Generally speaking a piano will go out of tune twice a year even if it is played very little, as seasonal changes in relative humidity cause the piano’s wooden soundboard to expand and contract, causing the bridges to move and changing the pitch of the strings.

While some may not feel the need to have the piano tuned until it sounds noticeably bad, this eventually impacts the long-term stability of the tuning (i.e. the piano will go out of tune faster than expected), as it will take bigger adjustments to bring it back to pitch each time, meaning the piano will struggle to reach an equilibrium.

Tuning twice a year helps to maintain this equilibrium and keeps your piano sounding its best all year round. 

Old pianos tend to have a lot of issues unless they have been very well looked after (stable climate, tuned, serviced and cleaned regularly). The ones that have been can still be worth some, if not much, money.

Given this and the fact that restoring or rebuilding defective old pianos can cost thousands of pounds, it’s safe to assume that in most cases, a piano that is being given away for free will be more trouble than it’s worth.

Having said that, there are exceptions. The way to be sure is to have a technician assess the piano to look for major faults and signs of neglect by booking a pre-purchase inspection.

Put simply, concert pitch is the international pitch standard that music has generally used since the 1940s, defined as when the A above middle C vibrates at 440 cycles per second, or 440Hz.

Pianos can be tuned to other pitches and historically pianos were tuned lower than today, meaning some older pianos risk damage by being brought up to concert pitch.

Modern pianos however, have been designed to conform to this 440Hz standard and therefore will sound their best when tuned this way due to the harmonic qualities of the strings, which are affected by changes in tension.

A pitch raise or pitch adjustment is necessary when a piano is too far below concert pitch (or the target pitch) to be tuned. This is due to the exceptional change in tension that a pitch raise requires, causing the soundboard and bridges to have to re-settle at this new point of equilibrium.

This process continues in the days following the pitch raise, so while the piano may sound acceptable after the first session, the tuning will soon drift (but not so far as to return to its original state) and need to be stabilised with a fine tuning a few weeks later.

For a more detailed explanation of pitch raises, see this handy guide provided by the Piano Technician’s Guild.

Pianos contain over two thousand moving parts, including all manner of delicate hinges and springs that all contribute to the ability of the instrument to channel the artistic expression of the pianist.

Over time these parts get worn and no longer function as intended, causing issues like uneven touch weight (the force needed for the key to go down), double-striking hammers, and misfiring. These issues limit the pianist’s ability to control the dynamics of the piano and can lead to developing poor technique, especially in the case of beginner to intermediate players.

Regulation aims to address these issues by bringing the piano back to its ideal specifications, leaving you with an instrument that feels effortless to play, like an extension of the player’s own body.

Once a piano has been tuned and regulated, voicing is the softening or hardening of the felts that cover the hammers (the part that strikes the string), in order to precisely alter the tonal characteristics of the piano’s sound.

Voicing can make an overly bright and tinny piano sound warm and round, or create an even progression in tone from dark and stable in the bass to twinkly and sustained in the high treble.

Though it is no longer used in the manufacture of new pianos, there are still many old pianos out there with ivory keys. One easy way to tell is if the white key tops appear to be composed of two distinct sections as opposed to a single piece of material, another is the natural grain visible on the surface, in contrast to the glossy and uniform surface of acrylic coverings.

Since the Ivory Act 2018, trade in pianos containing ivory has been restricted to those instruments manufactured before 1975 that have been registered with the authorities. This complicates repairing ivory keyed pianos, in most cases we recommend simply having all the keys re-covered with acrylic or one of many modern alternatives.

No, but depending on your area we can recommend local specialist piano movers.

No, we only deal with acoustic pianos (including hybrid/silent, as long as it has strings) and some electromechanical pianos.

Click here for Yamaha’s list of authorised digital piano repairers.