Music Voices

To begin your piano tuner search, get recommendations from the following:

• Universities and music schools/academies
• Dealers that sell top quality pianos up to concert range. Ask for the concert piano tuner - their top technician.
• Local churches that have a vibrant music program. Just a few minutes talking with the music director/organist should give an idea of how they look after the piano.
• If you've got a local orchestra call them and find out who they use. Or call your nearest college/school and see who tunes all their pianos.
• People who've actually had good experiences with tuners. In particular, a personal recommendation from a skilled pianist that owns a fine piano is a great help.
• Your local music shop. Give them a call or visit them to ask them if they can recommend a good piano tuner. They may have someone they regularly recommend or have business cards of various tuners.
• The piano teacher of your friends or those you know learning the piano
• If you purchased your piano second-hand, ask the person you bought from who had been tuning the piano.
• Piano tuner associations. Call and ask if your tuner is a member or alternatively, get names of members there. To become a part of an association/guild, a technician or tuner must pass a series of thorough examinations. If they need help passing these tests, they must take classes until the knowledge is obtained to pass. Therefore, you can be sure that a member of this association/guild has sufficient knowledge to get the job done properly.

Visit the websites of the piano tuners you are interested in using. The sites may give you information on how long an individual tuner has been in business and his credentials. If the tuner does not have a website, call and ask these questions.
When you get in touch with a tuner, ask them for references of previous customers or check for this information on the website. If some of the tuner's customers are churches or schools, you can call for a reference. Remember a high price doesn't always mean high quality. Evaluate piano tuners to get the best tuner for the best price and don't forget that just because a tuner is expensive it doesn't make them a good or qualified technician.
When you call to schedule a potential appointment, get them to spend a few moments telling a little about themselves regarding their experience and training. During this portion of the conversation try to get a feel for the way they feel about their job, their philosophy on customer service, etc.
Find a tuner who cares as much about your piano as you do and loves the instrument either playing or listening. Disregard "talk" and look for demonstration. Do they not only tune a piano, but also know the instrument like "the back of their hand", to the point they can competently do major and minor repairs? Ask some "basic" piano questions, knowing the answer and evaluate their response.
Ultimately, you might need to give a tuner a paid "trial" run. If you don't like what he or she does, move on in your search. Finally, tune the piano regularly to keep up the pitch.

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