Piano Maintenance and Care

As the new semester of piano lessons are beginning, several of my students have come to their first lessons with lots of excitement over getting their first piano. The questions quickly follow about piano care and maintenance. Rather than merely giving parents information from my personal knowledge, I point them to this very helpful page of information hosted by the Piano Technicians' Guild. PTG answers the basic questions of how often to schedule a tuning as well as how to take care of your instrument. My students find the cut away sketches of the piano mechanisms interesting while parents appreciate the wealth of information about their newest investment. Since we are living in the metro Memphis area and are forced to deal with the area's humidity changes, I advise them to pay special attention to the page on humidity's effects on the piano. That way they know exactly what to expect during the summer and winter months while having some information on how to avoid the most serious problems.