I had the great honor and pleasure of preparing and tuning the piano for the start of Chick Corea and Béla Fleck’s second tour, at the Santa Fe Opera on Friday. It was a long twelve-hour day, but the sheer delight they had playing together, and their incredible artistry, made it worthwhile. I had great […]
Pianos have soft parts that wear out over time. These are usually felt: hammers, key bushings, and many other areas where the natural lanolin in wool felt reduces friction and noise between dissimilar materials. On this grand piano, with the keys pushed down, it was easy to wiggle them side-to-side. This is how you test […]
I’m coming to the winter NAMM show in Anaheim tomorrow to check out the latest pianos. I’ll have pictures when I get back. If you see me there, say hi! –Cy–
It is with great regret that I have to announce that one of my favorite pianos under my care is for sale (the owner is also one of my favorite customers, as he’s very pleasant to work with, has an excellent ear, and demands my best work). I have no financial interest in this transaction; […]
I’ll be teaching a tuning class at the next national Piano Technicians Guild convention in Kansas City: http://convention.ptg.org/classes.html#etds I’ll be covering some of the advanced features of the TuneLab tuning software. If you have topics you’d like me to cover, just email me. –Cy–
I’ve tuned onstage for concerts, in schools, churches, and federal prisons, but last week for the first time I got a call to tune on the set of a TV production that films here (“In Plain Sight”). Naturally I was flattered, and looked forward to making connections and showing off my best work. Mike Kitt […]
These are great fun! Try the pitch discrimination; see if you can be a piano tuner! (Our quality standard is roughly 0.25 Hz at 500 Hz (one “cent”). Use your headphones, and set your volume carefully. Flash is needed. You can replay many of the tests before answering. Some of them have two phrases separated […]
I do a fair amount of dealer prep, and even took a class on it at the last PTG National Convention. The first level is dealing with what Don Mannino called “PMS”: Post Move Syndrome. This is correcting issues that weren’t present at the factory, but caused during shipment. It’s a lot like cleaning up […]
This video isn’t slow-motion: the high shutter speed of the camera caused an effect like a strobe, to capture the motion of the strings. Enjoy! http://vimeo.com/4041788
One of the most important differences between different sizes of pianos is the length of the keys. They’re exactly like a see-saw, balanced on a fulcrum, and the weight of the action holds the back of the key down when it is at rest. After you press a key down, it has to return to […]
