The Piano Tuner's Visit

The Piano Tuner’s visit is one of the things that so easily slips down the priority list. Subscriptions for the phone, TV, broadband, the dentist, the car, MOT, house insurance, school kit… etc.

On and on it goes! It’s a wonder we get through to the end of the month!

There ought to be some clever scheme that makes the piano being tuned important enough to warrant being placed higher up on the list of ‘to-do’ jobs!

I, myself, hate feeling cornered or obliged to be paying out money unless I really appreciate to the full what I am paying for. So perfectly understand the reply to a tuning reminder sent a while ago: ‘my husband says the piano is still perfectly in tune so we will leave it this time.’ 

While I respect where he is coming from I am aghast at his priorities! What on earth can be more important than having the piano tuned?

In the great mix that makes up the society of modern times, I do have some nostalgia for the slower pace of bygone days - days of not so very long ago. Days when nobody cared if you spent your evenings playing the piano or reading a book. Watching TV was a lazy persons way to pass the time.  Today it is all about 'surfing the web', or looking at social media, or exploring the endless choice of streaming services!

Writing a blog is my nod to the internet - some things cannot be avoided. But I still feel that creativity is known and experienced at its best when there is a piano being played!

Tuner's Journal

©Steve Burden

  

Piano Brochures

Brochures about New Pianos are littered with adjectives that imply a superiority of tone, craftsmanship, build quality, choice of materials, the range of models... on and on!

The unfortunate would-be buyer, has to learn a sort of code before coming close to making a decision. Then, when the piano is delivered, the tuner often has to 'iron out' the niggles and tweak the odd misbehaving notes before the customer feels he has made the right choice.

The most difficult part about using words and pictures to describe a piano, is that every piano is so different. Tastes are different. The process of choosing a particular piano is a deeply personal thing. Any attempt to narrow the decision down to a particular piano by simply reading a brochure, is doomed to meet with disappointment.

In a glossy brochure, references made to the piano maker's art, is little more than part of the overall intention to impress the reader. What does it really mean? Great skill and patience are essential to build a piano but building a piano is also an art. Craft, experience and a profound love of the work are the special ingredients needed to produce that spark of inspiration for the piano buyer. 

What buyers really need to know is that their choice will match their expectations.

As a tuner, I come across many new pianos. Sadly only a few of them get my 'thumbs-up' vote. This is not because I do not like new pianos, but because I am often disappointed myself with the condition of the piano when I get to tune it in the customer's house.

If I were spending serious money on a piano, I would feel justified in having high expectations - Isn't that what the brochures are trying inspire in the buyer? 

A while ago, a customer who bought a top name 'silent' piano, to replace a piano that was rather old and definitely inferior, said she regretted ever buying the new one! Why? Because it was not what she led to believe it was. This is not a customer who will go about saying she was 'completely satisfied' with the piano. 

Another customer bought a high-end and expensive piano. After the free tuning, she was less than overwhelmed with it - only to be told by the tuner/technician that she was being too fussy! 

Piano makers seem not to care about their pianos once in the hands of the retailer. Pianists are the buyers and users of pianos - if the goods supplied are poor, the demand will soon drain away. In the Piano Trade, we have a lot of work to do!  

© Steve Burden