Goldilocks and the Tuning Pins

The story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears can be applied to piano tuning. Goldilocks went into the home of the 3 bears and noticed that someone's food was too cold; someone's was too hot; and another was just right. Someone's bed was too hard; someone's bed was too soft; and someone's was just right.

When a piano technician starts tuning a piano for the first time, they quickly learn if the tuning pins in that piano are too loose, too tight, or just right... just like Goldilocks.

When the tuning pins are too tight...

Sometimes tuning pins are too tight, and that makes tuning a piano more difficult. Why would they be too tight? Well, new pianos with a brand new pinblock sometimes were simply built with their tuning pins extremely tight. This is tough for the piano tuner for several reasons.

1. It's hard on the body... When the pins are too tight, it requires a lot more muscle to turn those tuning pins. So a simple piano tuning might start feeling like an arduous workout really quickly. 

2. It's harder to set the tuning pins... Part of a good tuning is stability. This means that the piano tuner sets the tuning pin in such a way that the string is going to stay in tune. But when the metal tuning pin is overly tight, then it will do more twisting and bending than usual before the base of the pin actually turns in the pinblock. Therefore, the tuner's technique is even more important, and more skill is required to leave the tuning pin perfectly set in the pinblock for a stable tuning.

3. The pin tightness will ease off a bit after several tunings... Thankfully, after several tunings on a new piano, the overly tight tuning pins will usually get better after the initial break-in period.

When the tuning pins are too loose...

1. It's not hard on the body... Loose tuning pins are bad too, but at least tuning is easier on the technician's body. It doesn't require the strenuous effort that is needed with overly tight pins.

2. The pins may not hold a tune at all... If the tuning pins are too loose in the pinblock, they might not be able to hold their tune. The pinblock needs to be holding the tuning pin tightly enough to hold a stable tuning. So, loose tuning pins could mean the piano can't hold a tuning very long at all.

3. The pin tightness won't get any better unless something is done to fix the problem... Unlike overly tight pins, which can improve after several tunings, loose tuning pins aren't going improve unless something is done. New tuning pins could be installed, but that is labor-intensive, and therefore costly, and so it's usually only done on a high-quality piano or one of special significance to the owner. Another option, which I am not a fan of, is driving the tuning pins deeper into the pinblock. I could write a full post on why I don't like this option. Sometimes the best option to regain pin tightness is to treat the pinblock with water-thin CA glue. This can make the wood pinblock expand and hold the tuning pins tighter for years. However, the glue will show on the cast iron plate, and the procedure needs to be done correctly to not cause problems (for example, the action needs to be out and precautions must be taken to avoid leakage onto the keybed and floor below.

When the tuning pins are just right...

The best-case scenario is that the tuning pins are "just right." That would mean they're not so tight that it's difficult to tune the piano, and not so loose that the pins won't hold a tuning. They're tight enough to hold a tune. They're not going to turn a tuning session into a weight-lifting substitute. Optimal tuning pin tightness really improves a technician's experience in tuning, and will also help the technician to make the tuning a stable one.

I service pianos in all 3 of these categories. It's always important to be able to clearly and nicely communicate any problems (especially when it's loose tuning pins) to the client so that they understand the situation clearly. It's good to be able to provide them with options to improve the situation, if there are good options for that piano's situation.