# Can my son tune our piano? Even a little bit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542 "2003-06-08T23:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/1 "2003-06-08T23:54:58Z")
The piano, bless its resoundingly loud little heart, is sorely out of tune. Can we do anything until we get a realio trulio piano tuner in here? If it can be brought somewhat back in line manually, my son can do it…but can it be done? Any experience / stories welcome… Thanks, karol ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/2 "2003-06-09T00:18:56Z")
Hire the tuner - they are really not that expensive. I realize that’s a relative statement, but if you use the piano a lot, it’s worth the cost. I wouldn’t suggest allowing an untrained person tune it. Oopsies may end up being much more costly than the tuner. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/3 "2003-06-09T00:56:19Z")
You realize that a piano has around 230 strings? Does your son have the patience for it? Also, if you don’t have the right tools, you could mash the tuning pins out of shape, annoying the real tuner when he does show up. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/4 "2003-06-09T01:02:03Z")
They’re a blighter to tune without training and/or equipment. There are things like beat frequencies to listen for, to get the imperfect tunings that equal tempering relies on. An untrained person going for what _sounds_ right, even if they have a good ear for music, will tend to get the ‘mainstream’ keys like C major, G major, etc sounding good, then find that the remote ones like A flat minor are dreadfully off. I once had a go with ours, tuning it against a borrowed electronic piano, and still needed the tuner afterward. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/5 "2003-06-09T01:46:01Z")
As someone with a lifelong interest in pianos who, in his youth, tried tuning them self-taught, I can testify that this is not a good idea. He is 1) unlikely to do any good, and B) could do some damage to the instrument. At the very least he will simply make it a little harder for the pro you bring in to pull the piano into tune. Piano tuning is an _ **incredibly** _ complicated task that requires a level of skill and subtlety that is completely underestimated by most people who watch a tuner work. The ear required to do the job properly takes years to develop. If your son is _really_ interested in learning the art and science of piano tuning, have him watch your pro do the job, ask questions, and get a sense of what’s involved. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/6 "2003-06-09T12:44:58Z")
Tuned a little bit is still out of tune. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/7 "2003-06-09T14:36:36Z")
Here ya are: [http://www.pianotuning.com/](http://www.pianotuning.com/) ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/8 "2003-06-09T14:39:53Z")
I have two good books on piano tuning, and they’re both several hundred pages. There’s much more to it than it looks. Given the skill and knowledge required, it’s very inexpensive to have it done professionally. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/9 "2003-06-09T15:24:02Z")
Do not do this! Unless you don’t mind ruining your piano. People train for years and years to learn how to tune correctly; it’s not something you can learn from a book. If he doesn’t know what he’s doing and doesn’t have the correct tools, and doesn’t have an “ear” for it, he’ll never bring it somewhat back into line. If you have a junk piano that you will NEVER play and your son wants to have fun with it, then go ahead. But do realize that he’s going to likely ruin it to the point that if you ever do want to play it, a professional tuner is going to have to do a LOT more than just “tune” it. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/10 "2003-06-09T16:31:16Z")
Another vote for the professional. It’ll cost sixty bucks and it’s worth it. The low G string broke on our church piano, and since it was an old rickety instrument, a friend and I attacked it. He had a tuning wrench and a basic idea of how to do this. We loosened it up and used pliers to tie the broken ends into a square not (very difficult with such a thick string). He did his best to tune that string, but there’s not much you can do when two bozos like us tied a knot in a piano string. To this day, that key makes a solid _thunk_ instead of the pleasant musical tone that it should 🆒. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/11 "2003-06-09T17:31:50Z")
Don’t you need tuning forks and such? There’s no way I’d let anyone but a professional do this. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/12 "2003-06-09T18:37:56Z")
These days most tuners use a computer, which is so quick and looks so easy that it might lead many people to imagine they could do it themselves. (I briefly toyed with the idea.) But it is still a bad idea for all the reasons mentioned above. The manual process involves, at minimum, a couple of tuning forks, a tuning hammer (the proper name for the wrench-like device used to tighten and loosen the pegs), some rubber dampers to silence the strings not being tuned, and/or some strips of felt to do the same thing. Some tuners have perfect pitch and don’t need tuning forks! I’ve sat and watched my tuner work, and he’s said, things like, “There, hear the beat on the third harmonic?” and even though I knew what he was talking about, I couldn’t hear it. If you don’t know what the “beat on the third harmonic” means, you shouldn’t even be thinking about trying to tune a piano. If you know what it means, but can’t hear it, you shouldn’t be trying to tune a piano (which is why I gave up the idea). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/13 "2003-06-09T19:24:29Z")
These days most tuners use a computer, which is so quick and looks so easy that it might lead many people to imagine they could do it themselves. (I briefly toyed with the idea.) But it is still a bad idea for all the reasons mentioned above. The manual process involves, at minimum, a couple of tuning forks, a tuning hammer (the proper name for the wrench-like device used to tighten and loosen the pegs), some rubber dampers to silence the strings not being tuned, and/or some strips of felt to do the same thing. Some tuners have perfect pitch and don’t need tuning forks! I’ve sat and watched my tuner work, and he’s said, things like, “There, hear the beat on the third harmonic?” and even though I knew what he was talking about, I couldn’t hear it. If you don’t know what the “beat on the third harmonic” means, you shouldn’t even be thinking about trying to tune a piano. If you know what it means, but can’t hear it, you shouldn’t be trying to tune a piano (which is why I gave up the idea). ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/14 "2003-06-10T03:52:07Z")
Also, piano strings–even strings that aren’t _that_ old–can break unexpectedly, even when a professional is tuning them. But the pro has more strings in his truck. BP, piano tuners here charge about $80, and it’s $20 more if the piano hasn’t been tuned in a really long time, like “years”, and I consider it well worth it. In spite of what the Totally Serious Fanatic concert pianists will tell you (“pianos should be tuned twice a year, and four times a year is better!”), if you’re just dabbling and you aren’t preparing for the Carnegie Hall Recital Of The Century or hoping somebody from Deutschegrammophon offers you a contract, it only needs to be tuned once a year. Eighty bucks a year isn’t that bad. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/15 "2003-06-10T04:04:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by commasense \* > \*\* If you know what it means, but can’t hear it, you shouldn’t be trying to tune a piano (which is why I gave up the idea). \*\* Yeah, me too. I can grasp the math and I understand the mechanics, but my ears are not trustworthy enough to allow me to try it except in desparation. Still, it’s an interesting process, and I was surprised to learn that there are several methods. (And the history and technique of tempering scales is pretty fascinating, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/16 "2003-06-10T04:47:20Z")
I can’t resist: > [@](#): > > Mrs. Smith needed to have her piano tuned so she asked a friend for a recommendation. She then made an appointment with the piano tuner, Mr. Oppernockity. He arrived 2 days later, tuned the piano satisfactorily, and left. Several days later Mrs. Smith noticed that the piano was terribly out of tune again. She called the tuner to complain about the tuning and to ask for a return visit to solve the problem. However, the tuner replied, > “I’m sorry ma’am, but Oppernockity only tunes once!” From [this page](http://www.tunepianos.com/yanjokes.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/17 "2003-06-10T07:37:48Z")
Another vote for calling a professional. It really, really, really isn’t worth it to try to tune it on your own. It’s not like tuning a guitar or a violin, plus **herman\_and\_bill** has a good point – there is no “close enough”. If it’s not in tune, it’s out of tune. My suggestion is to get it tuned professionally, then try to insulate it from any large temperature variations or vibrations that would detune it. When I was living at home and playing regularly, my piano was tuned at least once a year, sometimes twice – but then I played a lot, plus the instrument was against an exterior wall that wasn’t terribly well insulated, and it was moved for cleaning every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/18 "2003-06-10T08:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terminus Est \* > \*\*You realize that a piano has around 230 strings? Does your son have the patience for it? Also, if you don’t have the right tools, you could mash the tuning pins out of shape, annoying the real tuner when he does show up. \*\* I saw the inside of my piano when the shop was refurbishing it. The string board didn’t seem to have much more than 100 strings on it–1 for each key i guess? I’ve seen the string boards for grands and baby grands where each key uses 3 strings, is that what you are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/19 "2003-06-10T12:06:46Z")
I don’t understand why the OP asks about your **son**. Is your son a professional piano tuner, but you’re afraid that there is some legal or professional reason for him not to tune your piano, similar to how many doctors will not accept relatives as patients? Why not ask if **you** can tune it? ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542/20 "2003-06-10T12:15:11Z")
not to mention, that the tension of some of the piano strings could have his eye out if they snap and he’s at the wrong angle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-my-son-tune-our-piano-even-a-little-bit/180542.md?page=2)