Showing posts with label piano tuned. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piano tuned. Show all posts

Saturday 28 September 2019

The Piano Tuner's Visit

The Piano Tuner’s visit is one of the things that so easily slips down the priority list. Subscriptions for the phone, TV, broadband, the dentist, the car, MOT, house insurance, school kit… etc.

On and on it goes! It’s a wonder we get through to the end of the month!

There ought to be some clever scheme that makes the piano being tuned important enough to warrant being placed higher up on the list of ‘to-do’ jobs!

I am old enough not to care about being old. I hate feeling cornered or obliged to be paying out money unless I really appreciate to the full what I am paying for. 

A reply to a tuning reminder sent a while ago, said that ‘my husband says the piano is still perfectly in tune so we will leave it this time.’ 
While I respect where he is coming from I am aghast at his priorities! What can be more important than having the piano tuned?

In the great mix that makes up the society of modern times, I do have some nostalgia for the slower pace of bygone days - days of not so very long ago. Days when nobody cared if you spent your evenings playing the piano or reading a book. Watching TV was a lazy persons way to pass the time.  Today it is all about 'surfing the web', or looking at social media, or exploring the endless choice of streaming services!  

Writing a blog is my nod to the internet - some things cannot be avoided. But I still feel that creativity is known and experienced at its best when there is a piano being played!


©Steve Burden

Thursday 12 October 2017

The Tuning Snob

If a piano is not in tune, surely it is out of tune! Simply put, it is one or the other!

Imagine if we piano tuners would turn up to work, flick some kind of switch, tinker about for an hour or so, play the 'Tuner's Waltz', have a cup of tea, get paid, smile and... on to the next job!

But alas, a tuner's life is not so black and white, not so easy. Whatever the piano may be: Steinway, Schimmel, Schiedmayer - just a few of those beginning with S - but Bluthner, Bechstein etc. and all the rest. All these good pianos, need regular tuning and maintenance to keep them sounding good.

Videos posted online, recordings heard on the radio, programs on the TV, all demonstrate the vast spectrum of ideas about in-tune-ness. The concept of 'in tune' can range from the boringly bland to the ridiculous clang of a poorly tuned street piano. Some people seem able to tolerate the most terrible twangs and jarring noises, oblivious to the blatant affront to musicality, while being quite serious in their playing.  

Perhaps being a piano tuner, one is unable to appreciate the honest effort of sincere musicians wanting to express their musical abilities. I find it surprising however that there is not a more widespread appreciation of the concept of being 'in tune'. 

Unhappily, 
we tuners are not among the most accommodating of people, often disagreeing about ways of doing things. For some, their own ideas and practices are the right ones - anything different, is simply wrong!

There is no point in being snooty about other ways of getting the job done - it is good that the profession is still alive and well! The truth is we can all improve. I'd be embarrassed to be met with some of my earliest tuning efforts. Thankfully, after so many years, nobody is going to complain now. We can only deal with the pianos we tune today with our very best efforts. Building experience one piano at a time. 

Tuner's Journal
©


Friday 10 October 2014

One Tuned Earlier - Part #1

Here are Nos. 1 - 10 of the 'One Tuned Earlier' series of Photos! 
Every piano has its own history and these snapshots record a routine visit from the piano tuner.

...and here's one I tuned earlier...
...one tuned earlier #2 ...not a good piano, but tuneable...
...one tuned earlier #3 ...can't all be stunningly good!
...one tuned earlier #4
...classic Ibach - still sounding good!
...one tuned earlier #5 ... a 'Simplex' action here!
...one tuned earlier #6 ...A 1960s Minx!
...one tuned earlier #7 ...Bechstein Mod 10 - even older than me - but has a better 'singing voice!'
...one tuned earlier #8 ...a reassuringly good Seiler!
...one tuned earlier #9 ...obviously, other tuners have been here earlier still!
...one tuned earlier #10
Yes, a Yamaha.

...one tuned earlier # 11
Yes, another Yamaha.

...one tuned earlier #12
Not seen many of these in UK.
...one tuned earlier #13
3 guesses to get the maker right!

A Tuner's Journal


Wednesday 13 August 2014

Bechstein Model 9 Repair


The Repair of a Bechstein Model 9.

The model 9 is my favourite Bechstein upright - providing it is not too old! Before taking the action to the workshop, I quickly raised the pitch so that the final tuning - after the repairs - ought to be nice and easy! 

As it was, the piano played almost acceptably - hints of a few lurking problems, misfiring notes etc. and for a Bechstein, a heavier touch than normal! Looking at some of the flange centres today, it is hard to understand how it worked at all. It is remarkable these pianos just seem to keep working even when the centre-pins are very stiff.

Cleaning the keys:  Getting the grime off the sides was not a pleasant job - the dirt was black, thick and greasy. The wood of the keys is now beautifully clean - good as new!
Damper Springs fitted

Work on the dampers - new springs, re-centring - and recovering the felts. All somewhat tedious and time-consuming but so important to get these things 'just-so!'

Felts recovered.
Fortunately, the hammers seem to have remained clean since a moderate overhaul - I reckon sometime during the 1960s.
Piano repair complete!  - A fine example of a Model 9.
Refitting the repaired parts is very rewarding! it means the job is progressing well and nearly done! Once all back together the regulation begins. This is the most important part. Everything has to work in sync to get the best from the piano.


There we have it! The repair is now complete and once again, the lovely qualities of the instrument are restored - smooth, light touch and a clear and strong tone!

Tuner's Journal

© 

Sunday 17 June 2012

Prestige, Priorities and Pianos.

Imagine: a posh, exclusive hotel - the perfect setting for just about any kind of event - with extensive and flawlessly kept grounds, an award winning restaurant, golf courses, conference facilities... and a piano! 

In a corner of the dining room is a double-overstrung Ibach baby grand piano. It is not ancient, but if there were an 'MOT' Test for pianos, this one would fail. It needs re-stringing and a lot of careful rebuilding work before it could once again give worthy credit to the Ibach name.

In spite of its condition the piano plays fairly well, and though tuned rather infrequently, when it is tuned the tone proves the old rule that a 'quality' piano can sound good and play acceptably, even when it is in a bad state of repair. 

I was told that, at quite a considerable cost, the lid had recently been re-polished! Sure enough, the lid was beautifully French polished and looked as good as new. But am I alone in thinking the money was spent on the wrong part of the piano?

The guests pay good money to sit and eat in the 'award-winning' restaurant. Whether the top of the piano looks nice, is of no consequence to someone who cringes at the unharmonious sounds coming from the piano! I know I fuss about these things but a top restaurant is about good food - the clean plates and cutlery are taken for granted. Pianos made to look nice without a thought of what they sound like, is the same as serving poor food on clean plates.  

In such an exclusive hotel, where the best of everything is on offer, it is sad that a tired, old piano is considered good enough to entertain the guests as they enjoy award-winning food in such prestigious surroundings. 

Ah well, they might have got the piano wrong but at least they got the super-luxurious paper towels in the toilets right! 

To achieve an air of real class and prestige, surely the choice of piano ought to be a  little higher on the priority list!
© Steve Burden