Needling Hammers
Filing Hammers
Voicing / Tone Regulation
Getting the most enjoyment from your piano.
One of your piano’s most important assets is its tone. Properly voiced, your piano can offer you a rich palette of music expression, and inspire good practice habits in every member of your family. However, piano owners are not always aware that tone can be customized to their own tastes and room acoustics, and to correct for deterioration and age. If the only service your piano has received is tuning, the sound can likely be improved by voicing.
Does my piano need voicing?
Your piano may benefit from voicing if:
- Your piano sounds different than when you purchased it.
- You don’t like the sound even after it has been tuned.
- Tone varies radically from note to note.
- You cannot achieve a range of tone (mellow to bright) at different volumes.
- The piano has lost its ability to play softly.
Before deciding if a new piano needs voicing, make sure it is well-tuned and well-regulated. Then, play a wide variety of music on it. Most voicing procedures are long-lasting, so give yourself some time to explore the sound of a new instrument before deciding to change it. How often voicing is needed depends upon the piano’s usage and its intended audience. Pianos in concert halls and recording studios often receive minor refinement of the voicing before each performance. A home piano may need some initial voicing to customize it to the owner’s taste, then once every one to five years to maintain its tone.