Maintenance

1. How often should I tune my piano?

If you're using your piano frequently, tune it twice a year. If the piano is mostly sitting, you should still tune it once a year.

2. Is it true that not tuning my piano can cause damage?

Being out of tune won't cause damage to your piano, but if the piano loses significant tension on it's frame, pulling it back up to pitch can cause damage. This is why it's important to keep the piano in tune even if it isn't being used regularly.

3. If you only have to tune your piano once every 5 years, doesn't that mean it's more stable?

Every piano needs to be tuned more frequently than this. Stability means that your piano will sound better between tunings, not that it doesn't ever need to be tuned.

4. What is Voicing?

Voicing is the regulation of the tone of the instrument. Mostly voicing deals with the felt on the hammers, and how hard or soft it is. A harder hammer will excite a brighter tone, while a softer hammer will excite a much darker, or mellow tone.

5. How does one voice a piano?

There are many different ways to accomplish different goals in voicing. Most commonly, bright or hard hammers are "needled" down to be softer, while softer hammers are made hard either with chemicals, or by sanding and reshaping.

6. Can I voice my piano on my own?

Certainly not. Voicing is something that technicians work for many years to become good at it. Voicing is truly an art which few technicians take the time to learn.

7. What is regulation?

There are over 10,000 moving parts in your piano action, and each needs to be adjusted properly to work at a high level. All 88 notes should play exactly the same with evenness, repetition, dynamics and tone.You can imagine how poorly your car would run if you never changed the oil or did a tune up. Your piano is much the same, and needs regular maintenance if it's expected to perform at a high level.

    Source: Chris Finger Piano's