<HTML>Terry, I use an analogy that everyone can understand...the sticky door jamb. &n= bsp;In a humid season, the door is likely to stick.  When the air is dr= y, it opens and closes freely.  Wood swells and contracts in reaction t= o the season.  A piano is mostly wood, and parts will expand or contrac= t, which will cause the strings to tighten or loosen.  If they get it, = you should get a couple of tunings a year out of the client.  If they d= on't get it yet, then count on at least one tuning a decade, whether the pia= no needs it or not.   Dave Stahl In a message dated 2/19/03 1:28:12 PM Pacific Standard Time, Richard.Bre= kne@grieg.uib.no writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> I always say there are three reasons, and most often they influence tuni= ng in the following order Climate Useage Time If the piano is seldom or never used, then the its most often Climate Time Usage And I go on to explain the basics of how each of these three influences = the stability of the instrument RicB pianolover 88 wrote: > i think it would be interesting to see how each tech on the list wo= uld > describe,  just as he would for his/her customers, why & h= ow a piano goes > out of tune. I'm looking for the shortest, most concise and, for th= e > customer's benifit, easy-to-understand version. Interesting analogi= es > accepted! > > Terry Peterson</BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>