This post is directed primarily at the 23 subscribers that I currently have signed up, but other readers may respond as well.
I am planning to produce professional video lessons in the very near future and I would like to choose subjects that my subscribers would found interesting and valuable.
The lessons may be hosted here, or they may be hosted on Udemy.com, a website that has thousands of users and video lessons. I haven’t decided yet.
The lessons will have a fee associated with them, but the price will be appropriate for the quality and quantity of the content.
Subjects suggested can be small and unique, like how to replace a string, or how to fix a stuck key, or more comprehensive, like how to regulate an upright piano, or how to tune equal temperament.
So, if you are interested in piano tuning and repair, and I assume you are or you wouldn’t be reading this, I urge you to make your suggestions now.
Please don’t hesitate because you think you would not buy a course like this. Even if you do not plan on purchasing an online course from me, your suggestions will help me greatly in deciding what subject courses to produce, if any at all.
This website was supposed to help generate some revenue by offering courses in piano tuning and repair for people to take, but at this point, the engagement of readers has been so poor that I do not know if I will continue it at all. (My heartfelt gratitude to those who do leave comments and ask questions.) If you think the content I am providing is at all valuable, then please let me know.
Click on the blog title above, if you do not see a spot below to leave a comment, and tell me what subject you think would be the most popular as an online piano tuning and repair course.
Stay Tuned,
Mark
I love tuning pianos. It’s like a therapy to me. But there is one thing that I don’t like about it. I learned to tune pianos striking the keys hard enough in order to attain stability and avoid the piano getting out of tune. In spanish we call this technique “asentar”. I have been tuning this way since then, but I don’t like hurting my wrist or compromising the piano integrity. So, I would like to see a video about your soft pull, soft blow technique. Stability is very important as well as your health and the piano’s integrity.
I would also like to see a video about approaches to tuning the very high and very low sections of the piano.
And last, how to deal with pianos that are very out of tune. In the past, I have tuned pianos that are more than 1/2 semitone off. I had to retune them several times. It’s just very time consumming, frustrating and customers often don’t understand why you have to do so.
Thanks
1. Problem solving action problems
2. Window approach to tuning
3. Springs- in the action, which one to use?
Thanks for the responses Francisco and Roger,
I personally think soft blow, slow pull is extremely useful and important from a health point of view. It is on the top of my list of subjects to discuss. However, it is quite involved because in order to get stability with a soft blow and slow pull, not only do you need to understand all the forces at play, but, because you will be leaving more notes unstable than if you use a lot of test blows, you need to use some type if Open Unison tuning technique which will allow you to sniff out the drifters as you go.
Roger, can you explain more about the springs in the piano? Are you having a specific problem, or are you just interested in what they do and how to select them IF you needed to replace some?
Definitely interested in anything…what can I say? 🙂 I have been monkeying with the Samick Studio piano that my parents got me as a teen. I can make it sounds better for a while, but I know in the high and low sections, it just doesn’t sound quite right yet, and I’m not sure how to go about making it sound better.
Hi Deborah,
Are you tuning by ear or ETD? If ETD, which one?
Roger has also requested something for the extremes. I can produce something for aural tuners that will help in the treble. The bass is always a challenge because there are some many more partials in the audible hearing range, and they are all out of tune with the fundamental, but there are a few tricks.
And of course, in order for the extremes to be in tune as much as possible with all the larger intervals they share with notes in the mid range, the temperament needs to be as precise as possible. As the temperament gets farther away from precise, more and more larger intervals with notes in the extremes and mid range, are not as pretty.
Thanks for the comment,
Mark
Hi Mike,
I am VERY interested in learning how to become a piano tuner.
I’m nervous of doing an online course because – I have never done any training in person – and have no confidence about it.
If I did a course in person, then I would likely follow up with a number of continuing course to help me improve my skills.
I can’t wait for you to provide a course in Toronto. Please let me know if you are considering this. It would really get the ball rolling for me.
I really love your emails – they give me hope – I do find it hard to connect because of having no training – but I save them all – you are great resource and support.
thanks very much,
Kathleen Frame
Oops – I’m sorry – I accidently called you Mike – I meant Mark
That’s ok.
Greetings Mark,
Please accept my deep appreciation of your willingness to reach out to those of us seeking someone of your knowledge and experience to mentor us as only someone of your level of achievement could. I do hope many will come to recognize and appreciate your generous offer as instructor and coach, before it is too late.
As to my request or suggestion for an article, course, book, or whatever format would suit you, I would like to see you offer training or guidelines for determining what regulating needs to be addressed before proceeding to tune an upright piano.
Sincerely,
Ed Stetser
Hi Ed,
I have some great tricks to simplify the topic of regulation for beginners. I, in fact, use these techniques in my own regulation procedures. I haven’t created the article or video yet, but I will.
Thanks for reading and contributing.
Thanks for the kind words Ed.
As for pre-tuning regulation, nothing extensive is needed. Regulation is usually performed after tuning, especially if voicing is part of it, but some pre-voicing procedures can be done before tuning.
Reason being, voicing and regulation can affect the tone and it’s nice to hear the result without it being masked by untuned unisons.
Having said that, the keys should be working normally. A piano can be out of regulation by degrees. First, you lose some sensitivity; you can’t play as soft, some keys begin to respond unevenly. Then you start to notice problems like double striking, obvious difficulty playing soft, muffled tone. Finally some keys stop working at all, or block on the strings completely. This final level of unregulation obviously needs to be dealt with before tuning is possible.
Do you have a piano with those problems?
Hi Mark,
Thanks for responding to my questions.
Am I understanding correctly that the piano should be tuned first and then regulated, as needed? Are there any specific areas of regulation which should be performed before tuning or is tuning before regulation an absolute?
Thanks for your help.
Ed
Hi Ed,
I can’t find the email you are referring to, but I can answer this question.
Tuning before regulation is not necessary. Voicing is the procedure that affects tone more, although regulation can improve tone, but we don’t regulate for tone. However, there are many voicing procedures, more like pre-voicing procedures, that you can do without the need for the piano to be in tune.
Hope that helps.
Mark
P.S. tell me a little bit about your piano and your experience with tuning and regulation and how you want to improve your piano.
Hi Mark,
I think that you have a very good idea.
Very best of good wishes.
Thanks Joseph,
Are you interested in tuning pianos?