How to protect your piano in the hot weather

No matter how old your piano is, dry weather is not good for it. Pianos are designed to have 35 to 50 % humidity. Heat is also not good but the low humidity will do more damage. Situation 1: You're going away for the holidays It's the holiday season, you're booked to go away and the air conditioning will be turned off while you're gone. You weren’t expecting so much hot weather and you're wondering how you can save your piano. For many years now I have been tuning pianos in dry country areas. My first and...

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How to fill the piano lifesaver system in your piano

Keeping your piano at the right humidity level is instrumental to maintain the tuning and playability of the piano. To keep your piano humidity in check, you should consider installing a Piano Life saver system for your piano. Related blog: How the humidity effects your piano This blog post will tell you how to refill this system when it runs out of water: How to tell when it needs to be refilled: There should be three lights on your piano. Green for power, yellow for water levels and red for pad moisture l...

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Is a cheaper tune a wise decision?

At Piano Magic, I had a customer ring in to book an annual tune. Our standard fee for tuning applied, plus this particular customer also wanted some new pads and a treatment for their Piano Life Saver System. The customer called us back and had got a quote to tune the piano at a cheaper cost. The questions begin for me, - Is the cheaper piano tuner as experienced - Will the piano sound as good after the tuning if they have less experience? - Will this piano tuner know how to service the Piano Life Saver...

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How to shift a grand piano

To shift a grand piano, there is a strict procedure that I recommend following. If it's possible to get someone that knows what they're doing - take that choice. If you have a removalist that says they can do it, just check if they have a proper piano moving trolley in good condition. Wheels with steel rims, preferably with solid rubber wheels. Pumped up tyres can burst under the weight of a piano. See below an image of my piano shifting trolley specifically for grand pianos and uprights.     &nb...

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Why does your piano need regular tuning?

There has never been any acoustic piano made by any company, at any price, that does not require a schedule of regular tunings. It is also a fact that a piano will go out of tune whether it is played or not. By far, the main reason why pianos go out of tune is due to changes in humidity from season to season, affecting pianos, new and old, played and unplayed. In Perth, Western Australia the pitch of pianos drops flat in the summer months when dry heat draws moisture out of the piano’s soundboard. In the sprin...

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gary tuning a piano in his workshop

How often should you tune your piano?

Have your piano tuned as often as you feel necessary, but a minimum of twice a year is the rule of thumb should you be an advanced pianist. If you have a new piano, we recommend tuning the piano twice a year for two years. Just remember: when you turn on the heat in the winter, and when you turn it off in spring, you’re about 2 weeks away from needing a tuning. These are the times of year when the humidity change starts to shrink or swell the wooden soundboard of the piano, and it starts to drift out of tune. So ...

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