Tuning
We advise you to tune the piano at least once a year. Grand piano or piano in the concert hall should be tuned always before the performance. The longer the piano goes out of tune, the more time and effort it will take for the technician to re-tune it. When the piano is only slightly tuned, it loses the glowing tone characteristic of a freshly tuned piano, and proclaimed instruments are usually uncomfortable to play and listen to.
The tuning key and the damping wedge are the main tools used by the piano technician. In addition, electronic tuners are used for better results.
The piano is proclaimed mainly because of changes in humidity. In order to keep your instrument in good standing for as long as possible, ensure that it has adequate (constant) humidity and temperature in the room where it is located.
Voicing
Piano hammers harden over time as felt is compressed upon repeated impact. They also form grooves at the points of contact with the strings. Harder hammers produce a brighter tone quality, which may ultimately become harsh and undesirable The piano technician can soften the hammers with the help of special tools called voice pins. Sometimes they also use special curing agents when the hammers are too soft (although this practice is controversial among some technicians). In both cases, an important goal is the consistent tone quality on the piano, as hammers are not used at the same frequency and tend to wear unevenly.
Over time, the strings will wear grooves into the surface of the hammers. The grooves eventually get deep enough over time, and the hammer head is so flat. At this point, the technician can grind the hammers to restore the original shape. This process can be repeated several times until there is not enough felt on the hammers for new grinding and needs to be replaced.
Regulation
Over time, the performance of a piano action tends to decline, due to the compression of felt, warping of wood, and other types of wear. A skilled technician can restore it to optimal precision, in a process called regulation, which involves adjustments ranging from turning a small screw to sanding down a wood surface. Many new pianos are not perfectly regulated when released from the factory, or quickly lose their regulation when moved to their new home, and benefit from regulation in the store or in the home.
The goal of regulation is to make the piano’s touch and sound consistent across all notes, allow it to comfortably achieve the widest possible range of dynamics, and make the keys responsive to even the most rapid or most subtle motions of the player.
The piano may require several types of regulation. The most important ones include key weights control, drop of the hammers, repetition springs control, throttle control, key height control …