Category Archives: Bradford Piano Tuner

Turning over a new leaf

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Life has been a little bit hectic the last few weeks since my return from holiday. I’ve had lots and lots of catching up to do piano tuning in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Harrogate, York, Morley, Thirsk and many bright and colourful places in James Herriot land – and I’m all the better for it. Because of this my Leeds piano tuner availability page fell by the wayside. I’m trying desperately to update it at least once a day but I regularly have days where I leave the house at 7 AM and arrive home at 10 – 11 PM too tired to log in. If the page has not been modified for a few days its purely because of a busy schedule, not because I don’t want to be doing more piano tuning and repair. If the side note says it hasn’t been updated in a while it might be easier to ask for a few days that works around your schedule, and in all likelihood I’ll be happy to arrange it.

  • Richard Lidster, the Leeds Piano Tuner.

More opportunities for namedropping

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It seems like anyone who works in anything to do with music loves to talk about the famous people they’ve worked with/for at every opportunity. It’s so pervasive it could almost be a Harry Enfield sketch. Well, I’m tuning a Yamaha C3 grand piano for John Grant and Richard Hawley on the 4th of September at the Piece Hall in Halifax. Please come along to hear how in tune the piano sounds once I’ve serviced it.

I’m pleased that concerts, recording studios, schools and churches that have booked me in recent months. Home visits are also valued. I treat each piano equally and give it the thorough care and attention it deserves!

When are my working hours?

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I still like to update my ‘Piano Tuner’s Availability’ blog as often as I can. I regularly have days where I leave home at 8 AM and arrive home after 10 PM, at which point I’m too exhausted to log into this site, never mind write about Leeds and piano tuning (if I did, I’d sound tired and cranky!). In an ideal world I’d update my availability listings multiple times every day. If I can find a way to do that, I certainly will in due course.

Due to a problem with my browser, I’m unable to access the admin port of my website via my iphone which is somewhat unfortunate. If I could, then I could easily change the listings in my car when I’m early for a job (I usually park up on the road if I’m early). Because of this, I would view that page as a way to see whether my schedule fits yours and if there’s a particular day that would work well, if it hasn’t been updated in a day or two.

To earn a respectable living as a piano tuner, one must be willing to travel far and wide – only booking jobs in Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate would be a dead end. One or two days out of the week there will be nothing listed – this is usually because I’ll be booked up in a far away locality such as Scarborough or Whitby, where I get to have an enjoyable day at the seaside in between successive piano tuning. I didn’t used to like travelling, but I’ve learned that putting on some classical music or an audiobook makes such long drives much more bearable. Given that the last job of the day usually begins at 7:30 PM, driving back from Scarborough at 9 PM is a breeze.

Continuation

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After an interesting year of mild starvation I’ve had a week of work that was as equal to a typical pre-March 2020 week. In the past year, lack of work led to apathy and caused me to neglect this website a little. Thanks to the recent slew of calls I’m feeling much happier and more motivated about my Leeds and Bradford piano tuning.

I haven’t always been on time with reminders or with updating my Leeds piano tuner availability section. When you originally start a business you spend a lot of time on the website, making sure the availability is updated at least once a day and you have more to talk about on your blog. As time goes on you start to rely on people texting, emailing or contacting you to give a time that works best for them for a piano tuning. There are fewer topics you can write about that you haven’t already said. Also, piano tuning, repairs and regulation are niche topics I’m not sure how many people are genuinely interested.

I don’t think I’ll use this blog as much as I used to when I started piano tuning. There just isn’t as much new ground to cover. Instead it’ll be used for any important updates.

Still working safely in Leeds and Bradford under lockdown

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If you’re worried about the legality of booking a piano tuner during lockdown, don’t be. Tradespeople of all types are allowed to continue their work under the new rules. Please see the yorkshire post for more details. This link covers the health and safety guidelines that me and other piano tuners have been asked to follow throughout the pandemic. Common sense isn’t always so common! Sometimes it’s helpful to remind yourself of the best way to stay safe (I need the reminder myself from time to time).

2021 Plans for piano tuning in Leeds

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Come 2021 there will be a slight change in schedule. I’m currently applying for part time retail work in Leeds to supplement my income earned from piano tuning. Piano tuning will be kept as a part time job, with my hours being reduced to 25 a week. I expect to be piano tuning in Leeds and Bradford three days a week (most likely Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday), with my part time job on the weekend, and Mondays and Fridays being for my regular piano tuning customers in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

Don’t get me wrong: I will still tune pianos in Bradford and Leeds on a regular basis. It has taken years of toil to become a master of my craft and it would be a shame to waste a hard-earned skill. Unfortunately many of my customers are in the vulnerable category and are understandably cautious about allowing people into their homes for the foreseeable future. The coronavirus vaccine will help, but I’m still expecting a difficult year. For this reason piano tuning is not viable as a full time job – it will have to be part time.

With all this being said, I will still strive to be the best piano tuner I can and to deliver a first rate service to my Leeds and Bradford customers. I didn’t become a piano tuner for money – I like giving the customer a good deal and for them to be happy with how their beloved piano sounds and plays. One of the few positives about the drop in my workload is that I can make more time and do all the work I need on a given day – rather than charging the customer extra for a second visit.

If you want to know more, please drop me a line.

My Youtube Channel

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Throughout my misspent youth I acquired a gorgeous collection of guitars, amplifiers and speaker cabinets. This collection means the world to me. On my days off I’ve started making video demonstrations of some of my favourite pieces of equipment, partly as a way to direct some traffic towards my channel and to grow my piano tuning business.

I haven’t uploaded any piano or piano tuning related videos yet. Mainly because I don’t currently have a piano at home. I’ve been contemplating buying a small Yamaha piano (I’ve perused the Piano Man shop in Leeds, in between piano tuning jobs), but it’s not on the cards right now. I do a lot of writing/recording and most of that tends to be rock music centred around rather simple, joyous guitar riffs.

Thank you for your enquiries

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A big thank you to anyone who has enquired about a piano tuning during these turbulent times. We all need to support local businesses right now.

My workload has been cut in half since March of this year. Mercifully, I have earned enough money this week to order new stock (various oils, powders, glues, assorted piano parts) so I’m looking forward to using these next week.

Let’s all keep supporting local businesses and local tradespeople.

  • – Richard, Piano Tuner Leeds.

Piano Tuner Leeds open during Lockdown

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In case it wasn’t clear, Leeds piano tuner will continue his essential work after Thursday. However, if you’ve already booked and would like to cancel, you are completely within your rights to do so. Please give at least 12 hours notice (if possible), so I can book someone else into the newly available slot.

The blog posts below go into more detail about safety measures when booking a piano tuner, if you’re concerned.

– Richard, Leeds Piano Tuner.

Leeds Piano Tuner still resilient and ready for work

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The Leeds piano tuner is continuing to work safely across West Yorkshire as normal. Piano tuning is essential work that cannot be done from home and there’s no reason why it can’t be performed safely.

Please remember that under the first sign of symptoms a booking will be CANCELLED immediately. He is extremely cautious and is practicing strict hygiene measures. Likewise, if you are showing symptoms, it is much wiser to rearrange!

It might be easier to contact him by phone if you live in an isolated area or if you have a busy schedule. He is still able to travel, but groups each booking so they are close geographically (although naturally, this can’t always be done). His phone number is 07542667040 and his email is richard@pianotunerleeds.co.uk