Moving a Piano: What It Does to Your Tuning

If you've just moved a piano — across the country or across the room — there's a good chance it now needs tuning. Here's why, and when to book it.

It's the new room, more than the trip

People assume the bumps of a move are what knock a piano out of tune, and jostling plays a part. But the bigger factor is the change in environment. Your new room almost certainly has a different temperature and humidity than the old one, and as the piano's soundboard adjusts to its new home, its pitch shifts with it. Even a careful move into a very different room will unsettle a tuning.

Let it settle first

Resist the urge to book the tuning for the same day the piano arrives. Give it a couple of weeks — ideally two to four — to acclimatize to the temperature and humidity of its new space. Tune it too soon and it'll keep drifting as it settles, undoing your fresh tuning. Let it stabilize, and the tuning holds.

Protect it during the move

• Use professional piano movers. Pianos are heavy, awkward and easy to damage; general movers often aren't equipped for them.
• Plan its final spot in advance. Away from vents, radiators, exterior walls and direct sun.
• Avoid extreme conditions in transit where you can — a piano left in a freezing or baking truck for long stretches has more adjusting to do.

Booking the post-move tuning

Once it's had a couple of weeks in place, get in touch. If the piano also sat untuned for a long time before the move, that first appointment may be a pitch raise followed by a fine tuning. Either way, we'll assess it on arrival and tell you exactly what it needs.