Enjoying Holiday Music

Every year, I look forward to the Christmas holiday season. I love decorating a large, beautiful tree, baking delicious, seasonal desserts, going to holiday parties, and spending time with my parents at their farm. Because I’m a singer and a musician, I also like to listen to Christmas music. Sometimes, I listen to holiday tunes for several hours at the time. Whether I’m cleaning my home, driving down the road, or cooking dinner, my mood instantly improves after listening to some of my favorite holiday songs. On this blog, I hope you will gain an appreciation for holiday music. Enjoy!

Never Tuned a Piano Before? Know These 3 Things

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Are you new to owning a piano and have never tuned one before? Having a tuned piano is essential to making sure that the music you are playing sounds as beautiful as it was meant to be. However, an out of tune piano will need to be adjusted at some point if you notice that the notes are sounding a bit off. Make sure to follow these tips to be successful at getting this job done.

1. Use a Tuning Lever

The first thing you'll notice when you open up your piano to tune it is that there are square pegs attached to the strings that need to be turned. You shouldn't go in your garage and grab a tool that you think will get this job done, like a socket wrench

You actually need to purchase a piano tuning lever specifically designed for the job. Other tools will not give you the strength to safely give the pegs enough torque to turn them, or can damage them in the process. This is kind of like not using the right screwdriver to remove a screw and stripping the head, except you are messing with the pegs inside a very expensive piano. 

2. Use Wedge Mutes

A problem that people run into when tuning a piano is trying to tune one string, but accidentally hearing another. There are wedge mutes made specifically for muting adjacent strings so that you can focus on one string at a time. They should have rubber tips on them, with some looking like chopsticks, where you can grip the surrounding strings so that they don't vibrate. It's a handy tool to have on hand that will really help isolate the sound that you are hearing.

3. Use a Chromatic Tuner

You'll also need to purchase a chromatic to help ensure that the pitch you are tuning to is correct. While some people can tune a piano without one based on years of experience of knowing the pitches, you probably aren't at that level yet.  

You may prefer to get a stand-alone chromatic tuner that they can just set on the piano as they work, keeping it with their piano tuning tools. However, there are actually apps for your smartphone that do a very similar thing. The smartphone app may be better for you if it has more on-screen visuals to help guide you through the tuning process.

To learn more, contact piano tuning services. 

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14 June 2021