Hot can I fix a sticking piano key?

Sticking keys are generally as result of moisture build up in the keyboard. The structure of a piano keyboard is primarily made up of the wooden keys as well as a number of paper and cloth felts. Sticking notes develop when any or all of these three components attracts moisture build up.

In climates such as those found in South Australia and Western Australia, piano keyboards typically remain free for most of the year due to the dry hot climate found in these states. When the weather is unseasonally humid or if there are long periods of rainfall, moisture in the air can build up which reulsts in the wood, paper and felt components in piano keyboards to swell. This is why keys start to stick.

In most cases, the following basic steps can be taken to temporarily repair a sticking piano key:

1. Identify the sticking key.
2. Depress the keys either side by using the thumb and index finger.
3. Grab hold of the sticking key by using the pad of the thumb and index finger.
4. Gently wiggle the sticking key from side to side for around 5 seconds.
5. Release and test the key.

If this doesn't work, the problem may well be somewhere in the piano action which will require a qualified piano tuner / technician to repair.  

Pianos in the streets - Come Out festival Comes to Adelaide!

Hi there piano lovers!

For those who are not aware, Adelaide's version of the worldwide 'Come Out Festival' has once again hit our streets. This annual event has attracted rave reviews with organisers this year placing 31 pianos on random street corners in and around Adelaide for anybody and everybody to play!

What a great Idea, Adelaide's Arts community has done it yet again!

Click on the below link for the Advertisers story.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/festivals/a-piano-on-ivory-corner-of-come-out-festival/story-e6free4l-1226025704949

Fellow Piano Tuners...

Are you a fellow Piano Tuner? Post a message on my blog and say Hi!

Piano Hammer Voicing

Today, I repaired a piano in Albert Park, a suburb of Adelaide, where the hammers had become dry and were producing a really harsh, metalic sound. To rectify this, I used a process known as 'voicing' which basically changes the physical structure of the hammer felt in order to give the piano a more nicer, mellow tone. Tonight I was playing around on youtube and found this really great short film on 'voicing' piano hammers, check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FQTabXCh3g&feature=related

Piano Tuning - a dying art, ABC short video

For those who wonder how us piano tuners spend our days, check out this fantastic 5 minute documentary by the ABC on the dying art of piano tuning...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/02/13/3137464.htm

Have we tuned your piano?

Have we tuned your piano? We value customer feedback, so post a comment on how you rate our service to you?

How often does a piano need tuning?

As a general rule, pianos need tuning anually, however its no big deal for a piano to go 3-5 years without being tuned. After 5 years, the pitch begins to drop sharply and the piano will begin to sound quite flat. We generally recommend home pianos be tuned every few years and if your playing every day, it should be tuned anually. When was your piano last tuned? Post a comment...