Does a piano need tuning after it is moved?

The short answer is yes. Almost every piano benefits from a tuning after a move, and most professional tuners recommend one. But the reason is not quite what most people expect. The move itself does not knock a piano out of tune. What does is the change in environment.

Why environment matters more than the journey

A piano stays in tune largely because its wooden components have reached a settled equilibrium with the temperature and humidity of the room it lives in. The soundboard, the pin block and the strings all respond to moisture in the air. When the piano moves to a different building, the humidity is almost never identical, and wood that has been stable for years begins to adjust to the new conditions.

That adjustment takes time. Strings go sharp when humidity rises and flat when it falls. The pin block swells or contracts, which changes the tension on each string. The effect is gradual and uneven across the instrument, which is why a freshly moved piano that seems broadly in tune can be noticeably off a week or two later.

How long should you wait before tuning?

Most piano technicians advise waiting two to four weeks after a move before booking the tuner. That gives the instrument time to acclimatise to the new room before the strings are brought up to pitch. If you tune too soon, the strings will move again as the wood settles and you will need a second tuning shortly after.

In practice, the right interval depends on how different the two environments are. A piano moving between two rooms in the same building, both at similar temperature and humidity, may settle quickly. A piano moving from a centrally heated London flat in January to a cooler Surrey house with stone floors will take longer.

Does the type of piano make a difference?

Yes. Grand pianos are generally more sensitive to environmental change than uprights because they have a larger soundboard area and more complex internal geometry. A concert grand moved from a venue's climate-controlled backstage area to a private home with a different humidity level may need more careful attention from the tuner. Tell your technician where the piano has come from and what the conditions were like.

Digital pianos are unaffected. Electronic instruments do not go out of tune regardless of humidity or temperature.

What about tuning during the move?

Some people ask whether we tune the piano as part of the move. We do not, because tuning immediately after delivery, before the instrument has settled, would be premature. Our sister company PianoStorage.co.uk includes a tuning on redelivery after storage, because the piano has been in stable, climate-controlled conditions and the redelivery itself is the main environmental change to account for.

Other things to check after delivery

• Check that the lid, fallboard and music desk close and open as they should
• Play a few scales across the full range to listen for buzzes or rattles that might have developed in transit
• Check that the pedals operate smoothly
• If anything concerns you, tell your tuner at the appointment and they can inspect the action

The bottom line

Plan a tuning two to four weeks after your piano is delivered. That window gives the instrument time to settle in its new room and means the tuning will hold. PianoSpeed is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 77 reviews, all from real piano moves. If you have not yet booked your move, get an instant fixed price online at book.pianospeed.com or call 020 7164 0000.