Monthly Archives: July 2016

Weekly Update 26/07/16

Another busy couple of weeks, the most notable occurance being a job at the Cruicible Theater in Sheffield city centre, tuning and repairing a lovely modern upright piano last Saturday morning. With the usual problems of sticking keys (easily remedied with application of teflon powder to the key bushings) and horrible summer humidity causing the piano to go slightly flat of concert pitch, I was glad to get the piano tuned and in working order within 90 minutes, ready for the show starting at 12 PM.

Weekends tend to be busiest time for me, with more people at home on that day and looking to book a piano tuner. I’m fully booked this Saturday (30/07/16), but Sunday evening is still available to those who would like to book a piano tuning. In regard to booking a piano tuning at the last minute, this isn’t a problem for me. If you would like to book a piano tuning but would prefer it to be either on the day or the day after, please don’t hesitate to contact me as there’s a good chance I will be able to fit you in. If you live outside of Sheffield, you will have to bear in mind that the added travel time might make it more difficult for me to fit you in to my schedule, but this isn’t always the case (especially if you live relatively close: in towns such as Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster or Chesterfield).

– Richard, Piano Tuner Sheffield.

Weekly Update 13/07/16

It’s now July and it’s starting to feel like summer. I’ve had some lovely drives to piano tuning jobs outside of Sheffield, made more pleasant by the short patches of nice weather we’ve had. If you live in Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, Chestefield, Dronfield, Hathersage, Bakewell, don’t hesitate to contact my about possible tunings. I have transport and a car journey is not a problem.

I was asked at a Rotherham piano tuning last week whether this is a good time of year to get the piano tuned. There’s no best time of year to tune a piano – the tuning is constantly fluctuating all year round with changes in humidity (which cause the strings to stretch and contract). As a general rule pianos tend to go sharp in summer and flat in the winter. This is why you should have your piano tuned twice a year. Not only is this crucial if you want your piano to be at concert pitch, but like a car, a piano requires periodic maintenance and piano tuners are the only people able to make these repairs and regulations.

Outside of piano tuning, my band Harmony of Spheres have started gigging, with our first gig on the 23rd of July at West Street Live in Sheffield, the night before the EU referendum result. At the moment we play 70s progressive rock covers (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Marillion, Rush, Jethro Tull and others) with a view to adding original material as we progress. There are a few videos on youtube of that gig, although I’m a bit embarrassed that I bent a string out of tune on of them (as a piano tuner has made my ear too sensitive to anything slightly out of tune). We’re playing in Dronfield on Friday night and at the White Lion pub on London Road, Sheffield on Saturday night, so çome a long if it sounds like something you might enjoy.

 

– Richard, Piano Tuner Sheffield.