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I regularly tune a Steinway D grand (Hamburg 20 years old) in a city recital hall.
The pitch is maintained between 440 and 441 hertz.
An artist has requested the pitch to be raised to 443 for their performance.
In reply I have stated that the piano should not be raised above 442, and that an additional tuning before the performance and a further one to lower the pitch would be required.
Any thoughts?

You should have added that you will not guarantee stability, and the extra cost will be paid in advance by the artist, who will also be responsible for any damage that might result.

The last Pitch change I was involved with was a similar distance. There was two double tunings up and two double tunings down plus the tunings before each time the piano is played, be it rehearsal or concert. That was arranged by an extremely experienced tuning department manager for a week of concerts by a major European orchestra.
It's like being a performer and having an agent. Double tunings are charged double rates. No discount.

Of course, onstage time has to be found for this unless the venue has a large enough piano storage room. That is also an issue and may incur a fee.

Has the management been consulted?

Who pays for this?

Some pianists want special attention and don't realise that the tuners time is valuable and must be paid for. They can always ask for "tune and attend" where the tuner is paid the standard tuning fee per hour.

Just say "certainly- It will cost...(at very least 5 full tuning fees)..". And note their reaction to see if they are serious or whether it's just a pretentious whim.

Same for a different temperament.

We had a request for 444... The answer was short.

I had to tune a grand for the TV recording, to be mated with an accordeon whose pitch was at 445. I had to tune it twice, early in the morning, so that they can do the recording. They did not say that they would want it to be tuned back to 440. But they also did not know that some other artists from the other department, who shared that room would need it to be tuned at 440 in the evening for some performance they have had with the second grand in that room, which was not tuned that day at all, so it was sitting somewhere around 440, like usual. So, I was called again in the afternoon to lower the pitch of the first grand to 440. It was not a very nice day for me.

Tuning is good work - up or down or sideways... as long as they pay. It is how we make our living.

If a piano needs to be tuned up for an exceptional situation, it needs to be tuned down again to the standard pitch afterward. Not everyone in a theater or music venue may be fully aware of this. It is part of our responsibility to make sure the person who calls us with special tuning requests is fully aware of all the work (and costs and scheduling) that is involved.

In my years of experience, usually, it's not worth the trouble dealing with the customer who wants a "specialty" tuning.(not even at a triple charge!). I keep getting calls from an elderly lady who wants me to to her piano to her "satisfaction". She has had numerous tuners attempt to tune the piano so it will sound "old fashion". This is someone who is not worth my time

Several times I would call the artist's management when the rider that specified A-442 was brought to me. I would explain the extra work to do that. They almost always declined and said 440 would be fine.

One time I mentioned the rider to the pianist and he said "is that thing still in the contract?"

My experience as well. When the artist (or the booking agent) found out that there would be an additional charge for the extra work involved they almost always agreed that A=440 was really what they had wanted all the time.

ddf

Some years back I knew a piano tuner who had done quite a lot of tuning for recording studios in NYC. Turns out he knew someone who worked at a company that made tuning forks. He asked for, and got, a set of five tuning forks marked A-440; A-441; A-442; etc. Since he was legally blind whenever he had a request to tune the piano to, say, A-442 he would ask the musician (or whoever was making the request) to pick out the right fork. He would than tune the piano to that pitch. Which was, of course, A-440. As were they all.

He told me he never had a complaint about the pitch not being "right."

ddf

Only a few days ago, there was an accompanist who wanted to practice during the allotted tuning slot. His argument was that it sounded fine to him. Mine was that we decide what sounds fine and pointed him to a dressing room with a piano.

It is not unusual, in a busy room to bring in a concert hire piano that is already at the requested pitch. This can cost almost twice as much as a course of tunings but is always preferable to jacking around the pitch of the house pianos

I like the story of the range of tuning forks, Dell.

Another favourite is the tango band with their bandoneon at 442. I find that the combination of the usual pitch float and the natural treble stretch will take care of any pitch discrepancy at the pitch where it is noticed.

In festivals with many concerts in succession,unusual pitch requests simply cannot be accommodated.

On movie sessions, there is sometimes an old Mustel celeste at 439 right next the piano and a range of tuned percussion at the other side of the orchestra, gathered from many sources and sometimes above 444. What to do? Tune as normal. It rarely becomes an issue. I was watching a movie and heard some wildly out of tune tuned percussion. The out of tuneness added to the atmosphere in the soundtrack. It may not have been nearly as effective if it had been in tune. It is standard on a pipe organ for the celesta stop to be set at five or six Hz.difference.

That is genious!

This entirely depends on the vintage of the organ and who it was built by.

A big thankyou for all your replies.

It seems we are all singing from the same hymn sheet!

Ben Nolan

Common sense has prevailed! I have had an email from the concert venue to say that A=440hz is fine for the concert.

Thanks for your help,

Ben Nolan

Goodonya, Ben!