Category Archives: Diary

Digital verses acoustic pianos (an unbiased perspective)

Even though I should be an acoustic purist, I’ve lost some of my piano tuner credentials by purchasing a digital piano recently for my flat so I can practice at night with headphones on. I made this purchase from a reputable Leeds piano shop. After being shown many new models by a fellow Leeds piano tuner working in the shop and after trying out everything in store I settled on the Nord Stage Piano and I’m very happy with my decision. Some beautifully authentic piano sounds and I was quite surprised to hear some imperfect tuning on one or two of the patches!

Now, does the Nord digital piano really compete with an acoustic piano in terms of sound or touch? I would have to say no. The keys are weighted and have enough responsiveness to be able to play expressively, but even a low quality acoustic piano has better dynamics overall. When it comes to the sound, while the sampled grands on the Nord are musically pleasing, speaker (or headphone) technology can no way compete with the room-filling quality of acoustic piano’s spruce soundboard reverberating (creating much greater air movement) and hitting the pianist with the full, powerful sound we all love. In comparison a digital piano is always going to seem slightly sterile and lacklustre.

The digital piano serves the purpose of getting pieces together for more serious playing which occurs on the grand piano in my parent’s home (I currently live in a flat and can’t fit in an acoustic piano, even a spinet or console). In a perfect world everyone would have a high quality grand or upright piano for different purposes (annoying scales and technical exercises could be done on headphones on the digital piano, which leaves the acoustic piano ready for louder and more dynamic performances). Another upside of having the best of both worlds is that their is less wear and tear on the acoustic piano over the years which prolongs its lifespan. Knowing what I know now I would certainly choose the ‘best of both worlds’ option if I was starting out as a pianist.

Happy New Year to my Leeds and West Yorkshire piano tuning clients!

Happy 2023 everyone. 2022 was the most financially successful year on record for me by a wide margin – lots of piano tuning, and new friends and contacts made with various Leeds and Bradford theaters, recording studios, schools and churches – plenty of freshly tuned pianos out there today. It was a delight. Don’t let anyone tell you that digital pianos have superseded acoustic pianos – lots of Luddites and purists out there like myself who can appreciate the sound and feel of a real piano.

On that note, please don’t forget to have your acoustic piano tuned regularly – ideally twice a year. It’s best for the piano tuning stability, its tone and its longevity.

  • – Richard Lidster, Piano Tuner Leeds.

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.

Turning over a new leaf

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.

Back to normal hours

No more rest for the Leeds piano tuner I’m afraid, I’m back to my normal routine after a brief sojourn. I’ve updated my availability for the rest of the month. If you’d like to book your piano tuning further in the future, I have lots more availability in November and December (I just haven’t listed any of those hours just yet).

When are my working hours?

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.

Weekend Piano Tuning now available

Every piano tuner wants to be firing on all cylinders right now and fitting too many jobs in a single day can occasionally hinder this! For that reason I am now trying to spread my working hours across the week by adding a few weekend jobs to the list. If you’re looking for a piano tuner in the Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield areas, may I suggest a weekend booking? Depending on your schedule, it might be a quicker way to book my piano tuning services at short notice. Booking something a few weeks in advance can be helpful for me, but the customer is always right.

I will try to update my Leeds and Bradford piano tuning availability page as often as I can, but – on a personal note – I’m very rarely home at the moment. Outside of my long working hours, I’m usually visiting family or going for solitary walks in the countryside.

Bookings in the Christmas to New Year Period

Things are getting a bit sluggish after the pre-Christmas rush – piano tuning bookings are thin on the ground next week. If you’d like to get your piano tuned this coming week (beginning Monday the 28th), get yourself booked in ASAP.

The most convenient day is currently Tuesday the 29th in the afternoon or evening, but I’m planning to work Tuesday to Friday. I haven’t posted any 2021 dates to my Leeds Piano Tuner availability page just yet, but they’re due to be added shortly. This is because I’d like to be working more next week – a booking is a booking however, and I’m more than happy to work around anyone’s schedule. Let me know when is most convenient once you’ve enquired.

I hope you’ve all had a merry Christmas, and here’s to a brighter 2021

2021 Plans for piano tuning in Leeds

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.