Attempting To Tune A Piano
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ค. 2024
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I love the phrase "whole-ass other note".
@ 1:20 lmao! 🤣🤣
“This piano is 92 years old” cuz instruments are quality! I’ve seen sooo many pianos in such bad condition, but I will take almost any piano over any digital keyboard any day! Real pianos have so much personality!
Agreed. I have an 110 year old kimball, and in college i picked up a keyboard cause it was cheap and I could keep it in my apartment without pissing off neighbors. Now that I have both in my house I almost NEVER touch the keyboard, I love playing that old ass piano so much.
Eh i disagree. A very good electric would be much better to learn to play piano on.
Not really, I’ve played digital keyboards for many years and I can tell you, crappy pianos really aren’t worth your time and money. You like real pianos probably because you are used to the out of tune sounds, hence the “personality”, it’s really just, out of tune. I’m not saying acoustic pianos are bad, just saying old pianos, or pianos not maintained regularly, are worse than most digital pianos.
Brian Smith - and before electricity was harnessed by Ben Franklin, any piano would be better than a keyboard with zero power. So there. Have you ever been to Europe? People keep forgetting that everything humans ever achieved used to be done without electricity... 🙄
@@tamalyncervin2117 Franklin didn't harness electricity. He discovered it. Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse harnessed electricity.
Your nephew dancing is flawlessly wholesome.
As a certified piano tuner, I had to make a difficult choice when I was still learning to tune the piano. My teachers went with a simple rule of thumb: a great piano player is usually a bad tuner, and a great piano tuner usually is a bad piano player. Ofcourse it’s not always the case. But to make my point, tuning a piano isn’t as easy as it looks :) Please keep playing, I just love your arrangements :)
Your musicality comes out every time you play, regardless how in or out of tune the piano is! Keep up the good work!
Why was this so much fun to watch? You’re so entertaining, your personality shines through and makes this video great! A nice little interlude between pieces!
I wonder how many lights got turned to white by this video
Kristen, you're an awesome pianist! You can be good at piano tuning & repair as well, if you want. It looks like you've got all the right tools now, so you just need to be patient & get used to it. It's not uncommon to have to tune an old piano numerous times if hasn't been tuned for a long time. I'm surprised that "piano tuner" didn't mention that. You have to do a couple of "pitch raises" before you can fine-tune it. Just go across and "rough" in all the notes two or three times. After you've gotten them all very close, you can do your final fine-tuning on all of the strings. I would recommend getting a second opinion the condition of the piano. It may not be on its "last leg". If your piano tuner is not a repairman that may be why he said that. Also, a hammer is pretty easy to fix. Let me know if you have any questions about it. I'm a repairman in Illinois. I'd be happy to share tips and advice with you.
If you can learn to like it, tuning & repairing pianos is a good job. If it interests you at all you could have 3 jobs, all involving piano .. (playing, tuning & repairing) A thought to ponder..
Thanks for sharing. I always love your videos😍
Micheal Wildman, to speedup the tuning process you can turn the handle while the note is playing. You can see and hear when you crank too much.
There is a lot to learn about tuning. Part of it is getting the sense in your hand that allows you to set the string to the right tension across its full length. The string can hang up a bit on the nuts and the bridge, and overcoming that is part of the job. Hammering loudly on the key tends to get rid of some of the problem.
Sometimes the pins are too loose to hold a tuning, and at that point you have the choice of replacing pins (and possibly even replacing a cracked pin block) or else using "pin tightener" liquid. If you go to using pin tightener you'll need a piano tilter to do it right. Point gravity the right direction so that the stuff flows down the pin into the wood. If you don't have a tilter, three strong men can tilt an upright safely. One strong idiot can do it unsafely.
Pin tightener is a religious matter. Some techs won't touch it, and will preach to you about why it does not even work. Google for piano tilter and you'll find info on how to use finger glue as pin tightener.
To get a better sound you may need to voice the hammers, or even install a full set of new hammers and voice those.
All these piano tech details are best left, say some people, to experts. But how did they get to be experts? Yes, of course, doing just what you are trying!
amazing763 , did you mean for your comment to be for Kristen? I am an experienced, professional piano tuner & repairman.
Raimo Geel , you should send your comments regarding tuning techniques to Kristen. I already know how to tune pianos.
Micheal Wildman For a piano that sounds ‘dead’, does changing the strings help like it does on a guitar? Or is that more the condition of the felt?
I wouldn't worry too much. Being able to play a piano like you can is a much grander accomplishment than learning how to tune one. It's like the difference between writing like a genius and repairing a typewriter. I discovered your channel a couple of months ago when I was looking for some good ragtime on the web. Glad I did.
Your musicianship skills are at such an amazing level, that you make both pianos sound amazing. Being a musician and also a wind player, your phrasing is so spot on, that it covers up many of the intonation issues of the older piano. One of my favorite poems is " The Touch of the Master's Hand.". Although the musician in the poem is a violinist, the idea, and ideals are very much the same:. You are a master, and really know how to bring out the best of any particular instrument that you happen to be playing.
Kristen!!! Yay so happy to see a new video!!! I have never attempted to tune a piano... “you get to watch me struggle” lol story of my life! Love your sass soooo relatable!!! It’s like hello world, welcome to any musician’s life!
Awesome work Kristen, keep it up. Lve ur vids
Cool nephew-reveal. Hopefully he picks up your love of playing.
Piano tuning is a dark art. My piano tuner doesn't use any electrical gadgets to tune the piano. He does it all by ear and it sounds great after he's finished with it. By the way, some pianos still sound great after 100 years. It all depends on the quality of the piano and how well it's been cared for.
This one clearly was not cared for!
Omg I love that new/old piano. Cameron dancing is so cute!!
Your"re terrific Kristen!
That was a really fun video. I enjoyed the segway to Cameron doing dance backup behind you.
This is just a simply wondrous post! You are learning a tremendous skill which will make you a better player. Your nephew is a treasure.
I know the feeling. It took a couple tries before coming up with a system that worked for me. Now I can get it done in about 2.5 hours. Don’t give up!!! You got this👍🏽
I am a recording engineer, Classical Music, mostly chamber music, quartets and piano trios. I have worked around many piano tuners over the years, and mostly they say it takes 3-5 years to become "Competent" and much longer to become totally professional. It is not just using the frequency plots, a lot of it is "feel". You did well girl considering it was a dead piano! Don't give up... Keep at it, anyone that has learned to play as well as you do will get there! Love your music!
I'm listening to you from France and I can say that I love your videos, your music and your style ;)
Zizanie - Bonjour! I just read your comment in my best French accent and it made me really happy! Also I am a pianist on TH-cam (and I don’t even have 100 subscribers!)
Great job having a go at it! You did better than I would have, I don't have that level of patience. Keep your tuning kit. It's useful if a string or unison goes wonky on your main piano between tunings. Or if you have a gig and one note is just acting up.
I also learned how to tune mine for Zoom lessons with my prof... I'll be trying to perfect the art for probably the next 5 decades... It's tricky! I just subscribed, and I noticed in a newer video (Quarantine Rag - nice by the way!) that your piano sounded tuned! This makes sense LOL. Happy tuning! Trial and error!
I have perfect pitch, so when I bought my apartment back in 1989 and it came with a piano, I watched carefully when the piano tuner came to tune it so I could learn how to maintain it after that. It hadn't been tuned in a while, so many of the upper notes went slightly out of tune in a few weeks. I bought a tuning wrench which was all I needed to "fine-tune" it, so to speak. My piano is a spinet so it has only 2 strings for the higher notes and 1 string for the lower notes, making it a lot easier to tune than a typical piano.
When I resumed playing the piano in 2018 after 14 years of not playing, I had to do a lot what you did in the video clip, starting with cleaning off a lot of dust. Then it time to tune several of the higher notes. With only the tuning wrench, it took some time but I got it working again. Every few months, I have to clear off the top of the piano and tweak a few strings before I begin a practice session. It's a minor annoyance but it beats playing the piano with too many bad sounding notes.
Sounds good to me, I think you did a great job. Your normal piano just sounds younger, less depressed and brighter and happier, but the old piano does still sound pretty good thanks to you.
Thanks for sharing that adventure :) That piano probably needs tons of regulation in addition to tuning. The high notes are "too high" probably because they haven't lost their tuning as much. For normal piano tuning the low bass notes are tuned flatter and high treble notes are tuned higher than ideal. Look up the Railsback curve. Tuning all 3 strings well to each other is a challenge most don't expect until they try it themselves
I will FOR SURE buy your sheets when you release them 😊 I’ll post it, but it’ll never be as good as the original
We had an antique piano at a resort I owned and the tuner said that, when they’re old enough, they don’t tend to hold the tune. They basically get “loose” so you can tighten the strings but they just loosen up again.
Anyhow, I enjoy your videos.
Perhaps you can tune a piano but can’t tuna fish. Dad jokes.
If its just few strings that loosen often they usually can fix individual tuning pins but once there are several and its not expensive make it may not be worth to fix.. When strings start to be over 60 years old one usually start to hear it too, had I like Steinway upright and were very rich I would change bass strings then.. I would rather buy 80s then midrange priced upright that has been tuned regularly than say 1920s very big Steinway upright with original strings that has been a decorative item over 10 years lol.. Such an instrument would require as many tunings as a brand new piano (3-4x) in the first year and sound would still not be excellent..
I remember as a kid in the early 1950's we had a blind man come and tune the pianos yes had two pianos and two organs back then.
In case you didn’t know, old pianos that have been out of tune for many years usually require multiple tunings since the strings had slack.
So brave tuning the piano, but will be great when you crack it! 👏
One of my good friends has been a piano tuner since high school (coming upon 20 years now). The most impressive part is he can do it by ear. He makes it look so easy.
Makes me feel a lot better about my first, and so far only, attempt at tuning a piano. I too inherited a piano of the same age (1928 Werner), and wanted to see if it would hold tune at all before I paid a professional to do it. My tuning took about four hours and I did manage to get most of it in tune. I’m currently in the process of refinishing it. Once the outside looks pretty, I’ll tune it myself again.
That piano is my mother's age!:) My grandmother had an even older Kimball upright that was a half-tone flat. It drove me crazy because I know what middle C, relative to A-440, is supposed to sound like. The temperament strip is used to bring the octave around Middle C up to snuff. It mutes two of each of the three strings in each unison. Once you set your temperament, it's a matter of pulling in the rest of the unisons. I can tune a piano in two hours, provided it was on pitch to begin with.
Wow! Never heard This is me in Ragtime. Very Nice!
Hilarious and candid, nice vlog!
Sounds like you got it tuned pretty well! and that's coming from someone with perfect pitch
That’s awesome you play Pokémon go, and the piano !
I've recently learned about tuning pianos with my parents' 80-year old Gulbransen. I needed more time with it. You seem to have it down, and once you're out of the C4-B6 area it's only one string to tune and it can be a lot less work.
Good for you for getting to know your instrument a little better!
My own Gully is a nice piano with a good sound, but it does need further rebuilding.
@@amazing7633 Agreed. With mine being ~80 years old it definitely needs more than just some tuning - mine needs the felting redone in the keyboard especially around C2-C3.
That was different ... and cool!
you make even crappy pianos sound amazing. So awesome.
I love old pianos
Hey kiddo, you crack me up. Be well, good to hear from you again.
Thank you
Piano tuning is fun. There is a learning curve to get the right result. Notes need to be stretched up from the middle octave and down from the Middle octave. It is cool to hear you attempt to tune it. It takes time to get it. I tune for a living. There are still times that I struggle on some pianos because of string harmonics being weird sometimes.
Great!! :)
haha your nephew is super cute! Future ragtime virtuoso!! :P
Tuning a piano is no easy task but I really enjoy your music!
Also, while the piano sounds like a honky tonk you're still as impressive as ever! Also also, GO CAMERON GO
Missed you, Kristen! At first I thought that squeaking was from the dust removal.... xD
Thanks for sharing your struggle!
"I just don't think I'm cut out for this tuning S h i t" 😂😂 love it
Love the "Play Me" in the dust!🤣🤣🤣
But seriously, nice try on the job. You'd probably got farther than I would've.
Love your music, makes me wonder what I'd sound like if I kept up with piano lessons.
It’s never too late to return to a piano...
I really and enjoyed and bought your Friend Like Me arraganment. I'd definietly buy a Be Prepared one!
Ok, I'm one minute in and thinking having a canary 2 feet away isn't optimal when tuning a piano 😁
Edit: possibly budgie.
Andrew Guthrie cockatiel I know I have that love been the centre of attention
@@daviobryker Yep, a Cockatiel. I have one as well.
I pretty much knew how this was going to turn out before watching (sorry) 😂. Don't be too hard on yourself. It's 92 years old and sounds like it would need a complete overhaul. The wooden board the pegs are on probably needs completely replacing and so that's why the notes were slipping from one day to the next. No way to tune a piano like that unless it's fixed first which can end up being seriously expensive. On a sidenote I remember being at school (too many years ago now to mention) and we had a piano tuner come in to tune the grand piano there and he was both blind and deaf! To say I was completely gobsmacked is putting it lightly. I've never heard a piano tuned so well before or after that tuner. Also to tune a piano I was told by a tuner years ago that using software Apps is not always great (depends on the App) as the bottom C (for instance) on a piano will (and should) actually be out of tune slightly with the top C and so on and so forth or you get an awful sound. It's definitely an art form which only certain people can do so don't be hard on yourself. Your playing is excellent and beautiful so you stick to that as that is a gift.
Heeeyyy i had the same tuning kit in New Zealand lol its a good learning experience i did it on my own piano but what i did on mine I tuned it in 5ths i found it easier dunno how lol
Don't be discouraged over tuning old pianos. Btw you are a fabulous piano player. Way better than myself, but I have a love for restoring old pianos, and what I've found is old oxidated, corroded strings (especially the lower, single strings) are almost un-tunable. I got a few in the "ballpark" and you just have to settle for that. I finally dedicated a free days to removing the string board off an old Wurlitzer, cutting the old strings off, and replacing them with new ones.. aaaand .. yeah. Really easy to tune.. and still easy to tune another necessary 12 times in 12 weeks lol, before winter lol..
I'm sorry, but i just love the saloon sound of the second one more than the sound of the first one. So good job on you :)
Hahah that was a funny video! Made my day !
I agree with the tuner. That piano is knackered. At that age without regular maintenance the strings get brittle, tuning pegs come loose so tuning it is a losing battle. The action is also completely annihilated too.
I have a Steinway Grand that’s only 10 years old and in pretty much perfect condition so wouldn’t ever attempt at tuning it but wouldn’t mind a go at an older model at some point. Not an easy task.
P.S I ....LOVE your German Shepherd dog. My fav breed ! Gorgeous.
1928....you should tell people that George Gershwin once played on that piano 😁
Mine sat for many years without a tuning and after the tuner broke two strings trying to bring it back, I agreed to a half step off tuning. Seemed like best compromise for less than stellar piano and sounded fine. If the kid learns half as much as you have, he’ll be great!
What was the song you played at the end of the video? Regardless of the piano, you made it sound great!
Hi Kristen, I listen to your ragtime piano o playing, I also play along with you on my 26 string rag time harp, very interesting
You are really good, keep it up.
When in high school, I borrowed an electronic tuner from our band director and tuned our piano. It was not perfect but it was heck of a lot better.
So just saying, as a female pianist who has been performing for a decade and a half, reading your comment section is hilarious because it’s sooo relatable! Like, sigh, I already answered that question. And that one. And I’ve heard that comment a million times... and also to answer your question, I think both sound good and I share your disgust about the quality of a “bad” piano. So many ppl tell me I sound amazing while I internally scream and cringe and rant about how horrible it is, and on a stage you can actually fake it until you make it big time. Anyway, I applaud you and all your ragtime arrangements and performances! From your California fan :)
Very cool video. Do you give piano lessons for beginners?
You've got some fancy gadgets for piano tuning. You should take your time and be patient with your mom's piano. Learn how to tune it up and get an understanding of the mechanics of the instrument, how it works, what does what and how. All you can do is grow from the experience.Good luck, I love hearing you play, you have a gift
OMG , i dont care what you do , you are adorable . xx
I think you did a good job, tuning anything can be a pain if the tuners aren't working with you. That whole hammer issue means it needs re-alignment, so that means you are taking the front or back face off (depends on the brand) and trying access the linkages. Still think it was a good video, I've played forever and can't use half the techniques you do. Very impressed.
Best
I've been tuning mine for years with a quarter inch ratchet extension, vice grips, and slices of eraser. I just do it by ear until it's good enough for me. The piano is about one hundred years old.
If it makes you feel any better. I took a class in piano repair (tuning). They said it takes 3 - 4 years of 8 hours a day to get good at it. After 3 days, you are fantastic. Now, only 4 years 11 months and 27 days untl you graduate. :)
I started tuning my own piano after buying a kit online, and now I offer the service for only $40/h! I believe in you! You should get an app that shows the frequency, and also match the number. It's much harder in the upper register to do by ear
Hey Kristen, my boy and I have been watching you for years! You're our go to rag pianist on youtube! I'm thinking of buying an used acoustic piano exactly like yours. What's the make and model of your piano? TIA!
I'm having to tune my own as well, due to saving money and the whole idea of not inviting others into your home during a pandemic. Its been time consuming but worth it, and you need to have a good ear, as well as some interval training. Its probably best to not get it tuned during too dry or too humid weather, as the sound board will expand.
I heard that Baldwin's are good pianos!😊🎼
How much was the tuning kit? I’m moving and thinking about finding a free piano and learning to tune it!
I tried to tune my piano...and like you I bought a kit and set to. I got it in tune with itself in Bb - which actually wasn't too much of an issue as I play clarinet. the problem came when I snapped two strings. I desperately want to know how to replace them or get them replaced. I'd really like to work as a piano tuner...but I'm not great at playing.
What app are you using on that iPad? What are the axes on the graph?
I once spent all weekend at a friend's place tuning his piano. He had a tuning hammer, but no mutes, so we went out on Friday evening trying to find a strip of felt in the small town he lived in to use as a mute (exciting Friday night of 2 engineers who are also musicians - tracking down a strip of felt to tun a piano). It was the same thing, it went out of tune again in a few days. Old pianos with dried out pegboards just won't stay in tune - the pegboard shrinks, so the holes are too big, and the pegs won't stay where you leave them. I think there is a little bit of technique required even on a good piano, just like when you turn the pegs on a violin, but it's harder to be pushing the peg in on a piano while you're tuning it, so instead you always try to get the string it tune by tightening the string. If you overshoot, go under, and back up to it. You can use a strip of felt to mute the 2 outside strings on all the notes at once, then tune all the middle strings, then as you remove the felt on one note at time, get the unisons all right. It was kindof a waste of time, but also a fun weekend - the 3 or 4 octaves we managed to tune sounded pretty good for a few hours! There's usually a good reason a "free" piano is free... :)
People occasionally ask me the value of an old piano. I say, "It's usually a $50 piano." They'll complain, "I would think it would be worth a lot more than that." "Well," I tell them, "it's worse than you think. Perhaps you can find someone to pay you $50 for it. Or perhaps you'll have to pay $50 to get rid of it." 30 or 40 years ago I paid to have a 1928 Brewster player piano rebuilt. It sounded strident but good. Now it's due for another rebuild, but so am I.
Lol I found this so funny, it took me 2 years to learn tuning at The City Of Leeds Collage Of Music( CLCM) I actually learnt tuning on a Kemble as one of the many pianos. All by ear as well no gadgets involved 😉
Had a similar expereince a month ago. Was using a random website and my laptops mic it took me a few days to get thru and i realized i had the wrong tuning wrench i called a tuner and he didnt think i fucked anything up but its so much harder than it seems ive been playing about 14 years too
You're beautiful! !
Great concert! I could have watched for hours. Can you tune a fish? Terry Miles does daily live streams from London (@ London Time) and he says the 1st thing he is going to do when the lockdown is over is get his pianos tuned.
Please play one full rag /stride song on it just to see how much character it has...Keep it!
I use a soundboard from a piano as a headboard for a queen-sized bed. You can use other parts to make interesting things.
Lolololololol loved this vid
What kind of tuner do you have on your tablet ??
Haha I have to chuckle. My aunt had 5 pianos in her house. One was a concert grand (Steinway) that took up the entire living room. She had an upright, console, baby grand anf a player piano. She could not read music, but yoy could hum a song, she could play it. She loved playing rag too. She had a piano tuner come in once every 3 mo to tune all of her pianos. It got very expensive so my uncle learned how to tune then himself. It was funny watching him tune them as my aunt had perfect pitch and Would yell at him "no! That's wrong!" One of the most important parts of a piano is the pin block that holds the pegs. If your piano goes out of tune often, the pin block may have to be replaced. And get a quality pin block too.
Question: what temperament does your piano tuner use? Does he do ET or something else?
"A man found a fish down the back of his piano. It was a Piano Tuna..."
Entertaining and educational 😊 Thanks.
Good enough
❤️
Good on you for trying!
Not bad for your first attempt. A piano that has not been tuned regularly and has dropped significantly in pitch often needs a "pitch raise." The tuner gets it "in the ballpark," and then retunes to get everything on pitch. It will often need several tunings to stabilize. This of course assumes there aren't any underlying structural problems like loose tuning pins slipping, a cracked pin block, etc.
you are too much of a perfectionist the old piano sounds MUCH better than when you start good job for a first time
You can easily tune it, its just skill you learn after few tries
Try tuning one string on each note (I usually tune the middle one first using the red strip between each note) using the app (block the other strings)
Tune a full octave with only one string on each note, once its tuned (one octave one string on each note)
Tune/sync the others strings using your ears only (try to reduce the the ghosty sound as much as possible) by blocking one side string and tunning the other one (assuming the middle one is already tuned)
After a while (about 10 times) you should be able to tune a full piano in 1.5 hours if you do it right
the red strip you have is very useful to block multiple strings and keep the middle one clear
Important note - once you learn how to tune it you will probably notice that your piano is never tuned and you will find yourself tunning few notes every few days :\
You play amazing really I like your videos
good luck!
Can't wait for The Greatest Showman piece! Also, love that we're getting videos more often.
What was the song you played at the end of the video?
The problem with older pianos is the tuning pegs lose tension after a long time of not being tuned. This means when you go to tune the piano often the pegs will revert to their original position. Also the note that plays twice is most likely due to a loose hammer flange