Piano Tuning

My tuner was in today to do a 30 day follow up tuning for the new strings. He had been tuning and stretching the strings for about two months as he was hanging hammers and regulating.

He commended that the piano was up in pitch because it was summer and the humidity had gone up.

Why does an increase in humidity raise the pitch of a piano?

thanks

When the humidity goes up, the soundboard swells or 'blossoms'.

Since any decent piano has rims that hold the soundboard in place, it can only swell up. This pushes the bridge up a little which increases the tesion on the strings and the piano goes sharp.

Does that make sense?

Richard Galassini Cunningham Piano Co Phila,. Pa. 1 (800) 394-1117 URL:http://voce88.tripod.com/richspianopage

The biggest reason a piano goes out of tune is soundboard movement. When the humidity goes up, the soundboard takes on water and swells, pushing it up against the strings. This extra tension causes the pitch to rise. When the humidity goes down, the soundboard sheds moisture, and the soundboard shrinks. This lessens the pressure against the strings, and the pitch drops. But it doesn't drop perfectly even, so the piano is left out of tune from the experience. It's the same thing as a door or cabinet drawer that binds and sticks when the humidity is high.

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

<< It's the same thing as a door or cabinet drawer that binds and sticks when the humidity is high. >>

Oh ... like you know anything about humidity.



P.S. Please take the preceeding smart remark as a vote of confidence on your

I forgot - you also learn that if you're gonna do these little experiments, you should *never* mount your air conditioner unit on the roof.......

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

Why!

Because water runs just as straight down as it can find a way to do so.....

(there's a little inside joke going on here Barrie. None of this will make any sense to you without the background, and I can't go into it right now. So view it all as nonsense)

Larry Fletcher Pianos Inc Atlanta GA Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe Want to visit another piano related messageboard? Go to the piano discussion group on my website:
Http://www.pianosinc.net

OK

Have fun