WHAT IS THE PIANO TECHNICIANS GUILD?
WHAT IS REGULATION
WHAT IS PITCH RAISING




      WHAT IS THE PIANO TECHNICIANS GUILD?

     The Piano Technicians Guild (PTG), the official organization of the Registered Piano Technician, is the world's premier source of expertise in piano service and technology. PTG has over 4,100 members throughout the United States, Canada and around the world.

     The mission of the Piano Technicians Guild is to promote the highest possible standards of piano service by providing members with opportunities for professional development, by recognizing technical competence through examinations and by advancing the interests of its members.

Learn more at www.ptg.org


              REGULATION

 As a conscientious piano owner, you probably have your piano tuned regularly by a qualified technician. You may, however, notice a deterioration of its performance despite regular tuning. It's important to note that tuning is only the adjustment of the system of strings and pins that determines the pitch of each string. Your piano also requires a periodic servicing called regulation, which attends to the mechanical parts which cause strings to sound when keys are depressed and affect the sound through the use of the pedals.

WHAT IS REGULATION AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT MY PIANOS PERFORMANCE?

Regulation is the adjustment of the mechanical aspects of the piano to compensate for the effects of wear, the compacting and settling of cloth, felt and buckskin, as well as dimensional changes in wood and wool parts due to changes in humidity. The three systems involved in regulation are the action, trapwork and damper systems. The action is the mechanical part of the piano that transfers the motion of the fingers on the keys to the hammers that strike the strings. It is comprised of over 9,000 parts which require adjustment to critical tolerances to be able to respond to a pianist's every command. The trapwork is the assemblage of levers, dowels and springs that connects the pedals to the action affecting sustain and dynamics. The damper system is the mechanical part of the piano that stops the vibration of the string when you release the key and is controlled by the key and pedal systems.

IF I HAVE MY PIANO TUNED REGULARLY, WHY DO I NEED TO HAVE IT REGULATED?

While tuning corrects the pitch of your piano, it is only one component of a complete maintenance program. Regulation attends to the touch and uniform responsiveness of your action, all vital to making each performance pleasurable. In addition, regulation ensures that your instrument is capable of producing a wide dynamic range - a critical factor, particularly in pianissimo passages. Music is one of the most complex vehicles for expression. Its beauty is reliant upon personal interpretation which employs use of changes in dynamics and tempo. These changes require extremely fine adjustments to respond to the pianist's nuances and subtle shadings. A smooth, even response throughout the entire range of the keyboard and an extremely quick action capable of playing rapid passages and repeated notes evenly is essential. Outstanding response is essential for a pianist to create an outstanding performance.

DO ALL PIANOS NEED TO BE REGULATED?

All upright and grand pianos need periodic regulation to perform their best. Frequency of regulation is dependent upon amount of use, exposure to climatic changes, and the instrument's quality, age and condition. New pianos may require regulation in their first year because settling and compacting of parts sometimes necessitates adjustment.

HOW OFTEN IS REGULATION NEEDED?

Only you and your technician together should decide how frequently your piano needs regulation. Several factors can contribute to this. The intensity and number of hours your piano is played, and climatic conditions are all determinants. A piano kept in relatively consistent conditions which are neither too wet or dry, optimally at a temp. of 68 degrees and 42% relative humidity, will require less adjustment.
  The quality of the instrument itself also can affect frequency of regulation. Some manufacturers decrease costs by not going over the regulation and voicing processes in the factory as much as needed. Reputable retailers sometimes do the necessary regulating themselves prior to selling the piano, but others don't.
  Also, performance instruments may require some regulation before each use, due to the higher demands placed on them.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT MY PIANO NEEDS REGULATION?

If your instrument displays a lack of sensitivity or a decreased dynamic range, it's a candidate for regulation. If you notice that the keys are not level (some higher or lower than their neighbors), the need for regulation is indicated. However, a sluggish action or deep grooves in the hammers indicate the need for reconditioning or repair. Ask your technician to show you what needs adjustment on your piano. No amount of practice can compensate for a poorly maintained action. Poor legato, chord playing where all the notes of the chord don't speak clearly, a gradual loss of subtlety in phrasing and an inability to execute quick passages or note repetitions evenly may be the fault of the piano - not the player.

WHY IS RECONDITIONING OR REBUILDING OF THE MECHANICAL SYSTEMS SOMETIMES NECESSARY PRIOR TO REGULATION?

Prior to regulation, your technician will assess the condition of your instrument. If it has badly worn parts or if there has been corrosion or moth damage, the piano may not be able to be properly regulated without some repair or replacement of parts.
  Reconditioning is the process of putting your piano back in good condition by cleaning, repairing, and adjusting your instrument for maximum performance with replacement parts only where specifically indicated. If your piano has deteriorated beyond simple reconditioning, it may need to be rebuilt.
  Rebuilding involves complete disassembly, inspection and repair as necessary with replacement of all worn or deteriorated parts. The piano is then reassembled, tested and adjusted to the same or similar tolerance and performance as when it was new. Your piano is a major investment which deserves to be protected through regular servicing by a qualified technician. Properly maintained, your piano will sound its best and give you and your family a lifetime of enjoyment.


            PITCH RAISING

Your piano, just like every piano, is designed to sound its best when tuned to A-440 (the A above middle C vibrates at 440 cycles per second), the international pitch standard. It has been designed to perform at a specific tension, and when strings stretch beyond, or drop below this tension, pitch adjustments are required to bring it back to A-440. It's important to remember that maintaining your piano at standard pitch allows you to play along with other instruments which are all designed to this same standard. Through neglect, pianos may deviate from this standard, making them unsuitable to play with other instruments and causing them to lose market value. In addition, lower pitched instruments compromise the pianist's ear training. It's important to note that pianos do not go flat or sharp uniformaly. Some strings will invariably change more than others.

If I haven't had my piano tuned regularly, how can I get it back in good playing condition?

After years of regular use, your piano may have fallen silent when the family member who studied music moved away from home. Though you home is no longer filled with music, it's important to remember your piano is still a living, breathing thing. Its wood continues to expand and contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity, and the string tension also fluctuates accordingly. If your piano has gone without tuning for an extended period, its pitch at which it was designed to perform.  It may require a procedure technicians call a "pitch raise."

Why has my piano become out of tune?

Changes take place because your piano's overall pitch is dependent upon changes in the relative humidity. In some temperate regions of the country, the relative humidity increases in the summer resulting in a higher moisture content in the soundboard and a higher string tension (pitch). In the winter, when heating systems dry the air, the soundboard loses moisture and contracts, causing the pitch to drop. The drop in the winter tends to exceed the rise in the summer, so the net result is a drop in pitch each year that the piano isn't serviced. In some parts of the country where the cold season is exceptionally long, the annual drop can be considerable. In other parts, mild winters combined with dry summers cause the cycle to be reversed. You can, however, greatly increase the stability of your piano's pitch by maintaining a relatively consistent humidity level in the room.

Why is a pitch raise necessary?

When the tension of each string on a piano is raised back up to pitch, the additional load on the piano's structure causes the pitch of previously adjusted strings to change. The only way to achieve a fine, accurate tuning on a piano is to have the tension of all the strings so close to thier proper place that altering the tension of one string would not affect the others. Therefore, a piano must already be fairly close to standard pitch to be finely tuned.

Wouldn't it be easier to just tune the piano to the lower pitch?

Tuning to anything other than the international standard of A-440 is seldom appropriate. If a very old piano has been allowed to remain appreciably below pitch for a very long time, some strings may break if the piano is restored to
A-440. Your technician will advise you as to whether repeated tunings will correct the problem, or if the piano should be completely restrung or rebuilt. If a piano has dropped in pitch, the drop will not be even. The middle (tenor) section of the piano usually drops most along with the high treble section. The bass section tends to drop least. Consequently, a piano that is tuned to a pitch that is below the international pitch standard would have to have significant adjustments made to the tension of every string, resulting in an unstable tuning. It's much more reliable to bring the piano up to standard pitch and then to proceed with fine tuning. 

How far from the standard pitch must a piano be before a pitch raise is necessary?

Pianos that have been subjected to severe changes in humidity routinely need pitch raises before a fine tuning can be achieved. For example, if A-440 has drifted only two cycles per second to A-438, a seprate pitch raise is advisable. Most recreational musicians would want to have thier pianos tuned before the pitch drops that far. Even if you are not bothered by a slightly out-of-tune piano, it's best to tune the piano on a regular basis to avoid tuning instability and the extra cost of a pitch raising procedure. Like your car, your piano is a major investment which deserves to be protected by regular servicing, which can head off preventable problems in the future. But most importantly, your piano will sound its best and give you and your family the most pleasure when it is tuned regularly and kept in proper playing condition.