Piano tuning in St. Louis & Chicago.
Precise, stable tuning by ear and by Accu-Tuner, for pianos that deserve to play in tune with themselves and the world around them.
Tuning sets the pitch of a piano’s strings so the instrument plays in tune with itself and to standard concert pitch. It is the most frequent care a piano needs, and the foundation everything else, tone and touch, is built upon.
A piano carries something on the order of 220 strings under roughly eighteen to twenty tons of combined tension. Tuning is the craft of settling that tension so every interval sounds right to the ear. A good tuning is not simply “matching a machine”; it is a series of judged decisions about how an individual instrument wants to sound.
What a professional tuning involves
- Pitch check. Measuring where the piano sits against standard pitch, A4 = 440 Hz, by ear and, where useful, with an electronic reference.
- Pitch raise, if needed. An overpull pass to bring a badly flat piano close to target so the fine tuning will hold.
- Setting the temperament. Tuning a reference octave in the middle of the keyboard, distributing the small compromises of equal temperament so every key is equally usable.
- Stretching the octaves. Because real strings are slightly inharmonic, octaves are tuned a touch wide so they sound pure to the ear rather than mathematically exact.
- Setting the unisons. Bringing each note’s two or three strings into one clean unison, the step that makes a tuning sound clear instead of wavery.
- Testing stability. Settling each tuning pin and test-striking every note firmly so the tuning stays put.
Aural and Accu-Tuner precision
We tune both by ear and with the Sanderson Accu-Tuner. An electronic tuning device measures a specific piano’s inharmonicity and calculates a custom stretch for all 88 notes; the trained ear judges the unisons and the musical extremes that no meter can feel. Executed well, the two methods converge, and the finest result combines the consistency of a measured stretch with human judgement.
Concert pitch, A440 and A442
Most pianos are, and should be, kept at the international standard of A=440 Hz so they match other instruments and recordings. A=442 Hz is a slightly brighter reference some orchestras prefer. We tune to whichever pitch your instrument is played against, and we do not shuffle a home piano back and forth without reason.
Frequently asked.
How often should a piano be tuned?
At least twice a year for a home piano, following manufacturer and Piano Technicians Guild guidance, usually once in spring and once in fall to bracket the heating and cooling seasons. A new piano needs three to four tunings in its first year while it settles, and instruments that are played hard or performed on are tuned more often.
Why does my piano go out of tune when nobody plays it?
Because it responds to humidity, not just playing. When the air grows humid the wooden soundboard swells and raises string tension, lifting the pitch; when the air dries the soundboard shrinks and the pitch falls. Those seasonal swings are why even an untouched piano drifts and needs regular tuning.
Should my piano be tuned to A440 or A442?
A440 is the international standard and the right choice for almost every home and studio piano, because it matches other instruments and recordings. A442 is a slightly higher, brighter reference favored by some orchestras and European venues. A piano should be kept at whichever pitch it is played against.
What is a pitch raise, and does my piano need one?
If a piano has drifted well below standard pitch, adding tension back across the strings flexes the frame and pulls tuned notes flat, so a rough overpull tuning is done first and a fine tuning follows. A piano that has been neglected for years may need more than one pass before it holds. If your piano has not been tuned in a long time, expect the first visit to include a pitch raise.
Related services.
Ready to get your piano in tune?
Tell us a little about your instrument and when it was last serviced, and we will get you on the schedule.