piano

How to Choose a Quality Piano Tuner in Washington DC

Not every piano tuner in Washington DC has the skills and expertise needed to ensure your beloved instrument offers crisp, rich sound with every note! An unskilled and inexperienced tuner might tighten a few strings under a piano lid and improve its sound somewhat, but will typically fail to ensure that every note is true and clear.

After hiring some not-so-skilled tuners and then finally finding a piano expert whom I can trust, I’d like to share with you some of my insider tips for finding the best piano tuning company in your neighborhood. Remember these tips when your instrument starts to get out of tune and it’s time to call in a professional for a proper piano tuning!

A Quality Piano Tuner in Washington DC Does Nothing Else!

A quality piano tuner in Washington DC should specialize in piano tuning, piano repairs and restoration, and other services for a piano, but nothing else! Be careful of hiring a piano tuner who also does general repairs on other musical instruments, who manages a music store that sells pianos, and so on.

The skill needed to tune a piano properly takes years to learn and master, and those skills are not something a person can learn in their spare time. Spending all day behind the counter of a music store is also no substitute for proper training on piano tuning and repairs!

Tuning a piano is also much more complicated than tuning a guitar or violin, as pianos have hundreds of parts under their lids. A skilled piano tuning expert will need to know how its hammers, pins, soundboard, dampers, and all other parts affect a piano’s sound! High-quality piano tuning is a much more specialized skill than tuning any other instrument, even stringed instruments, so choose a piano tuner in Washington DC who works on pianos alone.

Be Wary of Low Prices and Promises of Fast Service

I learned the hard way that an amateur musician with a store-bought tuner and a few hand tools might charge very little for piano tuning, but their work is typically negligible or downright shoddy. Your piano still might not sound its best and you’ll probably need to schedule another tuning sooner than if you invested in the services of a skilled piano tuning professional.

Remember that a highly skilled and well-trained piano tuner, especially in an affluent area like Washington DC, knows their worth and isn’t likely to lowball their pricing just to get more business. If you’re quoted an extremely low price for piano tuning, beware!

It’s also good to be wary of a piano tuner promising to finish quickly. While pianos in good condition might require no more than an hour for tuning, an experienced tuner knows that he or she can’t determine the time needed to complete a job until they lift the lid and start working! A trustworthy piano tuning expert will also take their time to evaluate your piano thoroughly and ensure the job is done properly, no matter how painstaking the process.

A Quality Piano Tuner in Washington DC Has Years of Experience

A skilled piano tuner learns their craft over time, listening to the sound produced by various instruments while perfecting their technique for adjusting wires and other parts. As each instrument falls out of tune for various reasons, it takes years to learn how to tune a piano properly and ensure it produces nothing but crisp, clear, rich notes.

When shopping for a piano tuner near you, narrow down your choices to those with years if not even decades of proven experience. The longer they’ve been in the business, the better! Their experience will help ensure your piano produces the best sound possible after a tuning.

I hope these tips have helped and that you are able to find a skilled and qualified piano tuner in Washington DC for all the piano repair work you need to have done!