#BECOME A PIANO TUNER HOW TO#

I don’t really have any particular favourite piano at Finchcocks as they all have their own individual sound, quality, touch and feel. It made a huge improvement to the sound quality of the piano! The old hammers were then upcycled into key fobs for guests’ rooms keys, a great conversation starter upon arrival! Do you have a favourite Finchcocks piano and why? This then meant the whole action had to be regulated and then the hammers voiced correctly. We recently realised that the hammers on the Grotrian Steinway were not performing as well as we thought they should, so we took them off and replaced them with new hammers. When it comes to the Finchcocks collection however, they need to be tuned before each course or concert! Tell us about the work you did on our Grotrian-Steinweg… Generally twice a year for a domestic piano. The question everyone always asks: How often should a piano be tuned?

I have been working with Neil since the inception of Finchcocks, tuning and checking the pianos prior to each course and concert. I have since then set up my own business tuning restoring, selling and renting pianos. I trained there for a couple of years working on some incredible pianos and with the likes of Brendel, Ashkenazi, Schiff and a host of amazing concert artists. I quickly applied and, after a lengthy process and to my delight, was offered the place. After working there for a few years, I saw an advert in the newspaper for an Arts Council of Great Britain grant offering a grant for a student to train at Steinway and Sons. There I started the process of learning to tune pianos by putting the first tension on the strings (called chipping up) until the piano was at the correct pitch of A440. I then moved to another well known company called Knight pianos.

#BECOME A PIANO TUNER HOW TO#

I had moved to London to start work at Danemann piano manufacturers and learned how to make pianos there.

I started in the piano business at the age of 17. Tell us a bit about yourself: How did you become a piano tuner and restorer?

Become a piano tuner