Can You Tune An OLD Piano?
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2021
- Many people come into an older piano in one way or another. Often these older pianos are out of tune when they arrive in your home, and since even the most expensive piano in the world will not sound good or be enjoyable to play, getting your piano tuned up is the top priority. Tuning your piano is one thing but there are also additional condition variables with an older piano. If you have an old piano you may be wondering if you can buy a tuning hammer and tune it yourself even. Join us as we discuss... Can You Tune An Old Piano?
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I tuned my 50yo Baldwin console tonight. First try. Took about 3 hours. It was fun. I don’t understand why they’re acting like it’s some impossible task.
my piano was so old that when the piano tuner came in he said imm sorry its imposibble to tune i began to cry it was from 1789 i think but it was old
That's cool and definitely something to consider if you have an expensive piano.
However, I got a piano for free and I enjoy doing things myself. They mentioned how it's difficult to understand like a car, but I like monkeying around with complicated stuff like cars. They treat tuning a Piano like some impossible task. Piano technicians are just people who've learned a skill. If I educate myself and do it enough, I can also gain the same skill.
I don't particularly care if it's 'perfectly' in pitch with mathematical precision. As long as it's basically in pitch and sounds decent, that's good enough for me. I'm not performing a concert, I'm just having some fun.
They've probably only heard horror stories because those are the people who couldn't tune it or messed up something. Everyone who successfully tuned their own Piano don't say anything nor do they contact Piano technicians. If less than 1% of people who tried to tune a piano failed and then complained to these guys, it'd seem like an overwhelming amount of people fail at tuning a Piano.
To be fair, some people are simply too dumb, inept, or otherwise not good at fixing thing. They should know themselves and not even try to tune it themselves. That's who I think this video is mainly for.
Thanks for the warning, but I'll tune it myself.
Good luck with that one, buddy 😆
@@Jack-hy1zq tuning a piano really isn’t that hard. I tune my own piano and record it for songs so it’s 100% in tune and it only took some UA-cam videos to figure out. All you have to learn is to understand the piano tuning stretches out and isn’t perfect like other instruments, and that you need to use your ear to slow the beating to basically no beats when tuning to the middle string (aka the wawawawa sound that’s fast when out of tune and slower when close to in tune) and when an old piano is out of tune then you need to pull the strings a little higher so that the strings will naturally fall back down closer to pitch and then tune again to the accurate pitches. I guess it sounds easier said then done but it only took me a day or two to figure out and then I did it and got it in tune perfectly
also there is software that will guide you, and it will sound great if you get a little experience!
You can learn the skill and if you can hear the beats you can get the temperament octave in tune then you octave tune the other notes. Octaves have no beats if there is a waver then it's out of tune. Setting the pins so the strings don't slip is another skill must be learned. My first attempt in tuning failed because I didn't set the pins.
I tuned harpsichords in college and learned the beats with the hale electronic tuning fork. The device had three octaves but I probably only used the 440 Hz one and then octave tuned the lower and upper notes. My favorite tuning was when I tuned my piano teacher's harpsichord. She was so happy. 73
I agree. My piano tuner said it would take about $1000 and several trips to get my piano in tune. I'm not spending that much. The piano isn't worth that much. So I don't have anything to lose trying to tune it myself.
I have a 1906 Schumann and it’s at concert pitch A440 and it holds its tune very well
Very informative video. I’ve been bingeing videos about this type of stuff as I’m hoping to learn how to be a technician soon!
My 100 year old Knabe parlor grand is under the care of Steinway in Austin TX. I cry every time I sit down to play it knowing my tuner and tech have it in the best possible condition. I still keep a tuning wrench. But, how they treat the action and tune it. She plays like new in original condition.
Great video and so true. Great advice guys.
Nice video, thanks for the transparency and honesty.
My old church got rid of a beautiful grand piano because they thought it couldn't hold I tune. I told the board not to do it, but they wouldn't listen. Now I go to a new church, and I've brought the piano with me! Gonna use pinblock restorer this week for a couple trouble pins. Should be just perfect after that.
I hope you know what you are doing . Pin restorer can ruin a piano. Just a word of caution. 73 ps larger pins could work better if you want to do the work. 73
I hope someone from the guild could comment on these issues. I'm no piano Technician. 73
I've seen the gamut of this issue. In my past, I possessed a baby grand - with no brand markings - made in 1965. The pin block was shot! I, unfortunately, juiced it (CA glue) so it would hold pitch. Likewise, I also owned a Mason & Hamlin AA, made in 1927. I knew ZERO of the instrument's history, but when I took possession of it, only ONE wire - ONE WIRE - was not true to pitch.
I always pay a professional to tune my piano. I also have paid to have the hammers filed & the squeaking pedal fixed. I have had my piano since it was new, & I keep it in great shape. I’m classically trained & have perfect pitch, so I take care of every single problem that crops up. It’s extremely important to have a piano tuned regularly. I can’t stress that enough.
There’s a lot of different comments.
One myth is it takes several tunings to bring the piano up to pitch when being extremely flat in pitch.
You can do it in one sitting. It’ll take longer but to come back several times to get it to pitch isn’t necessary. Probably cost a lot more in the long run.
Some Techs don’t like to raise the pitch that much on an old neglected piano.
Strings may be super rusty.Etc.
Sure in today’s world you go to You Tube University, find an app to tune and after hours or so or days it sounds okay.
But it takes a lot of experience to be A professional. And time. You have to know the repairs etc.
I went to tune a console piano
when I got there I found out that 2 strings in the middle were broken.
The teenager tried to tune the piano. Hence the broken strings.
The strings in the middle are harder to repair because they they are behind the bass strings.
Lot of people are DYI. That’s great. I don’t think people should be dissing professional piano tuners. To get to that level takes quite a bit of doing.
I could go on.
I actually tuned my wife’s piano bought when her college time with help of app. Tuned twice “successfully” however when season changed it will be off by itself. I mean if you tune in Fall it will be off in winter a little bit and by summer it is way off. Then if you patiently wait until Fall again, you will be surprised that the piano basically tuned by itself except few note may be off a little bit. Also the piano place in first first floor which we lowered down the heat when we go to bed in second floor. Is that happening normal to all old upright 30 to 40 years old Wurlitzer brand piano?
I also find that if I over play it for hours and it tends to off a little bit. I do find out that you had mentioned in the video the volume go up because 3 strings “sing” in unison.
It sounds so pure & so different when you play the same song before and after. It will make the same song sound beautiful & more enjoyable.
The only dilemma is the fifth octave sounds cold and not warm compare to 4th or 6th octave. I guess is the stretch curve that I don’t know how to add to tuning process. Or I couldn’t figure out how to tune using techniques “temperament” to tune?
I am now moving on to buy a good digital piano however I found low price model doesn’t have the transparent tone character compare to acoustic piano even though it’s has string resonance features. The sampling is either sound like record too close to the piano which has not wide, sound in a box or to far away like not enough dynamic.
I just play piano as self entertainment of songs whatever I heard. Some situations as poor people cannot hire a driver so you have to dive your own car to go where you need to go. I don’t know how to read sheet music no matter how hard I try to learn. No piano teacher but just play by ear with key of G and along with broken cords I figured it out myself. I also figured out tuning piano myself. Thanks for insight on piano tuning.
We saved a beautiful Hamilton OLD OLD free up right painted pink. They were going to put it in the dump. We Had a pro asses the cost. I am glad we did save it. We had a professional re-due the inside complete redone, All felts to key covers, and all internals. He added the dehumidifier. He came every few months to tune 2 years to get it to A. We refinished the maple finish it was beautiful. But we are different from most people. I loved that piano Many Many years until we moved and had to give it up. But it did cost us and it was free, if your time and hard work is not an issue. And weight that is a BIG DEAL. Full Size up Right are not really for most folks.
My family was given a 100 year old up right piano about 40 years ago so it's 140 years old now, one of our first piano tuners told us to take a couple of soft drink litre plastic bottles cut the tops off and regularly fill them with water like once every 2-3 months and place them inside the piano in the lower part near the pedals, we were told that it would help keep moister in the wood, it seems to have worked for us over the years, have you ever heard of that tip? does it actually do anything or is it placebo?
Ive tuned at 1907 and lots of 1920s. 1928 mason and hamlin is my favorite.
One note was giving a weird sound but the issue was not the note but an harmonic created by a damper in the bass string that was not touching correctly. No matter how I would try to tune the note, it would never work.
The boy has more power and authority and pride than the normal old man
I have an odd old upright piano with long tapered tuningpins. Is there a specific tuningtip for these pins? My GF likes the looks, it has absolutely 0 value and we are not looking to have a tuner come over since we already had that., The tuner said he needed to come back 4 or 6 times to have it tuned as good as it gets, since it hasn't been tuned for over decades(s). I have all the time in the wold and i'd like to tune it every month or so in baby steps.
Have there been any innovations in the process of piano tuning in the last decade or so?
From my experience I've never attempted to do anything to a piano but have a good ear for harmonics so I aquire a piano and tried it myself and it took a week of tuning cause it kept falling to 420 but after a week it stayed a solid 440 .but its a big job cleaning one an tuning lots of patience
I always tune my piano as a technician it's always better to know how tight or loose the pins note after note I have a 1956 lambert london beautiful piano it sounds ace now it's tuned don't get a tuner in for myself as I'm self taught
Please use punctuation in the future.
@@maximlamoureux4129
Right! How can you type a whole paragraph without punctuation?
Hey guys, love the videos. I just wanted to let you guys know that i have a pinblock in the shop right now and every single pin is not doing its job. I had also never seen that before. I took the pins out and every single one was bent, and when I put larger pins back in, it worked...sort of......I pulled it up to pitch, and it holds, but it is impossible to turn the pin smoothly. It turns in increments and as you can imagine thats not great. Even if i was a perfect piano tuner, i'd still have about a 50 % chance of getting it in tune, and I am just an average tuner. FUN
We have this really old piano that has been tuned half a note below standard pitch for decades.
But different piano tuners refused to tune it to standard pitch for some reason or other, like the strings would break or the pin block would split or the cast iron would buckle. Is there truth to what they say or is this piano forever consigned to being tuned half a note below standard? It sounds dull so I want it restored to standard pitch but how to do it?
Any updates?
It depends on the piano. Some can get up to pitch some cant. Ive gotten one that was 2 notes off back up to 440 some can only go to 420...
It depends entirely on the piano in question. You haven't given enough information for anyone to advise you. It's the same as if you had said, "The mechanic said my car can't be fixed. Is this true?!"
Perhaps a better way to find answers is to ask what factors might make a piano unable to be brought up to concert pitch? Is it because there are parts that need to be repaired first? Because it needs to be restrung? Or just the manufacturer?
What would cause someone to say that a piano cannot be tuned to A440?
Yes some people can learn how to tune a piano my problem was setting the strings to hold. I tuned many harpsichords with no problem I even tuned one for a performance of Bach's Saint Johns passion. I had to tune twice one time before the performance and the other time during intermission. I also tuned a double manual harpsichord for my piano teacher at UCF. I wish I would have took her up on her offer but Orlando FL was 40 miles away but the piano lesson would have been worth my time tuning her harpsichord. I would have loved learning Bach's works for keyboard. well bottom line most people cannot tube because they don't know how to hear the beats. you can keep them electronic devices. the only exception is a electronic tuning fork which I used to tune the temperament octave then it was easy to tune octaves and I did hear the beats on my fourths and fifths so I know the harpsichords I tuned were tuned properly. 73
I’ve been learning how to tune and I agree that hearing the beats is essential. You need pretty sharp hearing, but if someone is a long time musician I think they would have the ears to do it.
@@hrobert745 yes if your talking about serious musicians. Not what they call music today musicians. 73
yes there are many issues in tuning a piano that wasn't tuned in decades like 50 years or so. I would guess. This piano I had was left in the old farmhouse we bought in the late 60s and we had a blind tuner come out and he said the piano could not be tuned. well the piano I kept playing it and was my practice piano in the summer and weekends. we thought to call another tuner and he was one that tuned pianos for all the colleges and probably all the churches and schools around. he said the piano wasn't getting any younger and he raised it to pitch 440 A . the piano was a full step lower. the A was a G on frequency. he detuned the strings to break the rust and brought it up to pitch. he never broke one string and the piano held for a few months. he also taught me how to glue the new bridle straps on. so I did that after he left. the piano sounded like a concert grand. it was an upright concert grand piano had a large sound board. the history of the piano was left in the farmhouse on the outer rooms which had no heat in the winter and was hot in the summer. so I would say the piano was well built from the early teens you cannot get a date from the serial number because it was looked up I found dates marked on the bass hammers from the early teens when I guess the piano was tuned. the first four hammers had dates and that's it no more dates on any other hammers. I think old school piano tuners are willing to tune an old piano. this one we had rebuilt an old Steinway piano a parlor model 6 foot 4 inch which were rare. I got to play on the piano when we brought the keys over to be recovered the ivory was missing on 95 percent of the keys. well we brought the piano to Florida which was a wrong move it was in an un air-conditioned closed in garage. we had the piano tuned again and i was refinishing the cabinet and the pillars and also replaced the castors. my nephew was working out and he helped me put the piano on its back which was a very heavy piano. I refinished the main parts of the piano I did not finish the part where the decal was I could not find a replacement. well the sad part of this story the piano got neglected and the strings started to break on their own in the middle of the my night you would hear one break I could not find dampers for the piano so i.gave up on the restoration project it's a shame such a well built piano end this way. pianos need a certain humidity and not too dry and not to moist Florida was the worst conditions this piano went through. at least the humidity in Pennsylvania was better for that old piano. I sure miss that old piano it was the best sounding upright I ever heard. the new pianos they.can keep them they ain't worth the money and my time practicing on them. you might as well buy a electronic keyboard then no tuning is required. maybe I will find an old Mason Hamlin baby Grand I heard the sound and I like how they were built. I'm not going to buy a piano until I have AC in the room where the piano is going to stay I will keep the humidity at 42 percent and 68 degrees, which I believe is perfect for pianos. 73
Paragraphs are your friend.
@@afellowinnewengland6142 really??? Get out of here TROLL!!! Don't like it read somewhere else. No 73
@@ronb6182 Now now Ron, no need for yelling. This is a family video and we need to be respectful. I understand your frustrated. I mean, you posted this comment a year ago and in that entire time no one liked it or commented on it. I'm sure it's an interesting story, but unfortunately it's too long and messy for most native English speakers to make it through...without paragraphs that is. Embrace the paragraph Ron. Why waste good stories? I can send you some information on paragraphs and how to use them if you like. Have a wonderful evening.
@@afellowinnewengland6142 who cares you don't know who reads comments. I don't comment on everything I read. Don't like it move on. 73
@@ronb6182 Oh Ron, you silly goose. I don't know if I like your comment or not yet. You see, I can't read it. Perhaps it's quite intriguing and presents a whole paradigm shift. Perhaps, it's rather quite the opposite. We all want to know. Perhaps you'll reconsider and provide some paragraphs. I think you'll sleep better knowing you've done the right thing. 1111
Hello yes it IS possible to tune an old piano
But you tune low under 440 fréquence and dont forget it IS hard work
Can't you tune it with its self mean turning.
Long live the Electric Piano,
Playing with headphone at night.
A acoustic grand piano can be nice also.🤗
You can tune a piano but you can’t “tune-a fish” old joke I know
That sounds like a job for automation. Repetitive, precise and tedious. Guitars do it... Pianos should do it too. It shouldn't be too expensive to implement
Sledgehammer will cost me nothing.
Sad, for something that survived 80 to 100 years, but....
Dunno what else to do, I don't play, I don't want it, nobody else does...
Maybe in the local creek off the bridge is the best place to dump this thing?
don't
I can't even tune my violin. Who would ever think they can tune a piano? Thanks for reinforcing the reality that a professional should be called to tune my piano even if it is only for my own pleasure.
If you play violin, you should really learn how to tune it yourself. It's not even that hard and you won't be caught unprepared if you need to perform and there's no one there to tune it for you.