Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum how much does it cost to tune a piano

a upright, and a grand, and how often for each. trying to get an idea of the total cost of ownership for an acoutical piano.

Costs vary according to local economics and the policies of the tuner. Usually grands and uprights will cost the same. Frequency will vary according to the temperature and humidity conditions, usage, pickiness of the person who makes the decision about when the piano is tuned, and the quality of the piano tuner.

Google your local tuners. Some have prices on their website.

Those that don't, Contact them and ask.

i just googled, almost all don't have prices listed and i would have to contact. however there was one person who wrote they charge $100 for a tuning. not sure if that is reflective of everyone's prices.

The internet may not be a good place to find this out. Actually contacting real people might be better. (Your local tuner websites have contact information -- perhaps even email.)

As far as what regular service to do for the piano, the Piano Technicians Guild website has information for piano owners. www.ptg.org

This last paragraph is self contradictory. The Internet has websites and email. Is there an echoe in here?

Contact your local tuners the way you like best.

If you just want ballpark numbers, figure tuning will be $100 - 150, and you'd need to do it 3 or 4 times a year. This is for typical private home use.

What area are you in? maybe someone situated in your particular economy is on this forum.

$100 - $150 per tuning IS a realistic range, BUT...

Many, many owners who play occasionally and casually get by tuning once per year. Many others get by with twice per year. In my area of moderate temps and tight budgets, this frequency of service seems much more common.

(However, I wish many of my customers would go four times a year!)

I was indeed unclear. What I meant is "Forums like this on the internet may not b a good place to find out".

Thanks for pointing this out.

Tooners and tuner/technicians all know what they are worth and each one charges accordingly.

In my area, crappy tooners charge around $60. Good Tuner/technicians charge including pitch raises which pianos like yours probably needs, closer to $150-$200, plus repairs.

But, seriously, plan on apending at least $1,000,000,000!

That’s a lot of zeros there Jerry…

For a grand piano I would think $3-500.00 in maintenance annually depending upon the rate of use. For an upright probably similar figures maybe a little less.

I think it is a little ironic that we complain in one thread that there are too few people using acoustic pianos, and then when someone wants to make the switch, we encourage them by saying they will need to shell out $100-200 multiple times per year.

I don't know where you live, adak. Prices depend a LOT on where you live. Particularly city vs. country, although even then there are anomalies. You also get what you pay for, like Jerry says. At least, usually you get what you pay for.

I live in a rural area of New Jersey, and most tuners charge under $100 for a basic tuning. In Philadelphia and Delaware things are higher.

It is also important to note that my customers in rural south Jersey are not shelling out $1,000 a year to maintain their piano, and are never going to. Sure, I'd love for them to, and yes, of course, it would be good for their piano. But I'm happy that they just HAVE the piano and USE it and keep it tuned even if it's just once a year. Most of my customers would laugh (seriously) if I told them their piano needed to be tuned every 2-3 months like many manufacturers and technicians recommend (I didn't say it's a bad recommendation). They don't have that kind of money, not for their 10-year-old daughter to take beginning piano lessons. Or for that retired grandmother who just likes to sit down and play once in awhile.

I believe even an average upright piano tuned once a year is a FAR better instrument than the digital piano that would be their other alternative if they couldn't afford the maintenance.

/stepping down from soapbox

Most people that have decent pianos can afford to tune it once or twice a year. Fortunately, I live in an area where I can, and I have, built up my cliente on those kinds of people that can and will take care of their pianos. Especially my churches, schools and my college. Most tune them more often than twice a year because they use them with other instruments. They are designed to be tuned because of weather changes, at least twice a year and that's what they should do if they can.

Most people piddle away that much money on fast food, cigarettes, pop, beer, movies, movie rentals, iPads, iPods, junk food, you name it. If they want to maintain it, they really could in most cases. They choose to spend it in other areas. We're all guilty of doing that. So be it.

As techs, what many are not taking into realization and consideration at all is why are they asking how much it costs? It is because in most cases, they haven't had the piano tuned in eons. Or, they just acquired the used piano. Otherwise, they would have some sort of general idea.

So, today's cost with a pitch raise of say, a total of $150 divided by 10 years is $15 a year on a 10 month year. (10 months - easier figuring) Not having it tuned in 20 years is about $7.50 a year give or take if that's what it cost them now. (right? If I figured right)

Well, horror of horrors because it now costs them $150 or $200 to have the piano tuned? I don't think so... That's cheap..... Compared to what they saved! They just saved themselves at least $500 to $1,000 or more by not tuning it all of those years.

Now, in cases such as this one, your basic fee probably no longer applies because there will more than likely be a fairly large pitch raise involved, possibly keys that are not working or sticking and that too, will more than likely all cost more.

Plus, many people figure that a tuning includes everything. Repairs, whatever. Minor things maybe, but many things are not included and we, as self employed persons do deserve to make a nice living like anyone else does.

Sooooo like I said. $1,000,000,000 outta cover it! I'll split it with ya Dan! hehe.

3 or 4 times a year is absolutely not typical. Simply not true.
Can you please show us "many" manufacturers who recommend 4 to 6 tunings per year (with the possible exception of the first two years after purchase)? Again: not true.

All this is way off the mark. If each one of my clients would have their pianos tuned even 2 - 3 times per year, I would have to work nights and weekends. Yearly is more the norm, in some instances less frequently. Much depends on the instrument and the area's climate. In my case, the climate is very forgiving.

Much also depends on the tuner.

It's in Binary. That's $512 to us base-10 folks.

Forrest

There was a time when 4 times a year was the norm, it has only died out here in the past 30 years. My first job in pianos was like that. Company car, 6 high quality pianos a day in the city, 4 might be in the same street, somebody was home all day, the company ran 15-20 tuners covering the whole country and 2-3 technicians. The piano could be kept in first class shape in 25 minutes, the rest of the time was a social call or a quick cup of tea with the servants, we were instructed. Ever to use the tradesmens entrance, always the front door.
We were gentlemen of leisure. it had been that way since old John Broadwoods' days. The work was probably not quite so easy in his days, the pianos probably did need attention 4 times a year. Although some of the pianos were. Dry old and didn't need anything extra.

A tuning was not the expense it is now but we still made a comfortable lIving with as much overtime as we wanted and private use of the car.

When I moved to the states, i told all my clients," give me a call when your good n ready, try not to leave it longer than a year". I could still be a gentleman of leisure and keep everything at or above pitch by always tuning a piano with the ease of the next tuning in mind. I grew a business quickly every time I moved. The other tuners were bullying their clients into frequent tuning.... Peopl don't like that. (most of em).

So the new business model to aim for is tuning one piano per year, and charging $1,000,000,000 to tune it. I'd be willing to give up my company car for that.

I once considered hiring Jerry to tune one of my pianos.

When I heard the cost of the tooning, the requirement of the chartered jet, his valet, his tool carrier, the limo, aaaaand the catered dinner prepared by Emeril Lagasse, I called my mechanic to come and hammer it! He toons-up my car, so why not?

I've never heard of anyone here in the states that got the private use of a car for tuning pianos for a store.

Milk wasn't the expense that it is now either, nor was coffee, or sugar, or candy, or gasoline or the cost of health insurance or anything else.



Some probably do bully people. There's a bully in every bunch. However, most technicians that I personally know, do not do that at all.

If you're talking the "average home" once a year is fine. If you want your "average home piano" on pitch and in tune more often than that, then once a year is not enough.

So, yeah!!!, what am I talking bout Willis? Pay up dudes specially you Marty!!! The price is going up by the second!!! SO HURRY HURRY HURRY HURRY!!!! To late.. Marty, it just cost you an extra 0....