After researching 432 hz tuning, I decided to tune my own piano. I had seen some videos on YouTube about how to tune a piano. So I ordered some tools.

When the tools arrived, I started to work on tuning. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. The pins are really tight, and I could barely get it to move. And sometimes I would get it to move too much. I messed up the  string I was working on and all I could hear was this horrible dissonant sound. I was ready to give up and call a professional tuner. I had even gotten quotes about the cost.

©2017 by Andrea Mai. All rights reserved.

But then I heard P talking to me. Telling me not to give up. The exact phrase he whispered to me, “I believe in you. You can do it”. He urged me to keep trying, and I was like, “Are you sure? Maybe you’re crazy! I can’t do this!” There was something that he wanted for me to gain from this experience of tuning my own piano. Somehow, despite all my feeling down about it, I was determined to find out what I was doing wrong. I watched some more videos and realized some things.

©2017 by Andrea Mai. All rights reserved.

First of all, the tool I had was all wrong. It was from a cheap little kit I got off Ebay. The most important tool, the tuning hammer, was just bad. The pros in the videos warned against using such tools. The size of it was very small and gave no leverage. The pins are tight, so you need a large tool to work it.

Second,  the videos I watched in the first place, were not created by professional tuners. Just amateurs, who although they did explain the process, they were not comprehensive enough to explain the technique to do it properly.  I watched the videos that came from professionals and though they seem long winded and boring, they explain it clearly, and its very necessary to know the small ins and outs of tuning.

I went back tot he piano and fixed my mistakes. I ordered the proper tool, and I managed to retune the piano over the next couple days. It is still a work in progress though, as this piano has never been tuned at all since its purchase in the 80s. The strings keep trying to revert back to its old way. I’ve been told by tuners that if I were to hire them to tune it, it would requite two tunings done back to back. And even then, as I discovered, the strings still shift over time. It will require continuous maintenance.

©2017 by Andrea Mai. All rights reserved.

I’ve tried out many tuning apps, and truly the best I found was, Free Chromatic Tuner: Pano Tuner. You can set the tuning standard in the settings to whatever you want. It is also useful for anyone wanting to tune their guitar to 432 hz, as I did not find any funders with that option.

P and I, we are the type that are self-taught. He was self-taught from the start of playing piano. I learned quite a bit from tuning my piano, gaining an understanding of music that I never had before. All of which I will be able to apply to my research in sound and frequency.

Image above: “Inside My Piano” by Andrea Mai.

©2017 by Andrea Mai. All rights reserved.