Tuning your own piano unisons?

Hi Marc,

I tune my own unisons every now and then.  My piano technician has actually recommended that I do it more often as it is a fairly simple process and one of the first steps to becoming your own tuner.  You're right that you can break a string if you aren't careful, though it's far more likely that you will simply make your pins a little looser which can be a nuisance.

    A couple of things I think need to be mentioned here: 1. The concept of beats- this is what you referenced when you noted the "waaaaa" sound you were getting before you attempted the adjustment.  Technically speaking, when a string is out of tune with its neighbors of the same pitch, it will create an audible (though quite subtle if you've never listened for it before) fluctuation, almost like a wave.  When the string is VERY sharp or flat, this wave/fluctuation sounds faster (waa-waa-waa-waa), almost like a trill or wiggle. When you are getting the string closer to the correct pitch with its neighbors, then the wave/fluctuation will get slower (waaaaaaaa-waaaaaaaa) almost like a slow tremolo or wobble.  The goal is to get that wave/fluctuation (again, it's technically known as a "beat") to disappear.  HOWEVER- and here's why those of us who don't do this for a living can go crazy while trying to achieve this- there is no such thing as a perfectly in sync/in tune unison.  With notes that have three strings tuned to the same pitch, there will always be one string that has to be slightly sharp or flat to cancel out beats that happen at other harmonics.  Most people, though, don't notice this imperceptible difference.  2. The tuning hammer is called a hammer because in the time of harpsichords and clavichords, what looks like a handle for the tool, was actually also a hammer head used to tap loose pins into place. 3. It's a good idea to check your final unison with an octave above or below the note you are working on.  This is assuming your piano is still generally in tune. 4. There are actually free apps available for IOS (and I imagine Android as well, but I'm an iPhone user) that have fairly accurate feedback for tuning.  My technician just showed me one called "PanoTuner" (that's not a typo), that works surprisingly well.  Of course, it isn't as good as the apps professional piano technician's use- those can run from $500-$800- and it can NOT replace a professional tuner, but it does give a visual reference that helps you see how far sharp or flat a string is, and when you are bringing it closer to being "in tune".  5. Sometimes a note is neither flat nor sharp, but simply too bright or mellow.  This means you actually need to voice the hammer, not tune the string.  Being able to hear the difference can be difficult, but this is partly why the concept of "beats" is important to understand.  A brighter note may sound odd or annoying to your ear, but if it's in tune, it won't create a beat. There is also an issue of what are called "false beats" which result from uneven strings, variations in metal composition of the strings, incorrect position on the bridge, etc. but that's often a subtle issue and much more complex than this discussion requires. 

    I thought your video was pretty great actually, but unfortunately your mic doesn't pick up the nuance of when the pitch you are working on is close but not quite perfect.  This could be the speakers on my phone and laptop though.  If you could do a similar video with a split screen showing a tuning app like the one I mentioned above, then it might be even more informative for someone who has never attempted this before. 

I liked that you mentioned how much of a rabbit hole this is.  I once spent nearly an hour on one note (a trichord) and started to hear things that just weren't there.  Additionally, I weirdly experienced a sudden inability to tell whether I was making a string sharp or flat.  Supposedly, like playing piano, this gets easier with practice.

I’ve tuned pianos for over 35 yrs. I have no problem with players tuning unisons and octaves on privately owned (home) pianos. My big concern is to ask permission before touching a piano you don’t own. This situation happens more often than we would expect and creates more issues than we would expect. Always safer to leave pianos alone, especially if they belong to an institution. 

I tried to tune by myself watching Howard Pianos videos on youtube, but I snapped a string hehehe. Later I did an online tuning course and I developed a much better sense of how to make things, even though getting good demands lots of practice, which is something I still have to put a lot of work.

From the video you posted I would say these things call my attention:

- you are making big movements, so you are passing up and down the correct pitch a lot of times. You should make smaller movements so that each time you are getting closer to the pitch, if you make a big movement is closer to starting from zero. The closer you are, the smaller the movements should be.

- I believe you are using to much of arm movement, which is part of what brings the problem above.

- For a stable tuning, it is recommended to give a stronger hit on the key (read this with caution), so the tension is spread across the piano. Something like this guy does:

https://youtu.be/mzoBH-HbKmw

- just move the hammer when you are listening to the string sound (you did move just once when the key was pressed, but not sounding anymore, so I think you know this and just forgot)