MYTHS ABOUT PIANOS :

Myth #1. You should never put a piano on an outside wall.

Fact:  (That may have been somewhat true in the North, when homes were not insulated. The biggest thing to avoid is placing a piano near a heater. A location next to a door or window that gets opened frequently is not ideal either.)

Myth #2. A piano tuning includes taking care of sticking keys, squeaking pedals etc.

Fact: (Technically a tuning only involves tightening or loosening the strings until they all sound good with each other.  Tuning the 220 strings on an average piano is like tuning 55 violins, which is why piano tuning costs what it does! Other repairs/adjustments might be done @ No-Charge by a piano technician as a favor, but he has the right to charge extra for that service.)

Myth #3. You don't have to tune a piano unless you move it.

Fact: (Moving a piano can put it out of tune, especially if it's moved roughly, or over long distances, or to a different climate- even from a cold, damp room to a hot, dry one.  However, there are many other things that make a piano go out of tune. These include loose tuning pins, hard playing, changes in humidity, and the 18 tons + of tension constantly pulling on the strings.)

Myth #4.A piano tuning should last for at least a year- if not several years.

Fact: (As mentioned in myth #3, humidity changes will affect the tuning, sometimes within days! A piano tuned in December in Wisconsin will go constantly flatter until the end of March. The humidity in April, May and June will sometimes bring it back in tune. However, the piano will go constantly sharper through September. Then the heating System will dry it out in October and November. By December, it may be somewhat back in tune. These conditions vary widely from piano to piano. What also affects the tuning is the tremendous tension pulling on the strings, hard playing, loose tuning pins, a poorly-performed tuning, a poor piano design, etc. In other words, a typical piano goes in and out of tune, but- given enough time- it goes out and stays out.)

Myth #5. If I'm not playing my piano, I don't have to tune it.

Fact: (Whether ot not you play the piano, the 18 tons + of tension on the strings will pull the piano constantly flatter over time. If you wait several years between tunings, the piano will not tune as nicely as it would if it were closer to being "on pitch". It also may need to be tuned more than once before it becomes accustomed- once again- to holding all that tension.  Additionally, strings can break if they have to be stretched back into tune.) 

Myth #6. If I haven't had my piano tuned for a long time, one tuning will make it sound "as good as new".

Fact: (Picture a lawn that hasn't been mown for 5 years. One lawn-mowing will not make it look its best.  Although the physics of piano tuning are different from lawn mowing, the fact remains that a badly-neglected situation will not be made perfect in one visit. There are many forces acting on a piano. It has to be conditioned to holding 18 tons + of tension. [See also myth #5.])

Myth #7. I have Aprilaire [a humidifier] on my furnace, so my piano shouldn't go flat in the winter.

Fact:  (The more moisture you can add in the winter- up to 42% relative humidity- the better! Likewise, the more moisture you can  remove in the summer, the better. However, if you wanted to keep your piano from being affected by any humidity change, you would have to place it in a hermetically sealed chamber.)

Myth #8. If a piano has a cracked soundboard, it's no good.

Fact:  Usually a soundboard is made of solid spruce, and solid wood can crack. Many good pianos have several soundboard cracks. However, if the ribs are pulling away from the soundboard, due to the cracks, you may experience buzzing, or loss of tone.

What you don't want is a badly cracked pinblock.  What's worse, and perhaps fatal to the piano, is a cracked plate.