How to set up your own piano if there is no tuner 100 km away from you?

How to set up the piano? This issue is sooner or later asked by each owner of the tool, for a fairly regular game knocks down his system in a year; after another same time, tuning becomes literally necessary. In general, the longer it is delayed - the worse for the tool itself.

Piano tuning is definitely a must-do. The point here is not only in the aesthetic moment, but also in the pragmatic one. An incorrect system largely influences the pianist’s musical ear, tiring and dulling it, and also making it difficult to correctly perceive the notes in the future (after all, you have to put up with a dirty sound), which already threatens professional unsuitability.

Of course, using the services of a professional tuner is always preferable - self-taught people often use insufficient quality instruments, or, even knowing how to tune the piano, simply carelessly treat their work, which entails the corresponding consequences. However, in some cases, the call of a professional is impossible, but the setting is still necessary.

What to arm before setting up?

It is worth remembering that without special instruments you cannot adjust the piano. The average cost of a setup kit can reach 20000 r. Buying a set for the money for one setting, of course, is nonsense! We'll have to arm something with improvised means. What do you need before starting?

1. The tuning key is the main tool needed for mechanical adjustment of the pegs. How easy it is to get a homemade tuning key, read the article about the device piano. Get double benefit.
2. Rubber wedges of various sizes required for stringing strings. In the case when the key uses several strings when extracting sound, when tuning one of them, it is necessary to drown the others with wedges. These wedges can be made from an ordinary eraser with which you erase pencil lines.
3. Electronic guitar tuner that can greatly facilitate your task.

Setup process

Let's go directly to how to tune the piano. Let's start with any notes of the first octave. Find the pegs leading to the strings of this key (there may be up to three). Muffle two of them with wedges, then use the key to twist the peg until the string matches the required height (determine it from the tuner). Then repeat the operation with the second string - adjust it with the first in unison. After that, adjust the third under the first two. In this way, you will set up a single-string chorus.

Repeat for the remaining keys of the first octave. Next you will have two ways.

The first way: it consists in the same tuning of the notes of other octaves. However, keep in mind that not every tuner, and especially a guitar tuner, is able to correctly perceive too high or low notes, so you can rely on it in this case only with great reservations (it is not designed for such operation). A special tuner for tuning the piano is too expensive.

The second way: adjust other notes, focusing on those already tuned - so that the note sounds exactly in an octave with the corresponding note from the first octave. This will take much more time and will require a good hearing from you, but will allow you to make the setting more qualitative.

When setting it is important not to make sudden movements, adjust the string smoothly. If you pull it too abruptly, it can burst, unable to withstand the tension.

Once again that this method of setting does not in any way replace a full-fledged setting and adjustment performed by a professional. But for a while, your own skills will help you get out of a difficult situation.