FAQs
- What types of customers have you worked with?
Tuning is only a small part of what I do. A piano, having more than 11,000 parts, is extremely complex and is constantly changing as it ages. Regulating, the art of adjusting the moving parts of the piano so that the touch is as responsive and sensitive as possible, is extremely important in keeping a piano in good condition, and preventing it from wearing out prematurely. And what about tone? If the piano has tonal problems (too bright or too mellow), no amount of tuning is going to improve it! That's where voicing comes in, which is adjusting the tone of the piano. Voicing takes years to learn, but when a piano is really nicely voiced, it can be pure magic to play! I also do a lot of restoration work. Pianos, like everything else in life, gradually deteriorate. By the time a piano is reaching 40 years old, the strings, hammers and other components are no longer at their best, and the piano simply can't play as nicely or have the rich tone it once had. Restoration means replacing all the components that are worn out so that the piano will play like new again. A typical restoration can involve a new soundboard and pin block, new bridges, new hammers and dampers and action, new keys, a new finish on the exterior, etc. Restoration, when carefully and skilfully done, can extend the life of the piano by decades. I also rent pianos to customers, and occasionally have a restored Steinway for sale.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
1. Look for someone who is a piano technician, not just a piano tuner. A piano technician can tune, and can also repair and perform adjustments to the touch and tone. You want someone who understands the whole instrument, not just someone who only knows how to tune. 2. Make sure the technician you hire is a Registered Piano Technician (RPT). Only RPTs have taken a series of 3 rigorous examinations to demonstrate their ability to tune, repair and adjust pianos. Why is it so important to only hire an RPT? To protect yourself from people who claim to know how to tune pianos but haven't had any proper training or taken any exams. Piano technicians are not a regulated trade, meaning literally anyone (your next door neighbor, your uncle, the kid down the block) can take out a full-page ad in the Yellow Pages claiming to be a piano tuner. They may have only taken a correspondence course (or less) or just bought a tuning wrench and fiddled around a bit. Most experienced RPTs will tell you it takes at least 2-3 years of constant learning and tuning, and about 1,000 pianos tuned to start to really get the hang of doing good tuning work. So . . . . protect yourself from well-meaning but inexperienced people claiming to be "piano tuners": always hire an RPT.