Should you tune a piano before or after moving it?

Tune after the move, not before. A tuning carried out in your old home will almost always be undone within days of the piano arriving somewhere new. The journey itself is rarely the problem. What knocks a piano out of tune is the change in humidity between one building and another, and no amount of careful packing prevents the new room's air from affecting the wood once the instrument is installed. Book the piano move first at book.pianospeed.com, then plan the tuning for two to four weeks after delivery.

Why tuning before a move is usually wasted

A piano stays at pitch because its pin block, soundboard and bridge have reached an equilibrium with the room around them. That equilibrium is mostly about moisture. Wood expands slightly when the air is humid and contracts when it is dry, and those small changes alter the tension on every string.

The moment the piano arrives in a new building, it starts reacting to different conditions. The settling process takes time, typically weeks, and during that period the strings shift in pitch as the wood adjusts. A tuning done the day before collection is not wasted in the sense that it harms anything, but the result simply does not carry forward. You are paying for a service you will need to repeat.

How long after delivery should you wait?

Most piano technicians recommend waiting two to four weeks before booking the tuner after a move. That window gives the soundboard and pin block time to reach a new stable state. Tune too early and the strings will continue to drift as the wood settles, and you will need a second appointment soon after.

The right interval depends on how different the two environments are. A piano moving between two similar modern flats in the same part of London will settle faster than one going from a heated city apartment to a Surrey house with solid stone floors and no central heating running yet. If you are moving in winter and the new property has been unoccupied and cold, give the instrument the full four weeks before calling the tuner.

Does the distance of the move make a difference?

No. A piano moved 200 miles and a piano moved half a mile face the same settling process once they arrive. What matters is the difference in humidity and temperature between the two rooms, not the distance between them. A long-distance move across the GB mainland requires the same two-to-four-week wait as a local move across London.

Grands settle more slowly than uprights

Grand pianos are generally more sensitive to environmental change than uprights because they have a larger soundboard area and the soundboard lies horizontal, giving it more surface exposed to the air in the room. A baby grand or full grand moved into a home that is significantly drier or damper than its previous location may need the full four weeks before tuning, sometimes a little longer.

Concert grands prepared for performance typically need two visits from a technician after a significant room change: a first pass to stabilise the overall pitch, and a second, finer tuning once the instrument has settled completely. If you are moving a concert grand into a venue or studio, factor that into your schedule.

Upright pianos, including studio uprights, are less sensitive but still follow the same general principle. Digital pianos and Clavinovas are unaffected entirely. Electronic instruments do not go out of tune regardless of humidity or temperature, so if you are moving an acoustic piano alongside a digital instrument, the digital one is ready to play the moment it is delivered.

When pre-move tuning is worth doing

There are a few situations where tuning before a move makes sense, even though it does not remove the need for a post-move tuning later.

• You are selling the piano and a buyer wants to hear it played in your home before collection. Tuning it in the days before the viewing is reasonable. The buyer should plan a tuning after delivery to their own address.
• The piano is being used for a recording session or performance in the old location right before the move. A tuning for that specific occasion is justified on its own terms.
• The instrument is significantly flat overall, more than a semitone out of pitch, and has not been tuned for several years. A pitch-raise tuning to bring it back to standard pitch before the move can be sensible, because a pitch raise involves a different process from a standard tuning and is best done in a stable environment. The post-move tuning still applies.

What specialist movers do to protect your piano in transit

PianoSpeed uses triple-thickness, fitted transit covers tailored to the instrument. On grand pianos, the legs and pedals travel in individual padded bags inside a heavy-duty crate. Every piano travels on a padded skid board, strapped securely inside a covered vehicle. Specialist piano movers carry trained crews, not general removals staff, and the handling from door to door is planned to minimise vibration and exposure.

None of this prevents the new room's air from affecting the wood once the piano is in place, because no packing can alter the building's humidity. What it does is protect the physical components from knocks, vibration and moisture during the journey itself, so the instrument arrives intact and ready to settle properly in its new home.

Questions we hear often

Can I ask the movers to tune the piano when they deliver it?

No. Piano tuning is a separate profession from piano moving, and tuning immediately after delivery, before the instrument has had any time to settle, would produce a result that drifts within days. Our crews carry packing equipment and expertise in physical handling, not tuning tools. Book a piano technician for two to four weeks after delivery.

What if my piano was already very out of tune before the move?

If the instrument is significantly flat, a pitch raise from a tuner before the move can be worthwhile so the strings are broadly at standard pitch. The post-move tuning is still necessary. Tell your technician that a move is planned so they can advise on timing.

Will the movers tell me if something has changed during transit?

Our crews know what a piano should look and feel like when it comes off the vehicle. If anything looks different on arrival at the destination, for example a crack that was not there at collection, we note it. Report anything you notice at delivery and before the crew leaves. PianoSpeed is fully insured for the instruments we handle.

How many tunings will I need after moving?

Usually one is enough if you wait the right amount of time. If the piano was significantly out of pitch before the move, or if the humidity difference between old and new locations is large, two tunings a few weeks apart is common. A good technician will tell you at the first appointment whether a follow-up visit would help.

Does storage affect tuning the same way a move does?

Yes, and sometimes more so. A piano that has been in storage, even climate-controlled specialist storage, will have been living in different conditions from your home. A tuning after return from storage follows the same rule: wait for the instrument to settle in the room where it will live before calling the tuner. PianoStorage.co.uk, the Pianospeed Group's sister site for specialist piano storage, includes a tuning on redelivery for instruments coming out of long-term storage.

The short version

Do not tune a piano the day before it moves. Book the tuner for two to four weeks after delivery, once the instrument has settled in the new room. Grands may need the full four weeks; uprights are usually ready in two. Digital pianos need no tuning at all.

PianoSpeed is part of the Pianospeed Group and moves uprights, baby grands, grands, concert grands and Clavinovas across London, Greater London, Surrey and the GB mainland, with a Belfast to England lane. Piano moves start from £125. Get your instant fixed price at book.pianospeed.com or call 020 7164 0000. PianoSpeed London Limited, 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ. Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 77 reviews.