The A to Z Guide On How Much Does It Cost To Tune A Piano – Tuning Time & Extra Tips

No matter how bulky the piano might look like, it is, in reality, a delicately built musical instrument with complex parts. These artistically crafted parts work in harmony to create some of the most amazing tunes to mesmerize us. However, being made from wood and soft felt it is prone to seasonal contraction and swelling due to the change in the climate. 

How Much Does It Cost To Tune A Piano

According to the expert technicians, the changes in extreme temperature directly influences the tone, pitch and music quality of your piano. Moreover, without proper tuning, any type piano playing or piano recording is impossible. Therefore, your piano needs to go through regular tuning sessions to keep hypnotizing people. However, the pianist often expresses their anxiousness about the cost of tuning the piano. So, our expert team has decided to breakdown the costing list with in-depth detailing to inform you how much does it cost to tune a piano. 

What is piano tuning?

A piano tuning refers to the adjustments of the tuning pins’ of the instrument to ensure proper production of sound intervals with all the strings are in precise tension aka pitch. The aim is to adjust all the piano strings to a standard A440 uniformity.

Everything  About !!! - How Much Does It Cost To Tune A Piano

Our teammates have contacted with several piano tuning companies, experts and professional technicians to estimate the average costing to tune a piano. And finally, after weeks of thorough investigation, we have found that the average cost of tuning a piano is around 50-200 USD. Additional repairing and substantial servicing will add more bucks though. 

Costing according to maintenance type

Most technicians across the globe typically categorize the piano tuning into four different genres and ask price according to it.

  • Regular maintenance: If you tune your piano at least twice in a year, your piano is marked under regular maintenance. A technician with over 30 years of experience quoted that the proper tuning requires no less than 100 USD and he would complete the adjustment within one to one and half hour period. 
  • Standard maintenance:  If you haven't tuned your piano since the last two years or more, you need a standard to moderate tuning. It roughly requires two to two and a half hours for an expert technician to check all the pins and fit the tunes into the right place. It might cost you approximately 175-200 USD.
  • Extensive maintenance: Some antique pianos receive this thorough tuning service with professionals working for hours to correct the pitch rate through the application of three fine-tuning theory. It almost consumes three or even more hours sometimes of an expert. You will need to pay around 300-500 USD depending on the condition of the piano and hours consumed.

Hourly or flat payment, which is cost-efficient?

You can pay the piano tuning payments through two different processes, hourly rate, and flat rate. For instance, a piano magician in Huston, Texas, demands a flat rate of 100$ for standard tuning procedure. On the other hand, another tuning expert from New York remarked that he takes hourly payments with 100$ for an hour. He further informed us that 100$ for an hour is more or less a standard pricing accepted across the nation.

However, depending on the quality of tuning and amount of repairing service required both the hourly and flat rate might reach as high as 200-300$.

How long does it take to tune a piano?

Piano tuning is an art that requires extreme concentration and excellent care of the professionals. I have met and talked personally with some of the piano tuning specialists to find the answer for the time required to tune a piano.

Most professionals replied that a normal to standard piano tuning approximately needs around 1-1.5 hours. With some fine-tuning and tiny repairing works, the whole process finishes within two hours. 

However, if the piano has an excessively, either flat or sharp pitch, you will additionally need to rectify the pitch rate. It might consume another half an hour. Therefore, the overall tuning process should be completed within 1.5-2.5 hours with small bargaining over the tuning frequency.

How often should you tune a piano?

A piano is an investment for the future to hear uninterrupted music. However, being made from felt and wood, the piano changes according to the seasonal effects. The temperature moving upward or downward influences the piano tunes.

Q- Sometimes, we have been asked if it is mandatory to check and recheck the tuning of your piano is OK or not regularly?

A--We want to give this answer through an example. Suppose, you have a program where you have to Play Fur Elise On Piano in front of the audience. If you have forgot to check the tuning of your piano properly, it can make your performance horrible. Therefore, from time to time, you need to tune your piano and checking and rechecking should be done carefully.

Although different companies have different opinions about how often on should tune his piano. We have researched on the topic and found the following answers.

  • A piano needs 3-4 tuning session during the 1st year of his life.
  • During the 2nd year and afterward two tuning sessions per year will do.

National Piano Manufacturers Association has approved this tuning timeline, and so, you can entrust this time frame.

Extra Tips- How to tune a guitar with a piano

Tuning a guitar with a piano or keyboard isn’t a hard task. I am assuming that you want to fix a standard guitar and thus, describing the ways for it.

  • Test the tune of the piano:  It is less likely to be a headache as the electronic keyboards are always in tune. However, most pianos tune correctly at 440HZs. Make sure that all the tuning adjustments are switched on.
  • Playing the required notes: A standard bass guitar comes with six different notes in ascending order-
    1 -> E2.     2->  A3.  3->   D4.   4->  G5. 5->   B6.   6->   E
  • Maintain the pitch rate: The sweetness of the sound of your guitar is mainly dependent upon the pitch. So, always make sure that the tone is in the right tempo while you fine-tune your guitar.
  • Checking twice is never a bad investment: When you are done with your tuning, always, I repeat, always recheck the tunes thoroughly. It won’t leave you amidst the confusion.

Final thought

A piano brings lifetime promise for quality and soulful music for you and your family. It is an extremely delicate musical instrument. If you want to get satisfactory performance from it for a more extended period, you must fine-tune and service it regularly. A complete and detailed piano tuning helps the piano produce mind boggling performances.

Leave a Reply