Field Notes: A Markham Piano's Year, Month by Month

Field Notes is a series about what we actually see tuning pianos across the GTA — one area, one pattern at a time.

Markham's pianos run on a calendar. More than anywhere else we serve, the instruments in Unionville, Cornell, Berczy, Cachet, and Milliken belong to households where the year is organized around lessons, exam sessions, festivals, and recitals — and the piano's needs follow that rhythm as surely as they follow the furnace. After years of tuning through Markham's seasons, here's the year as a piano experiences it, and where the care fits.

September–October: the new season

Lessons resume, practice ramps up, and a piano that sat lightly used through summer gets played hard again. Meanwhile the first cool nights arrive and the furnace makes its first runs — the house begins drying. This is the tempting-but-wrong tuning window: the piano is mid-transition, and a tuning now will drift as the house dries. Better: hold the room's humidity (start the humidifier the week the heat comes on) and book for November. If a fall exam session is on the calendar, tune two to four weeks before it and accept that the house is still moving.

November–December: settled, and the holidays

The furnace has been running for weeks, the house has reached its winter baseline, and the piano has finished its autumn sag. The single best tuning window of the year — the piano holds through the heating season and is fresh for the busiest playing weeks (family visits, holiday music, the December recital). December fills fast; Markham families who book in October get their pick of dates. Why timing matters.

January–February: deep winter and the winter session

Indoor humidity in Markham's newer, tightly sealed homes bottoms out — 25–30% is typical in Cornell, Berczy, and Wismer without a humidifier. Keys feel loose, pitch sags, and the winter exam session arrives. A piano tuned in November is usually still true; one tuned in September isn't. Students preparing for January exams: check the piano in early January, and if it's drifted, a touch-up two to four weeks out is cheap insurance for an ear that's about to be tested. The exam-prep guide.

March–April: festival season

Kiwanis and other festivals, spring recitals, and the run-up to the June exam session. The house is still dry (the furnace runs into April), so the piano is stable — a good stretch for a second tuning on a twice-yearly rhythm, particularly for the grands in Cachet and Angus Glen and for serious students. Late March or April, before the windows open, is the honest recommendation.

May: the other transition

Windows open, humidity climbs, the piano begins its spring rise. The second window to avoid tuning — the house is mid-lurch again. If a June exam demands it, tune two to four weeks ahead and know the piano is moving; otherwise wait for June.

June: exams, then rest

The June session is the year's largest. Piano tuned in late March or April is typically still true; if not, mid-to-late May touch-up. After exams, most Markham pianos get their lightest month of the year — and the humid season has settled, making late June through August the second-best tuning window if the piano is due.

July–August: summer

Practice slows; humidity rises. In Markham's air-conditioned homes the piano is usually fine; in older Unionville and Markham Village houses without central air, keys may stick and the tone dulls — a dehumidifier when the hygrometer passes the mid-50s keeps the swing narrow. The piano is resting; let it.

The calendar, compressed

• Best tuning windows: mid-November to February; late June to August.
• Avoid: early-to-mid October and May (transitions).
• Twice-yearly rhythm (grands, serious students): November + late March/April, or November + late June.
• Exams and festivals: two to four weeks before, whatever the month.
• Humidifier: on the week the furnace starts; off when the windows open.

A piano tuned at the same point in every seasonal cycle drifts the least between visits — which is why the Markham families we've tuned for longest all book the same week every year.

Tuning across Markham: service details and neighbourhoods here. Book your November slot now.

Common questions

When should a Markham student's piano be tuned for RCM exams?
Two to four weeks before the exam date, whatever the season — settled but still true. For the January session, check the piano in early January; for June, tune in late May if needed.

What's the best month to tune a piano in Markham?
Mid-November through February, once the furnace has dried the house to its winter baseline — or late June through August once summer humidity has settled. Avoid October and May transitions.

Do Markham's new homes affect piano tuning?
Yes — tightly sealed newer homes in Cornell, Berczy, and Wismer run very dry in winter (25–30% humidity), pushing pianos flat. A humidifier from the week the furnace starts until spring largely prevents it.