All posts by pianotunerleeds

What to do if I don’t answer the phone

If I haven’t answered your call it’s likely I’m either at band rehearsals or performing at a concert. Otherwise I’d happily take the call to discuss a possible piano tuning. Your custom is always most welcome. Leaving a voice mail, text, email is always an excellent way to contact me.

It would seem that many piano tuners in this day are either semi-retired or reluctant to take on clients. I’ve only been piano tuning professionally in Leeds since 2015, so I’m still eager to take on as much new work as I can possibly manage.

I sometimes miss calls, which I don’t like to do. As a semi-professional musiciain I’m regularly performing live as a singer, keyboard player and guitarist in Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Bradford, Harrogate and anywhere else that’ll have me. I’ve sadly missed a few piano tuning related calls recently due to people phoning during soundcheck or band rehearsals. A text, phone call or email is always most appreciated.

My unique selling point; Low fees, no hidden charges

In these dark days, it seems that costs are rising for everything – except for my piano tuning services. My reasoning is that if I were to put my Leeds piano tuning rates up and lost 20% of my clientele, then I wouldn’t have gained anything and I could potentially upset a lot of my regulars.

I’m also transparent about my fees on this website – I can’t stand hidden charges when I book my car in for a service, so I wouldn’t want to inflict them on anyone else in regard to piano tuning.

Now don’t think a good deal means you won’t receive an exemplary piano tuning service. I now have 11 years experience as a piano tuner in Leeds and beyond under my belt (how time flies!). I’ve been diagnosed (twice) as having pitch perfect hearing (being able to hear the difference of less an 1 cent flat or sharp, or 1/100th of a semitone). I also think that as a musician (grade 8 guitar and a trained vocalist, well known in the Leeds and Yorkshire music scene) I’m more inclined to give your piano the extra diligence that it requires – to pick up on the subtle things that make playing music more enjoyable.

Prices remain the same… for now

Does anyone remember when a can of coke cost 50p, a chocolate bar was 30p and petrol was less than a £1 a litre? Inflation is rather worrying now. My prices will have to stay the same… for the time being. For piano tuning I have to travel long distances (although my main customer base is in Leeds), so I will have to see how cost effective my current prices are with these huge increases in the price of fuel, food, and utility payments. I am always upfront with my prices (everything on this website is wholly up to date) as I find “hidden charges” extremely annoying and wouldn’t want to inflict them on anyone else. But don’t be surprised if in two or three months I have to put my prices up.

Plan of action this Christmas

December is here. I’m more or less working a typical schedule this Christmas – despite the pandemic, things won’t be drastically different to other months. I’m only taking Saturday and Sunday off to celebrate Christmas with family, and the rest of the time I’ll be piano tuning or wrapping presents. The week between Christmas and New Years Eve I hope to pack more piano tuning in… although that all depends on what is going on in Leeds and Bradford.

My Covid-19 safety measures (Omicron edition)

What are my health and safety precautions during a piano tuning visit? For starters I will wear a mask upon entering your home. I will keep two metres during the visit and allow each customer to decide if they’d like to open the windows for ventilation while I’m piano tuning. I’d advise every piano tuning customer to wipe down the keys with antibacterial spray before and after each piano tuning as I’ll be touching every key.

I’m double vaccinated and, outside of piano tuning in Leeds, Bradford and so on, I never go out or put myself in close proximity to large groups of people. Piano tuner is the most solitary profession in the world outside of lighthouse keeper and that’s a good thing at present.

Unfortunately, all that being said, I tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the year (I caught it at a band rehearsal), but it was the most mild version of the coronavirus ever seen – so I’m confident my immune system has built up a strong defence against the virus. I had a blocked nose and a cough for two days, and tested negative after four days. Following the guidelines, I stayed in quarantine for ten days in total even though I was testing negative for six of those days. The experience has made me even more cautious when travelling around Wakefield, Bradford or Leeds piano tuning. I can’t afford to stop being a Leeds piano tuner for ten days (or more) again! I test regularly, both at home in the mornings, and often before a piano tuning at a Leeds or Bradford School or commercial venue.

Pennies from heaven for the Leeds Piano Tuner

It’s that time of year again – industrious piano students are preparing for their grades and their Christmas concerts and their keen ears require their pianos be tuned to A440. Concert halls, venues, clubs, pubs and restaurants in Leeds and Bradford are busier and require their pianos to be tuned as more and more customers mention it to them. I hope I don’t sound ungracious as I appreciate the increased interest, but a weekend booking might be more favourable right now (assuming you can manage it), as my week day West Yorkshire and Leeds piano tuning slots are being snapped up by the second. Please keep a keen eye on my availability page if you’re looking for a Leeds piano tuner, I’m updating it on a daily basis and it’ll give you a general idea of my schedule at the very least. My number is 07542667040 if you’d find it easier to make an appointment verbally.

I don’t know what it’s like for other piano tuners working in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield etc, but December appears to be the busiest month for anything musical. I’m being sensible with my bookings and not squeezing too much in – I leave sufficient time to do a thorough job on every Yorkshire and Leeds piano tuning.

Worried about Covid-19? I’m double vaccinated, have caught and defeated the virus in the past (thus have built up the antibodies), am testing regularly (last tested today: negative. Previously tested on Saturday: negative). I will wear a mask upon request and naturally keep two metres distance throughout each visit. I don’t think there’s a safer time to book than now – but the decision is yours!

Leeds Piano Tuner to cover broader territory

There seems to be a distinct absence of calls and emails from Leeds piano tuning clients the last few days, which is a little concerning as business over the three months has been heaving (what caused the short drop off? Christmas?). More optimistically, I received a text this evening from a happy customer in Shipley expressing his gratitude for my fixing of his ‘twangy’ piano (a word often used to denote pianos slightly out of tune – piano tuning improves the tone as well as the pitch!) and a call from a restaurant in Wakefield which requires another piano tuning. Maybe its time to broaden my territorial scope even further! Where else could I advertise?

I still remember my lacklustre early years building this business from the ground up. Many weeks of only 2 – 3 jobs for the first year or two. Having to take odd jobs in unrelated fields just to make ends me. I suppose a week where I have 10 jobs rather than 20 is not a cause of despair when looked at from that perspective. Now I’ve grown used to working 7 days a week, I get terrified when business shows signs of slowing down.

More weekends hours open for piano tuning

My ‘Leeds Piano Tuner Availability’ page is best used as a guide to find an hour that fits your work schedule. I also work early mornings on a regular basis although these are ‘hidden’ piano tuning hours that I offer when no others suit you; they tend to be offered to theatres, schools, commercial venues and the like (usually in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield or Harrogate), but if you’re an early bird like me then a home booking at 7 AM or 8 AM might be your first choice. Piano tuning can be done at any time of day, as long as it isn’t disturbing a neighbour or relative, although I personally feel most energetic in the morning, afternoon and early evening.

As Christmas draws near, late evening bookings could be an option. While my stated last booking is usually 7:30 PM, I sometimes have a piano tuning booking at 9 – 10 PM as well if it meets the needs of the customer. I always like to have 2 hours available for each customer, even if it doesn’t take that long – this allows enough time to tune the piano and make any required adjustments to the mechanism.