Congratulations!
Your New piano in St. Louis - Here's What to do First
You’ve added a beautiful instrument to your home—congratulations! Whether it’s a shiny new grand or a vintage upright from a neighbor, the first few weeks are critical for the long-term health of the piano.
Here is exactly what you need to do, in order, to protect your investment.
1. The Move: Hire a Specialist
If the piano isn’t in your living room yet, stop. Do not hire standard household movers. Pianos are incredibly heavy, top-heavy, and fragile. A piano-specific mover has the specialized skids, straps, and insurance to ensure the piano (and your floors) stay pristine.
Pro-Tip: We recommend A Piano’s Friend
2. Diagnose the Health of Your Piano
Is your piano “healthy” or just “hanging in there”?
In all likelihood, your piano will need extra attention during our first visit to get it back to a professional baseline. If the keys and pedals work and you believe it has been tuned recently, you can verify its health using these tools:
The Pitch Checker: Use our Online Pitch Checker to see if the strings have dropped below Concert Pitch (A440). If they have, a “Pitch Raise” is required to ensure the tuning actually holds.
The Aural Inspection: Read 5 Signs Your Piano is Out of Tune
Note: If you aren’t sure, 90% of pianos coming from a different home or a long period of storage require the New Customer Service ($316) to be brought back to life safely.
Don't worry if your piano sounds absolutely awful, every single week I visit pianos that have not been tuned in over a decade.
No judgment, no worries. It’s rare that a piano is too far gone to be brought back to life.
I have tuned over 10,000 pianos in the last 38 years – I’ve encountered nearly every situation.
These are typical before and after "New Customer Service" appointment results:
3. Choosing the Right Service
When you head to our booking page, you’ll see two main options. Here is the rule of thumb:
New Customer Service (90% of cases): If you just bought the piano, don’t know its history, or it hasn’t been tuned in over a year, choose this. It includes a comprehensive evaluation and the “Pitch Raise” that most newly-moved pianos desperately need.
Standard Tuning: Choose this only if the previous owner had it tuned religiously every 12 months and it sounds almost perfect to your ear right now.
“Joe is the man! He fixed up my old piano that so many other tuners had said they didn’t have the skills to repair. He is super knowledgable, punctual, and kind. — Hire him!” -Jessica K, Wildwood
4. Secure Your Appointment Today (The "Two-Week" Rule)
While you should schedule your appointment right now, the actual date of the tuning should be at least 14 days after the piano arrives in your home.
Why the delay? Pianos are made of wood and felt—they act like a giant sponge. Your home has a different humidity level than the piano’s previous environment. It needs two weeks to “acclimate” and settle. If we tune it on Day 1, the wood will continue to shift, and it will likely be out of tune again within a week.
Action: Book your appointment now and pick a date at least two weeks out from your delivery day.
Curious about what the scheduling and appointment process will be like? Your Visit: What to Expect
“Highest level of technical expertise. Joe corrected issues other tuners couldn’t even diagnose.” -Thomas G.
5. Start the Musical Journey
A well-tuned piano deserves to be played! If you’re looking for a teacher to help you or your family get started, we’ve vetted the best in the area.
Welcome to the Family: You’re in Expert Hands.
Bringing a piano into your home is the start of a wonderful journey, but I know it comes with questions: Is it in good shape? Is it worth the investment? Will it help my child succeed? With 38 years of experience and the rare Master Piano Technician designation, I specialize in more than just tuning strings. I provide the expert ‘health check’ your used piano needs to ensure it’s structurally sound and mechanically responsive. My goal is to make sure your new instrument isn’t just a piece of furniture, but a perfectly calibrated tool that makes learning easy and playing, a joy for your family.