When you play a piano, all you care about is how it sounds, right? When you play a melody, harmony, or any type of arrangement for that matter, it may not cross your mind that your piano could be in tune. You wouldn’t know if your piano needs tuning. Pianos, like many string instruments, need to be tuned from time to time, just like tuning a guitar. The only difference is that the piano is a big instrument that is usually kept in one place.

When you tune a piano, there is a lot of steps involved. Whether you are a concert pianist, average pianist, or someone who just loves to look at pianos, how you tune these pianos is very important. Tuning a piano by ear, also called oral tuning, does not rely on perfect or absolute pitch. Instead, you will use a different technique that all tuners who tune instruments by ear develop with practice. We’ll explain this process in greater detail.