Piano Tuning :- The South African Association of Professional Piano Tuners - Go to Official Website - Click Here
The only association of qualified piano tuners in South Africa.
There are many fly-by-nights out there, to whom there is no redress, so let us take care of your Piano.
Our care extends throughout the country and our services include
- Tuning pianos
- Pitch raising on pianos
- Repairing pianos
- Moving pianos
- Polishing and general piano cabinet care
- Restoring pianos
- Valuation of pianos for insurance purposes
- Finding suitable pianos on request
For the full list of acreddited Piano Tuners in South Africa - Click Here
Go to Official Website - Click Here
The piano is a wonderful instrument producing a sound like no other. It is also a very complex instrument and requires proper care and maintenance. A piano which is properly cared for will give many, many years of playing pleasure.
FAQs
1.What makes a piano go out of tune?
There are four main contributing factors which cause a piano to go out of tune:
- Wires slowly stretch – this is a natural process as the wires are under high tension.
- Weather and climatic changes – see 2 below
- Moving the piano – the piano should not be moved un-necessarily and bumps and knocks should be avoided.
- Ageing – over time the pin holes expand and contract hundreds of times and this, together with the effects of tuning adjustments, causes the holes to become enlarged.
2.How can I reduce the effects of weather and climatic effects?
There are various steps which can be taken:
- Do not place the piano near doorways or passageways where there may be draught.
- Keep away from direct sunlight.
- Do not place near a heater radiator or air conditioning outlet.
- As general rule, a piano should be placed where there is least change in temperature and humidity.
Piano Tuning
My tuning is carried out using the very latest technology electronic tuning equipment. The instrument used is a Peterson Autostrobe 490-ST, a strobe disc tuning system with digital microprocessor which provides unsurpassed accuracy. A correctly tuned piano will produce a marvellous sound and is a pleasure to play.
Regulation
The piano is a complex instrument and is made up of nearly 1000 moving parts! In order for all these parts to correctly interact with one another, the relationship between them needs to be correct. Regulation is the process of making fine adjustments in a variety of areas to provide that correct relationship. As wear takes place so various parts may need to be adjusted. On a well maintained piano, this would be minimal and only very minor adjustments may be necessary. However, a piano which has been neglected for a long period of time may need full regulation.
Piano Repairs
Minor repairs can be carried out at your home. These may include re-fitting missing damper felts, fixing a broken hammer or replacing a broken spring.
Loose tuning pins are not uncommon on much older pianos due to wear and the effects of changes in temperature and humidity. In many cases these can be tightened, except where the pin block is cracked. In this case repair a major repair job must be undertaken and this can be costly.
Piano Maintenance
General maintenance and cleaning is sometimes necessary to ensure the smooth and trouble-free functioning of all parts. It may be necessary to lubricate a sticking component or to remove dust and foreign objects from beneath the keys levers.
Piano Restoration
Piano Restoration work is undertaken. Please contact me and I will be happy to discuss your requirements. A good quality piano which is in sound condition is worth repairing.
For the full list of acreddited Piano Tuners in South Africa - Click Here
Links : Piano Tuning | Piano | Google | Piano Maintenance
Text Regarding Pianos (Taken mainly from Wikipedia.org )
Piano tuning
Pianos are prized by their owners and need to be tuned regularly, usually once every six months to a year for domestic pianos, and always just before a performance in concert halls.
The longer a piano is left out of tune, the more time and effort it will take for a technician to restore it to correct pitch. When a piano is only slightly out of tune, it loses the glowing tonal quality characteristic of a freshly tuned piano, probably because strings slightly out of tune with one another have weaker sympathetic vibrations.
Pianos that are more than slightly out of tune tend to be unpleasant to play and listen to, to an extent that varies with the ear of the listener. A tuning hammer is the main tool that piano technicians use.
Pianos go out of tune primarily because of changes in humidity.
Tuning can be made more stable by installing special equipment to regulate humidity, inside or underneath the piano. There is no evidence that being out-of-tune permanently harms the piano itself. However, a long-term low-humidity environment may eventually crack the soundboard and warp keys and other wooden parts. In particular, pianos located in arid climates and otherwise very dry rooms (for example, a cold climate with an extended heating season) require special attention to humidity control.
Almost every modern piano has 36 black keys and 52 white keys for a total of 88 keys, seven octaves plus a minor third. Many older pianos only have 85 keys, seven octaves, while some manufacturers extend the range further in one or both directions.
Modern pianos come in two basic configurations: the grand piano and the upright piano.
Grand Piano
In grand pianos, the frame and strings are horizontal, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. There are several sizes and the smaller baby grand.
Longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound. The longer strings on a concert grand can vibrate more accurately than the shorter, thicker strings on a baby grand, which means that a concert grand's strings will have truer overtones. This allows the strings to be tuned closer to equal temperament in relation to the standard pitch with less stretching in the piano tuning. Full-size grands are usually used for public concerts, whereas smaller grands are often chosen for domestic use where space and cost are considerations.
A grand piano action has a repetition lever for each key. If the key is pressed repeatedly and fairly quickly this repetition lever catches the hammer close to the strings, which assists the speed and control of repeated notes and trills.
Upright Piano
Upright pianos, also called vertical pianos, are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. The hammers move horizontally, and return to their resting position by springs, which are prone to wear and tear.
Care and Maintenance of Pianos
Pianos need regular tuning to keep them up to pitch, which is usually the internationally recognized standard concert pitch of A4 = 440 Hz.
The hammers of pianos are voiced to compensate for gradual hardening, and other parts also need periodic regulation. Aged and worn pianos can be rebuilt or reconditioned. Often, by replacing a great number of their parts, they can be made to perform as well as new pianos. Older pianos are often more settled and produce a warmer tone.[citation needed]
Piano moving should be done by trained piano movers using adequate manpower and the correct equipment for any particular piano's size and weight.[citation needed] Pianos are heavy yet delicate instruments. Over the years, professional piano movers have developed special techniques for transporting both grands and uprights, which prevent damage to the case and to the piano's mechanics.
For the full list of acreddited Piano Tuners in South Africa - Click Here