How can I tell if my piano is out of tune?

I had a customer call yesterday asking this question: why does my piano sound like it's underwater?

Other ways of describing this strange underwater effect - wavy, tinny, clashing, wawa tone, beating, pulsating, and metallic. Take a listen below for a good example of this unusual sound. If your piano sounds anything like this, its out of tune.

Most of the piano's keys have three corresponding strings, which play together when the note is pressed. When these strings are not in tune with each other, we hear the underwater effect. The strings are still roughly at the same pitch, but the slight variation causes the sound waves to overlap, sometimes increasing the volume, sometimes cancelling each other out. We hear this and think of the ocean - sound travels in waves after all!

Ruby Tunes can get your piano singing again, with clarity of tone and at restored to concert pitch. We serve all of South West and central London.