Category Archives: Piano Tuner Leeds

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.

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!

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.

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).

Piano Tuner operating as usual in Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford and Harrogate

Okay. If you’ve left things to the eleventh-hour and need an emergency piano tuning in Leeds (or thereabouts) I have two 2 PM slots on Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th of September this coming week. If you’d like to book these, it may be preferable to give me a call 07542667040 – I wouldn’t want to offer someone a slot only for it to be snatched away at the final moment.

The following weeks I have the following hours free for West Yorkshire Piano Tuning:

  • Monday the 20th of September @ 9 AM
  • Monday the 20th of September @ 11:30 AM
  • Monday the 20th of September @ 2 PM
  • Monday the 20th of September @ 5 PM
  • Monday the 20th of September @ 7:30 PM
  • Thursday the 23rd of September @ 2 PM
  • Thursday the 23rd of September @ 5 PM
  • Thursday the 23rd of September @ 7:30 PM
  • Friday the 24th of September @ 9 AM
  • Friday the 24th of September @ 2 PM
  • Friday the 24th of September @ 5 PM
  • Friday the 24th of September @ 7:30 PM
  • Monday the 27th of September @ 9 AM
  • Monday the 27th of September @ 11:30 AM
  • Monday the 27th of September @ 2 PM
  • Monday the 27th of September @ 5 PM
  • Monday the 27th of September @ 7:30 PM
  • Wednesday the 29th of September @ 9 AM
  • Wednesday the 29th of September @ 11:30 AM
  • Wednesday the 29th of September @ 2:30 PM
  • Wednesday the 29th of September @ 5:30 PM
  • Wednesday the 29th of September @ 8 PM
  • Thursday the 30th of September @ 9 AM
  • Thursday the 30th of September @ 11:30 AM
  • Thursday the 30th of September @ 2:30 PM
  • Thursday the 30th of September @ 5:30 PM
  • Thursday the 30th of September @ 8 PM

I’ll be on holiday in Dorset from the 2nd to the 9th of October. The week beginning Monday the 11th of October is good for me if you’d like to book something then.

Piano Tuner’s availability page to be updated ASAP

I’ll try to update my availability as soon as I can but I’m too exhausted to make a list at the moment and my brain isn’t working properly.

This week I’ve been working really long hours tuning pianos in different towns, from Leeds and York to Hull, Stockport, Nottingham and even one in Skegness this Wednesday! I love piano tuning, but the amount of travelling this week has really worn me out.  Much of this work has been through contacts in the Leeds piano industry which I’m grateful for, but I need a good bit of rest this weekend. A few hours sat on the sofa watching TV will sort me out.

I am getting my diet in order and trying to be a bit healthier as well. Cutting out fizzy drinks and service station food is on my list of goals and aspirations. You eat too much fast food when you spend this much time travelling as it’s quick and convenient, but bad for your health and has noticeable effects on energy levels. Adequate sleep is also a must, but I’ve only been getting 5 or 6 hours a night.

All in all I’m happy and grateful to receive piano tuning jobs in different towns, but I think it’s forgivable that I’m late to update the website as I’m hardly ever at the computer with such long hours! Onwards and upwards. Next week is looking to be a lot more balanced in terms of hours spent travelling.

At the height of my powers

I’m running out of things to talk about on this blog, so I’ll add some positive news. My piano tuning endeavours have reached their zenith, eclipsing pre-lockdown levels. For the last six weeks I’ve fervently worked on advertising in order to push this piano tuning business forward. Has it worked? Yes and no. I have been receiving 5 – 6 calls & emails a day. However, advertising costs are vast, a long with my business expenses (such as a bottle of PTFE a week, fuel, glues, tapes, action parts), it means I have to work very long hours to make ends meet. Am I happy about it? You bet. I love being a piano tuner. The travels around Leeds and far beyond are fun 99% of the time, and the job of piano tuning is always rewarding. #gratitude #positivity #growth

– Richard, Piano Tuner Leeds.

More opportunities for namedropping

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?

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.