Is My Piano Out of Tune?

Pianoaccordatore wrote:

If your piano is "modern" and therefore has resin-coated keys, comparing myself with other technicians as well, I recommend Vetril with ammonia, obviously applied not directly onto the keys but on a cloth.

. . . perfect tuning does exist dear Gianfranco, the problem is that playing 4 hours a day, "perfect" tuning will only last a few days, not because your technician is incompetent but rather because the repeated percussion of the hammers on the strings causes a non-uniform relaxation in the latter. So in cases like yours, one either tunes very often to maintain perfect tuning always, or one must be tolerant and accept a piano that inexorably tends to go out of tune.

Thank you very much, you are very kind.

I am late to respond and I apologize. Anyway, I agree with Pianoaccordatore. Let's say that a well-tuned piano that does not present tuning stability problems goes out of tune gradually and uniformly. It is very important how the tuner moves and stabilizes the pins. I agree on the timing. Even long periods should satisfy the Musician if the instrument "moves" uniformly. My "not only" was meant to signify that it is also necessary to check the hammer voicing, possibly without intervening too "deeply" and modifying the general timbre too much. Other attention must obviously be paid to sudden changes in temperature and especially relative humidity. These contribute to "going out of tune" and, if considerable, to modifying the hammer voicing. For example, hammers that have absorbed a lot of ambient humidity can greatly change the sound. A light steaming with a hot iron can remove this excess moisture and restore to the hammers themselves that physiological elasticity of the past. It is, however, an intervention that must be carried out with caution and only if necessary. In short, then there's us.... today our piano is dull... today my piano is harsh.... A very rainy day can make us nervous.... two hours in traffic can have put a strain on our ear... etc. Therefore, the piano and musical sound generally has to deal with the tuning of our instrument, but also with environmental conditions and our psychoacoustic conditions. I suggest resting and closing your eyes in silence for 15 minutes before approaching the instrument and studying. The next day, repeat the experiment without this small period of "meditation". I believe there will be a difference in sound perception. What do you think?

I agree, Paolo.

I believe that Music is born from silence and returns to silence, so even when listening to our dear friend the piano, we often neglect timbral and sonic nuances.