A question many people have been asking recently is “when should I have my piano tuned?” Is it best to wait until winter? Summer? Some other time? The primary reason pianos go out of tune is the temperature and humidity. If you try to wait until the temperature is perfectly stable outside, your piano will never be tuned. The more stable you can keep the temperature and humidity around your piano, the more stable your piano will be. Stability is not always an option, however. Here are a few factors to think about when deciding to have your piano tuned:

Is the amount your piano is used going to change greatly? Many times pianos aren’t played as much during the summer or Christmas breaks. With the start of school in the fall or winter and piano lessons begin again, piano playing tends to increase. This is a great time to have your piano tuned.

Is the inside of your house having larger than normal changes in temperature and/or humidity? Some people like to leave windows open throughout the fall or spring. If this causes large temperature/humidity changes where the piano is, it may be best to wait.

Is your piano likely to be moved soon? Moves are hard on pianos, especially if they involve going up/down stairs or into different buildings. If you know that your piano will be moved, plan to have it tuned between 2 weeks and a month after the move.

Will your piano be used for a special event? Do you have musical family members coming for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Do you have a group from church coming over? These are great times to have your piano tuned.

Do you have any additional questions? Call Felber Piano Tuning at (701) 491-8851 for additional information.

There are many reasons pianos go out of tune. The greatest factor is temperature and humidity. When the humidity goes up, the wooden parts of the piano swell increasing the tension and raising the pitch. When the humidity goes down, the reverse happens. As fall approaches, temperatures will drop, and your piano may need some help.

How can you help your piano? The more consistent you can keep the temperature and humidity in your house, the more stable your piano will be. If you don’t want to increase your energy bill, you can also have a humidity control system installed in your piano. For more information, call (843)647-9784 or email [email protected].

To celebrate the new locations Felber Tuning is now servicing (Fargo, Moorhead, and the surrounding areas), a $25 discount is being given for all pianos from now until the end of September! Schedule yours today!

Many beginner and intermediate pianists never use the top or bottom notes on a piano. Does it really matter if they are properly tuned? Shouldn’t you be able to save some money by having your tuner just skip those places until your child begins playing music that uses the extremes of the keyboard? Absolutely not!

Whenever a string on a piano sounds, we can hear not only the note played (the fundamental), but also many others (called harmonics). When the rest of the piano is in tune, strings not being played will vibrate slightly with the one(s) being played. This effect gives the piano a much richer and more pleasant tone. The piano sounds better when the entire instrument is in tune, even if some notes are never played!

I’m excited to announce that Felber Piano Tuning is now doing business in the Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN areas. Although I will miss all of you in Wisconsin, I’m excited about meeting new piano friends here in Fargo.

Have you ever had your piano tuned only to have it sound bad again a few days later?

When I was in high school and before I learned how to tune, my parents paid for a piano tuner to come out to our house. He spent an hour or two tuning the piano and did a fine job. Several days later the piano sounded out of tune again. What happened?

Many factors contribute to why a piano will go out of tune, but sometimes there is an easy solution. Don’t turn on nearby fans when playing the piano. The sound of the strings will respond the same way your voice does when one speaks into a fan. This gives the impression of an out of tune piano.

When I turned off the overhead fan, the piano sounded great again. Try turning off your fan, and play the piano again. You may find your problem has been solved.

Call (843) 647-9784 to schedule your piano appointment today!

Pianos range dramatically in price from a 9 1/2 foot Bosendorfer Imperial to a free piano by a street curb. How can you determine what kind of piano is right for you?

While very few people can afford a concert grand, is a free piano really worth the price? One of the top reasons people stop playing an instrument is “out-of-tuness” and malfunction. Most “free” pianos are not truly free. First, the piano will need moved to your house. Then, a chip tuning will almost always be needed before a normal tuning can be done ($45-65 or more not including the normal tuning). Then, many things will probably need fixed: the dampers may not work well (so the strings still sound after the key is released), the hammers may be worn and may not have good tone, some notes may stick, some notes may not play at all, a string or two may be missing, etc. Most of these problems normally go unresolved because correcting them can cost more than just buying a good piano in the first place. When kids decide that they really don’t enjoy piano anymore, should anyone really be surprised?

Pianos are like most other things in life–you get what you pay for. If you want your kids to learn to love piano, “free may be expensive.”

Call (843) 647-9784 to have your piano tuned, repaired, or evaluated today!

I’m very pleased to announce that Felber Piano Tuning and Repair is offering a free chip tuning with the purchase of a fine tuning from now till the end of August. Get your piano ready for the new school year before the busyness of school begins!

What is a chip tuning? A chip tuning is the bringing of a piano up to pitch to where it can be tuned. A chip tuning can run from $40-$60 or more. If a piano hasn’t been tuned for over year it often is too far out to hold a tuning well. If a tuner were to try, it would quickly drop pitch part way down to where it was before, and it would sound awful. A chip tuning stabilizes the tension in the piano’s cast iron plate so that a fine tuning is possible.

Has your piano been tuned recently? Call today to set up your tuning appointment!

Many wonder what their piano is worth. Some have a piano that is really old and wonder if it is an antique and may be worth a lot. How old does a piano need to be before it starts going up in value?

In general a piano has worth based on how well it plays. If a piano’s touch is consistent throughout the whole keyboard, its strings hold pitch well, its dampers do their job, and everything in general does what it is supposed to do, the piano will be worth more than one that doesn’t meet these qualifications. The instrument’s looks somewhat affect its value: people will pay more for a piano that looks good. But the majority of a piano’s value comes from its playing ability.

So what about really old pianos? Very few pianos are worth anything because they are old. Some have historic value because of who owned them or some historic event they were a part of. Pianos that truly have the title “antique” are typically built before the year 1850 and even then may or may not have special value.

If you’re looking to buy a piano, don’t pay extra for a piano because the owner calls it an antique unless you just want a piece of really old furniture. If you already have a really old piano and it still plays ok, enjoy it. Enjoy playing it and realize that it has been bringing joy to people just like you for many years.

Have you ever wondered how a piano is made? Check out this Steinway link to see a piano receiving its first strings. You can also check out the other stations used in the making of a Steinway.