Piano Tuning and Maintenance

Service

Piano tuning, light cleaning, vacuum, and minor fixes included. $200. Zelle, Venmo, Check, or cash. Plan 2 hours, but I can work in less time than that if needed. Call or text 714-337-9874
Other services include:
1. Deeper cleaning such as removing rust from the wire strings or clearing rodent debris;
2. Regulation of the action, so the keys are level and everything works properly;
3. Voicing the felt on the hammers, so they sound more pleasant and not so harsh,
4. Fixing stuck keys or pedals that aren’t working.
And, I know lots of good technicians. If I can’t help you, I will connect you with someone that can.
I am a pianist, accompanist, organist, and composer so I know what a piano should sound like!

To prepare for the arrival of a piano tuner:

1. Pick a date and time when it will be quiet. I can work with some noise, but it goes much more smoothly when it is quiet. No construction. No vacuuming, fans, washing machines. No other background music playing. It may seem unnatural, but the tuner is listening very carefully to every sound.

2. Clear off the piano. It is better for you to remove pictures, lamp, statues, sheet music, and other things. The tuner needs to open up the piano to work.

I will take care of this, but so you understand what I am doing: on an upright piano, I will open the top up, and remove front for access. On a grand piano, I will open the lid by lifting it up all the way, and the music desk will be slid out.

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Different kinds of pianos I have encountered.

Grand pianos are horizontal; the strings and soundboard lay parallel to the floor. Names like parlor grand, or baby grand are not very specific, and change from maker to maker. The important distinction is the length, measured in feet or centimeters.

The pianos made in the 9’ to 10’ range are the largest for any builder. These are PIANOS: the longest strings and largest soundboard means the fullest tone and dynamic range-loudest to softest. These are the pianos used with a full symphony orchestra. I was one technician remarked to me, “Anything less than a 9’ piano is less than a piano.” Not many people have piano this long in their home. Take the time to go to a reputable piano store near you and find one of these big pianos. Play it a little and then joy the sound you can get from it. 

Many piano builders have a piano in the 7 foot to 7‘6“ range.  These are also wonderful sounding instruments, used often for solo piano, recitals, and chamber music, for instance, piano with string quartet. The Yamaha C7, 7’6“ long, is the most popular for recording studios, I understand.

Pianos in the 6 foot range are excellent for classrooms, smaller spaces, or the home of a serious pianist. 

Pianos under 6 feet long are often inferior quality and sound, but some top makers do an excellent job even with these small pianos. 

Upright, vertical, pianos have the strings and soundboard parallel to the wall they are often placed next to. 

There are four common sizes, measured in height from the floor to the top of the piano. 

A full upright, upright grand, was the normal size in the early 1900s. I am 6 feet tall and a piano this size comes up about to my collarbone. Yamaha is one builder that started building these full-size uprights again in the late 1900s. They have a soundboard about the size of a small grand piano.

A studio upright is a few inches, shorter, comes up to the middle of my chest, and was the most common in schools and practice rooms for, colleges and  universities. They are often replaced by high-quality keyboards now. 

A console piano is a few inches shorter, yet, and will come up to my stomach. 

The smallest pianos made were the spinet pianos made in the middle of the 20th century. They come up to my hips, and the sheet music on the music stand will stick up above the top of the piano. They are no longer made, because although they were very cute and popular, they were unreliable in tuning and the action mechanism. In fact, some piano technicians will not work on these. Still, some people like them, especially when they’ve been in their family for years. The sound is thin, often banging because of the short strings and hard hammers from years of use. But tuning helps, and I don’t mind working on them, because I can make some kind of improvement. 

These descriptions come from my own experience, there may be other definitions, and terms that are more exact. 

Some piano stores in Orange County:

Fields Piano – Steinways only. 

Faust Harrison – used to be Keyboard Concepts. Yamaha, Bösendorfer, Fazioli, Bechstein

Hollywood Pianos – Steingraeber

Kim’s Piano – Mason and Hamlin, C, Bechstein, Blüthner, Kawai, Estonia, AUGUST FÖRSTER, Seiler

Hanmi piano – Yamaha

Piano Empire Megastore