3 Signs Your Piano Needs Tuning

A piano is a beautiful, complex instrument. But it's not a "set it and forget it" piece of furniture. It's a living instrument with wood, felt, and over 200 strings under immense tension. To keep it sounding its best, it needs regular care.

But how do you know when it's time? Here are the three most common signs that your piano is due for a professional tuning.

1. It Just Sounds "Off"

This is the most obvious sign. You don't have to be a virtuoso to notice it. If you play a simple chord and it sounds "wobbly," dissonant, or just plain wrong, it's a clear signal.

This often happens to notes in the "octaves" (the same note played in different registers). When you play them together, they should sound like a single, rich note. If they sound like two clashing, sour notes, your piano is out of tune. This is caused by the natural stretching of the strings and the wood of the soundboard swelling and contracting with San Francisco's humidity changes.

2. A Key is Sticky or Unresponsive

Are you playing a note, but the key is slow to come back up? Or maybe you have to press one key much harder than the others to get a sound? This is a mechanical issue, not just a tuning one.

Your piano has a complex system of over 9,000 parts called the "action." This involves tiny wooden levers, hammers, and felt pads.

Over time, dust can build up, humidity can cause wooden parts to swell and stick, or a small part might be broken or misaligned. This is a common problem that a professional technician can diagnose and fix during a standard service appointment, often at the same time as a tuning. Don't let it linger—it only gets worse.

3. It's Been More Than a Year

This is the sign that's easiest to ignore, but it's the most important for your piano's long-term health.

Pianos drift out of tune whether you play them or not.

The 200+ strings in your piano exert a combined tension of over 20 tons. As the seasons change, the wooden soundboard expands and contracts, causing the strings to stretch and the overall pitch to drop.

If you wait too long (several years), your piano will be "very flat." It can't be fixed with a simple tuning. It will first require a "pitch raise," a pre-tuning process to bring the entire instrument back up to the standard A440 concert pitch. This adds stress to the piano and can often be avoided with simple, regular maintenance.

The rule of thumb is simple: have your piano tuned at least once a year. This preventative care keeps it stable, protects your investment, and ensures it's always a joy to play.