I’m not trying to be cynical, but I do wonder how long I can keep my “introductory offer” open. With rising living costs it’s getting quite difficult for the piano tuners of Yorkshire who are reluctant to charge more (one of the main reasons I became a piano tuner was to give people a good deal and a good service). My information and pricing on this website is up-to-date, but don’t be shocked if I have to put my prices up later in the year.
Category Archives: Dronfield Piano Tuner
A big thank you to my Sheffield Piano Tuning patrons
I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has booked me in recent months. I’m extremely happy with the workflow since the restrictions were lifted – business has improved exponentially. After a seriously rough 2020-21 it’s very nice/pleasing to see people becoming more confident about having tradespeople into their homes. There’s an obvious build up of people who have postponed booking the piano tuner throughout these difficult times – it’s even more noticeable in a big city like Sheffield.
My rates remain extremely competitive for those in Sheffield and nearby areas who need a new piano tuner. Taking into account the price of fuel, it’s always a delight to have a day of piano tuning where all the jobs are close to home. Part and parcel of the trade is travel and which I see as par for the course – 90% of the time a long drive is taken as an opportunity to catch up on my music listening (after a long day of concentrating on overtones and pitch, I enjoy listening to music all the more). On my ‘Sheffield and South Yorkshire piano tuning’ days it does feel like I’ve both reduced my carbon footprint and saved money, however.
I’d also like to thank anyone in the other areas I cover for your custom. If you’ve struggled to find a piano tuner who would come out to your area, I’m glad that my willingness to travel has helped you.
Pianoversary
This month marks the 10 year anniversary of my piano tuning “career”, when I enrolled on my piano tuning and repair course back in August 2011.
What made me decide to become a piano tuner? Long, long ago back I was a youth not long out of school, deciding what I wanted to do as a job, I was watching my own piano being tuned and serviced by another Sheffield piano tuner. I was interested in his technique and had questions about how he learned such a unique skill. I knew I wasn’t the archetypal piano man, but I’d always had a good ear for music and the moving mechanical parts interested me. At the time I wasn’t doing very much apart from reading books and listening to music, but the clock was ticking and I knew I should learn a profitable skill as soon as possible to avoid drifting. I thought piano tuning be a nice way to earn a comfortable living doing something moderately enjoyable and that not too many other people could do.
Was becoming a piano tuner a good decision? It depends on the day you ask me. The work itself is rewarding, but building a clientele in a declining industry has been a long, difficult slog and the battle is not yet won. Some weeks the money is very good, but suddenly there’s a drop off and it’s not always easy to predict when and why. I think it would have been a more satisfying job in the 1980s or earlier when pianos were ubiquitous and taken more seriously. However, there are signs of a piano revival which is nice to see.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how expensive piano parts would be to have in stock. I generally like to have back up action parts with me to avoid any second visits to the customers home and have been successful in this regard. But the sheer number of felts, hammers, springs, flanges, screws, glues, files, bridle tapes, strings, jacks, wippens, key coverings that I need to have in the car has taken years to build up. Unfortunately there isn’t an ‘industry standard’ for each part, as each piano is a different size and many are built in different countries and by different brands.
Piano Tuner Sheffield open for business during current lockdown
In short, you are legally allowed piano tuners and other tradespeople into your home during tier 4 and tier 5 lockdowns.
In terms of exposure to Covid-19, Piano tuning is a relatively low risk profession. What social interaction I have had since march has been at a safe distance. I have good common sense and have been washing my hands religiously (with alcohol-based sanitizer), both in the car and when I return to my Sheffield home. I will happily wear a face mask on request.
A few links to keep your mind at rest:
Let’s support local piano tuners and tradespeople. But let’s do it while staying safe and obeying the lockdown rules.
Piano Tuner Chesterfield
In the interest of expanding his clientele in Derbyshire and reaching out to piano-owners in Chesterfield and beyond, the Sheffield piano tuner would like to make this following blog post:
I have had more piano tuning enquires from Chesterfield and Dronfield recently which is great. A big thank you to anyone who has recommended or who has hired my services. Although I live in Sheffield, travelling between towns is part of the job: don’t be put off from contacting me if you live in Chesterfield or a nearby town.
- What is the Sheffield piano tuner’s schedule like?
At the moment he aims to book four jobs a day, six days a week. He is still quite far from that target! For this reason the Sheffield Piano Tuner has kept his prices low, with an introductory offer set at just £45 for your first piano tuning. He keeps his bookings spaced apart to allow enough time to do a thorough job of both tuning and servicing each piano and to enable sufficient travel-time between jobs: there is no longer any excuse for lateness – the Sheffield piano tuner prides himself on his punctuality.
The Sheffield piano tuner is also in the process of setting up a workshop for piano restoration. He is purchasing many high-quality tools and piano-parts which help not only in restoration, but also in any piano repair and regulation work that’s undertook at your Chesterfield home. Loading the boot of his car with an array of piano replacement parts (tools, piano wire, hexacore bass strings, centre pins, felts, springs, hammer heads, hammer shanks, screw drivers, capstan regulating tools, key coverings – to name but a few) is worth it if it means he has the parts in stock to get your piano sounding and playing the best it can. Going the extra mile for the customer is the least he can do, especially in this relatively early stage of building his clientele when developing a reputation is key.
If your piano needs a tuning or a service, please give him a call: 0754 266 7040
Which area does he cover for his £45 introductory offer for a first piano tuning?
