What tools do you need to tune a piano?

Oh piano technician, what a big tool bag you have…

All the better to tune with, my dear!

When a new client opens their front door to invite me in, it usually goes something like this: After recovering from the shock of discovering that their new piano tuner is a) a woman, and b) probably younger than them, they inevitably notice the enormous bag of tools I’m carrying: "You didn't tell me you were moving in!" they say. Or it's “Goodness, do you need all those tools to tune a piano?”

To tune a piano, all one really needs is a tuner leaver, a couple of mutes or papps wedges, and a good set of ears. But being a piano technician involves so much more than the precise act of adjusting the piano’s tuning pins. To access those pins, first we must lift the lid, remove the front panel, take out the lock board, and occasionally take out the damper rail too. All simple enough, until you realise every piano has its own unique system of clasps, hinges, screws, some of which require a screwdriver or hex key (or a set of pliers if they are particularly stiff)… and before you know it you’ve got several tools out before you’ve even laid eyes on the tuning pins!

Mini screwdrivers, long screwdrivers, hex keys and pliers are all used by piano tuners.

Piano tuning leavers, papps wedges (for upright pianos) and rubber mutes (for grand pianos)

More essentials for piano tuners - fine grit paper, easing pliers, teflon powder, hide glue, CA glue and felt

Next, there are the little niggles in the action that an observant piano player might have taken note of - sticky keys, juddering hammers and noisy pedals to name a few. Whilst these issues are often simple to fix, they can have multiple causes and multiple solutions: A sticky key might require sanding down, loosening with easing pliers, or the adjustment of the screws in the lock board. A juddering hammer likely needs a set-off adjustment, using a specialised tool.

Piano technician's tools - a damper spoon bender, needling tool and brass brush. for voicing

The clicks, clacks and creaks of a piano might be solved with a specialist lubricant, (in liquid, gel or powder form, depending on whereabouts it goes). Or they might be the result of missing felts, which need to be replaced, in a whole range of shapes and sizes, and stuck on with specialist glues.

An experienced piano player might ask their piano technician to alter the feel or sound of the piano. Perhaps you’d like play to be lighter (requiring a damper spoon bender), or brighter (requiring a needling tool and brass brush).

Then there is the task of replacing strings. A piano technician will usually have a selection of steel wires, ranging from 0.8mm to 1.3mm in diameter. These must be measured with a wire gauge and cut with specialist precision wire cutters. The pin must be removed with a T hammer, the new wire coiled with a stringing key, the pin supported by a pin setter (and a tuning plank support jack if it’s a grand piano), driven in with a hammer, and the strings adjusted with a coil lifter. And because steel wire is sharp, and moves in unpredictable ways, I have my safety goggles and heavy-duty gloves on hand for protection.

Restringing is quite the task - a piano tuner needs steel wire, a wire gauge, a pin setter, a hammer, a T-hammer, precision wire cutters, a coil lifter, a tuning key, safety goggles and heavy-duty gloves.

And, as we’re on the subject, here are few other spare parts I have in my bag:

Grand piano cleaning rods, felt washers, paper washers, spare key tops, springs, tapes and piano cord. Then there's my dusting brush, scissors, tweezers, measuring tape, magnetic screw finder and head torch.

So, as you can see, the large tool bag is a bit of a necessity!