How much to tune a piano?

[AWimbaWay]

We're about to buy a second hand piano for £20, have been told it's in good working order but I presume as we're moving it (having just discovered my dad's sold his van ) it'll need tuning. Having never owned a piano before I have absolutely no idea how much this would cost. If anyone can help shed some light on the subject it'd be much appreciated.

[lljkk]

Depends how out of tune it is. They don't just tune it, they look for worn out bits that need replacing, broken strings, etc. It takes longer to tune if it's further away from reasonably true.

You're reminding me mine hasn't been tuned in years. I'm lucky we can get away with it.
Where we live, far from London, I think they charged about £40 5 yrs ago and it took 45 minutes or so if they laboured over it (grand piano so more to check on).

Also, what standard you want it tuned to. Most people go for a relatively in tune standard which isn't as good as concert pitch (would cost a lot more).

[TeacakeEater]

I paid £50 and tuner was here for 2 hours. We were told to wait for a few weeks after moving to let the piano adapt to our room conditions.

[AWimbaWay]

Yes, relatively in tune is all we need, it's for my 8yr old Dd who wants to start lessons, I don't want to pay much in case she decides to quit a few months down the line! I presume her teacher will be able to recommend a tuner.

[AWimbaWay]

Thanks for anwers btw. £40-50 about what I was hoping.

[TeacakeEater]

Yes the piano dealer recommended a tuner and it turned out to be the same person the teacher used.

[lljkk]

The tuner will tell you if your £20 was well spent & about aspects of care, too. Down the line if you want a new piano they may have info on ones about to come on the market. Not a bad relationship to cultivate.

[AWimbaWay]

Great, thank you, just need to work out how to get it here now.

[lljkk]

If you can't do it yourself, £60-£90 with a moving company.

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

I pay £65.00 three times a year. Excellent value really as the tuner keeps an eye on all aspects of the piano, not just the tuning.

I cringe at the thought of children learning on less than perfectly tuned pianos, it's so bad for their musical development.

[SlightlyNerdyPianist]

Absolutely, Middle. Out of tune pianos must be so difficult to children to learn on; I have the utmost respect for children who learn piano on less than decent instruments at home. I understand sometimes it's financial, but other times it's just that parents don't know they need tuning regularly...

Three times a year is ott for a learner though; twice is usually recommended. I have mine tuned quarterly at £58 plus extra pounds for any technical work that needs sorting (and on a heavily used teaching piano, there's usually something!)

[JulieMichelleRobinson]

I teach on mine and it gets tuned once a year (though I play violin as a main instrument and I could tell you if it went out). We have stable conditions, I guess.

Tuning and hideous second-hand pianos are reasons why I'm letting students use digitals, given that I've only been teaching here for two years and most are pre-grade 1. When someone gets to grade 3 or so we'll discuss things.

Don't get me wrong - sometimes you can be lucky with an old piano, but unless you know what you're buying...

[LaurenFuzi]

I know a really good tuner in London who cycles to all of his appointments :) He charges £60 for a tuning. He has been very good the years I've used him. Very reliable. PM me if anyone wants his contact details.