TAKING CARE OF YOUR PIANO

It is generally recommended that a piano should be tuned once or twice a year.
The things to consider when deciding how often your piano should be tuned are as follows:

1. The age of the piano.

Pianos less than two or three years old need the most frequent tuning. Almost all manufacturers recommend at least four tunings during the first year after purchase. The new steel in the strings is still very elastic. It takes a year or so for them to "settle in" and become stable.

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2. Placement of the piano.

Almost everyone has heard that "you should keep your piano on an inside wall."  This, in fact, is almost the least important consideration. There are times when an outside wall is in fact the best place for the piano. The piano should be kept out of direct sunlight. Besides the obvious damage to the finish, a piano in direct sunlight will go through daily cycles of warming up and cooling down. Strings expand and contract when they heat and cool. Being near heat vents, wood stoves or outside doors or other drafty situations will cause metal parts of the piano to expand and contract. The expansion and contraction are not visible to the eye, and the change in pitch is hardly noticeable, but it is cumulative. So, placing your piano on an inside wall is fine, as long as it is not in a draft or direct sunlight.

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3. How is your piano being used? 

A piano being played 12 hours a day by a professional concert pianist, or by several advanced students, will not stay in tune as long as one is practiced for half an hour a day by a beginner. There is truth to the claim that expensive, stage-quality concert grand pianos need a lot more tuning and maintenance than small console pianos need in a home. That is because much more is demanded of them.

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4. Has the piano been moved? 

Actually, moving a piano has little effect on its tuning. But, changing the environment has a big effect. This explains why the day after the move, the piano sounds fine, but a month later it may sound awful. So, the time to have a piano tuned after a move is after a few weeks, after the piano is acclimated to its new home. 

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5. Is it an expensive piano with a prestigious name on the fallboard?

This is probably the least important factor of any. The most expensive piano which has gone many years without maintenance will be far less satisfactory to play than a smaller, more moderately priced instrument that has been regularly tuned and maintained. Obviously, the expensive, well-maintained grand piano will provide the greatest satisfaction if it receives the attention it requires. If it does not, it is just another piano. 

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6. The human factor. 

The most important factor I believe, is not about the piano at all. It is the human factor. If you are one who has become accustomed to hearing music in tune you will need to see your tuner more frequently. The human ear is very accommodating. It will adapt to hearing a badly tuned piano. Conversely, it will become very discerning if it only hears well-tuned music. Young students develop a very fine sense of pitch only of they are exposed to instruments that are in tune.