concerning those topics. Put
them to use if they seem appropriate.

Whatever you do, try not to sound defensive about the situation. A lot of
the time in these situations, there is a problem which needs to be fixed
before the piano can be expected to hold a fairly stable tuning. Even then,
all pianos go out of tune - it's the nature of the beast. The best the
school can do is to tune the piano on a frequent enough basis that it will
perform up to its potential.

Best of luck, Marshall. Building a business from scratch is hard work, and
sometimes you need to face adversity in the short term in order to succeed
in the long run. Remain professional, approach each problem you run into
calmly, offer reasonable solutions, and people will put their trust in you
and your business.  Chuck
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