Manufacturers generally recommend pianos be tuned at least once a year, with every six months being ideal. However, there are several factors that may cause your piano to require more frequent tuning. These factors include the age of the piano (new pianos need up to four tunings in their first year), and frequent changes in room temperature or humidity. Pianos that are used often will go out of tune faster, and may need more frequent tunings, as well as pianos that have been recently moved. Of course, your personal preference is important as well in determining appropriate care for your instrument.

It is important for the piano’s environment to be as quiet as possible during tuning, so the technician can concentrate on hearing subtle pitch differences. Even quiet noise such as air conditioners and television can muffle subtle vibrations of the piano strings. Please make an effort to schedule your piano tuning separate from any work on your home or social gatherings to minimize distracting noise.

A pitch raise is a two-step tuning process used to bring very flat pianos closer to standard pitch. Pianos that are extremely out of tune must be returned to standard pitch in small increments to maintain balanced tension across all strings, keep the tuning stable, and reduce risk of broken strings during tuning. First, the technician tunes all the strings to a higher approximate pitch. After allowing the strings to settle for a short period, the technician will do a second fine-tuning to create accurate intervals across all strings. A piano that is very old or has not been tuned for many years many need more than one pitch raise appointment to bring it back to standard pitch.