Category Archives: Pitch Raise

Pitch raising

Pitch Raise, Pitch Raising

If a piano has been tuned regularly in the past and is already close to concert pitch, then a single tuning will yield an excellent result and the piano’s pitch will be stable for around six months. However, If a piano has not been tuned in over two years there is a high probability that the pitch has drifted from it’s ideal (A440 – concert pitch). If this piano is otherwise in a healthy condition, a service called the pitch raise is often the best way to get it back to concert pitch. This costs a bit more (£70 rather than £55) as it takes an extra hour or so.

To raise the pitch, the piano has initially has to be tuned slightly sharp, with the piano tuner aware that as the strings relax a fine tuning can be performed to ensure it’s perfectly in tune at concert pitch.

A word of warning about pitch raising – the piano will need to be tuned again fairly quickly afterwards. The more out of tune the piano was before the pitch raise the less stable the piano tuning will be due to the raise in string tension. It is recommended that you book the Leeds Piano Tuner in three months after a large pitch raise. The more often the piano is tuned after this the more it’ll stay in tune – as convenient as it sounds for the Leeds piano tuner, regular tunings are good for the piano!

What is a Pitch Raise? Does Your Piano Need a Pitch Raise?

Piano advice, Piano Tuner Bradford, Piano Tuner Leeds, Piano Tuning in Leeds, Pitch Raise, Pitch Raising

An excellent video, succinctly describing the pitch raise:

If you are a new client, don’t be scared if you are told your piano needs a pitch raise. Often when I see a new piano tuning client in Leeds or Bradford the piano will be far from A440 – particularly if the piano has not been tuned in many years. My philosophy is that any piano that can be brought up to concert pitch should be brought up to concert pitch as it will not only allow you to play ensemble but will greatly improve its tonal quality. On pianos unable to withstand a huge raise in pitch (many pre-1950s are in this camp), there is the cheaper option of ‘tuning the piano to itself’ – the piano will sound much, much better even with this type of tuning, but if the piano was constructed to be tuned to A440 then its tone will be at its best once it is tuned to that pitch.

For a pitch raise I have to make two seperate visits, two weeks apart. For the first tuning I do a overpull, raising the bass section slightly sharp (between 1 – 3 cents) and the middle and treble sections further sharp (usually 8 – 15 cents depending on how flat the piano was). A pitch raise always involves at least two tunings – an overpull tuning and a fine tuning. Some piano tuners do both on the same day, but I and many others have found better results if you space the two over a couple of weeks. This makes no difference to the pricing either, as a pitch raise generally costs an extra 50% of a standard piano tuning.

My pricing for a pitch raise:

  • Vist number one, overpull: £45
  • Visit number two, fine tuning: £20

 

I hope this clears things up. For further questions call me on 07542667040 or email me at richard@pianotunerleeds.co.uk