Glossary

GLOSSARY OF OUR SERVICES

This glossary gives details about our services as well as education about piano tuning and repair in general.

If you can’t find the answer to your questions here, check our FAQ page.

WHAT IS PIANO TUNING ALL ABOUT?

A tuning hammer on a tuning pin

The tool used to turn the tuning pins is called a tuning hammer, tuning wrench, or tuning lever. 

The oldest hammers have a shaft made of wood. In decades past, various plastics were used. Now, the best tuning hammers are made of carbon fiber and are very lightweight. 

Carbon fiber is also very stiff, which is helpful to the piano tuner in being able to “feel” the pins more accurately as they are being adjusted. 

A "field" of tuning pins on an upright piano.

The strings are wrapped around steel tuning pins which are turned to bring the pitch up or down. In a piano that’s tuned regularly, the movements made are extremely small, sometimes just lightly bumping the pin or even pushing gently against it is what it takes to get the strings in perfect tune.

Learning how to do this well, and how to leave the string exactly where you want it to stay, takes years of practice.

Piano Strings crossing over a bridge

The strings of a piano cross a bridge, which transfers the sound to the soundboard, a large thin piece of softwood. In this Summer, the soundboard swells as it takes on humidity, and shrinks as it loses humidity in the Winter. 

Each time the soundboard goes through this yearly cycle of pushing against the strings, and then relaxing, the strings lose tension, and end up further and further away from being in correct tune. 

If your home’s environment fluctuates greatly, your piano will benefit from a humidity control system.

An "E.T.D.", or electronic tuning device

Most tuners these days use an Electronic Tuning Device (E.T.D.) to set pitches by. There are several options to choose from, including stand-alone devices and software which can run on a phone. 

Whether tuning by ear or by using an E.T.D. is superior, is a subject that piano tuners like to argue about.

I was trained to tune by ear, but have adopted an E.T.D. into my toolbox. I rely on both, which is known as a hybrid tuning style. 

A piano tuning temperament strip in between piano strings

Another method of isolating just the middle strings is by pressing a long strip of felt called a “temperament strip” in between each set of 3 strings. This is most commonly used by piano tuners who tune aurally (tuning by ear).

a rubber piano tuning mute between strings
Throughout most of the piano, there are 3 strings per note. in order to isolate 1 or 2 of the strings (because it’s impossible to tune all 3 simultaneously), we use mutes placed between the strings.
 
There are other types of mutes, for example a “Papp’s mute” which uses a spring to keep it in place.

WHAT IS PIANO HAMMER
RESHAPING AND VOICING?

A piano having it's hammers voiced in Eureka, MO
Playing on a piano causes compression of the hammers. As the hammers become more dense and hard, the tone of the piano will become brighter and louder. In advanced cases, the piano will sound harsh and unpleasant, losing the warmth of tone that the hammers once had.
 
Voicing is the process of inserting needles into the hammers to soften the felt and break up overly dense layers. By knowing exactly where on the hammer to insert the needles, and how deep to go, a good technician can change the tonal qualities of a piano considerably.
a row of piano hammers, some have been reshaped

Years of playing causes hammers to gradually lose their ideal pear shape and flatten out where they strike the strings. This also causes the hammers to form grooves on them from the strings, which can dramatically affect the tone quality of the instrument.

Reshaping is the act of carefully filing the hammers down to their correct original shape. Reshaping is always followed by voicing.

A row of piano hammers in a vertical piano

Piano hammers are the teardrop shaped “mallets” which strike the strings, making the piano sing. Hammers are made of very dense felt wrapped around a small wooden core.

WHAT IS PIANO REGULATION?

mute rail in a piano

Regulation also includes making sure the hammers are hitting the strings exactly right, adjustment of the pedals, and a thorough check of all parts of the piano.

Regulation is the process of correcting for these inconsistencies by adjusting the numerous screws and springs in the action (and other adjustments), thereby setting these tolerances and measurements back to factory specifications.

Side view of a grand piano whippen
Through the years, the various felts and leathers in the moving parts of the action become compressed, creating lost motion. Furthermore, each key will be played a different number of times and to varying degrees, eventually causing considerable variation in the feel from one note to the next.
 
 

WHAT IS A PITCH ADJUSTMENT?

When a piano is not tuned regularly, this desired balance is thrown off, and the results of a tuning without this preparation are unsatisfactory.    

Our “New Customer Service” includes a pitch adjustment. 

A kawai upright piano being tuned

This is necessary when a piano hasn’t been tuned for several years, in order to bring the tension on the strings and plate into equilibrium and to restore stability.

A steinway upright being tuned in Edwardsville, IL
A pitch adjustment (or pitch correction/pitch raise) is a rough tuning (or series of tunings) performed prior to a fine tuning. Each tuning pass brings us closer to correct pitch.
 
 

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A
PIANO CLEANING?

Piano soundboard (under strings) before and after cleaning

The soundboard (under strings on a grand) is dusted (not a DIY project!), and the keytops are cleaned. 

All areas of the piano are given attention. 

Under keys, before and after cleaning

The inside of the piano is carefully vacuumed, and the exterior (case) of the piano is cleaned and polished. 

We offer piano cleaning as an add-on service. 

An old upright piano partially disassembled for cleaning
The piano action, keys, top and bottom boards are removed, giving us access to all parts of the piano.
 
 

WHAT DOES HUMIDITY HAVE TO DO WITH PIANOS?

A photo of a hygrometer, measuring humidity, in Wentzville, MO

The less fluctuation in temperature and humidity we can obtain, the better in tune a piano will sound year ’round. We aim for about 45% relative humidity. 

Burd and Sons has extensive experience installing humidity control systems. 

Backside of an upright piano, revealing the soundboard

Each time the soundboard goes through this yearly cycle of pushing against the strings, and then relaxing, the strings lose tension, and end up further and further away from being in correct tune.

Piano Strings crossing over a bridge
The strings of a piano cross a bridge, which transfers the sound to the soundboard, a large thin piece of softwood.
 
In this Summer, the soundboard swells as it takes on humidity, and shrinks as it loses humidity in the Winter.
 
 
A grand piano being tuned

In addition to keeping your piano in better tune throughout the year, there are other benefits as well. 

Excess humidity can cause strings and tuning pins to rust and the  moving parts of your piano (the action) to become sluggish or even  non-functional.  

If your piano gets too dry, the soundboard can crack, bridges and  strings are effected, and the piano action can feel loose and sloppy. Tuning pins can become loose leaving the piano un-tuneable. 

Dampp-Chaser system in a grand piano

Dampp-Chaser systems have 2 major components – one consists of heating elements which drive humidity out of the soundboard. The other uses a water tank to add humidity in the Winter.

In Missouri, excess humidity is generally the bigger problem, and in most cases, I recommend installing just the dehumidifier part of the system. 

Dampp-Chaser system in an upright piano

If your house-wide humidity control system isn’t cutting the proverbial mustard, we can install a system inside of the piano which greatly reduces the amount of environmental fluctuation. 

Also helpful: placing the piano away from doors, windows, outside walls, and water fixtures. 

 
 

TYPES OF MODERN PIANOS

Old, tall upright piano in St. Charles, MO

The term “upright piano” is actually synonymous with “vertical piano”, but it is also often used to refer more specifically to the very tall and often ornate pianos from the heyday of piano manufacturing – roughly a century ago.

A vertical Piano

The term “vertical piano” refers to any piano  that stands upright, as opposed to the general shape of a grand piano. 

  • The strings of a vertical piano are perpendicular to the floor. 
  • The action of a vertical piano can generally not repeat notes as quickly as a grand action can, and is otherwise not quite as responsive. 
  • The hammers strike the strings from the front. 
A Steinway & Sons grand piano

Grand pianos are easily recognized by their well-known shape, and open-able lid.  

  • The strings of a grand piano are parallel to the floor.
  • The action takes advantage of gravity, and is generally considered superior to vertical pianos.
  • The hammers strike the strings from below.
An Example of a spinet piano in St. Louis, MO
Spinet pianos were mostly produced from the 1940’s – 1990’s and during that time were the best selling of all piano styles.
 
The action in spinet pianos is “dropped” below the level of the keys, allowing for a very short piano. The bass end of spinet pianos leave much to be desired, and the actions are very difficult to remove to work on.
A console piano

A console piano is a piano that is manufactured to be as short as possible while still using a standard (direct blow) vertical piano action, though it is compressed in height. Some tone quality is sacrificed in exchange for reduced size and weight.

A steinway upright being tuned in Edwardsville, IL

A studio piano is a vertical piano that is considered a full-sized piano by modern standards. A quality piano of this size will compete with the richness of tone that old uprights did.

Meet The Expert

All information on this page was written by Joe Kemple, Master Piano Technician with 37 years of experience. 

If you have a suggestion for something that would be helpful to include in this glossary, I welcome your suggestions and feedback.