Tag Archives: piano tuning

May 2, 2018

Piano Placement: Things to Consider

Pianos are big, no matter what type you get. Even an upright piano takes some consideration as to where you are going to place it in your home. Before you make a purchase, be sure to measure out a space with a few factors in mind. First: Avoid direct sunlight. This doesn’t necessarily mean that […]

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March 21, 2018

“It just needs a tune up”, they said…

Craigslist is a minefield. When looking for a used piano, Craigslist is not a great option, unless you are a piano expert or you hire one when looking. There are so many pianos all over Craigslist and the private sellers posting their pianos almost always know little to nothing about the quality of their piano […]

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March 7, 2018

Cleaning Those Piano Keys

Piano keys get really dirty. Imagine your child sitting down at the piano to play and they just finished eating dinner. Did they wash their hands? Multiply this times a kazillion and you’ve got some filthy keys. Then, add to it that dust settles on top of the keys and also falls down the sides. […]

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February 21, 2018

How a piano works (in a nutshell)

Pianos are really cool. They are also pretty complex in their construction. There are about a bazillion things that affect how well one sounds and feels. I could talk endlessly about how a piano works, but I don’t want you to fall asleep while you read this. This post is to just give you the […]

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February 13, 2018

Why age matters…

“It’s an antique”, is a phrase I hear often. The term antique should not be applied to a piano. Think of a piano less in terms of a piece of furniture, and more in terms of a car. A piano may LOOK like a piece of furniture, and in some ways it is i.e. picture […]

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January 31, 2018

Have your piano tuned at least once per year. Seriously.

…but we hardly play our piano. There is a misconception that a piano’s tuning stability is related to how often it is played. This is not true. A piano’s tuning stability has everything to do with humidity. A piano is a stringed instrument. The strings are tightened around metal pins that are held with tons […]

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January 24, 2018

So, the pencil fell in a grand piano?

Let’s go over how to get that sucker outta there! Last week, we had a little chat about pencils and pens that make their way into upright pianos. It’s super common….and annoying for all involved, yes? I didn’t cover this situation with grand pianos in the last post, so let’s go over it now. It […]

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January 17, 2018

It’s probably a pencil (and how to get it out).

Things fall inside pianos. Objects I’ve found while tuning: pencils, paperclips, a harmonica, coins, rolled dollar bills (yeah, I know), CDs, pieces of paper, markers, dolls, legos, toy blocks, erasers, sheet music, envelopes, crayons, a hair comb, hair clips…. I could keep going, but we would be here all day. The point is that things […]

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January 6, 2018

Well, hi there. Welcome to the Piano Gal Shop blog!

Hello. I’m Marta, the Piano Gal. If you’re just visiting my website for the first time, I welcome you. Let me tell you a little bit about what I do and what information I can share with you. I’m a music teacher, professional musician, and piano tuner. I specialize in used pianos and I do […]

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