Pitch Raises

Piano pitch raises, and how I do them.
Formula:
1. Determine how many cents flat.
2. Divide in half.
3. Tune that amount sharp for first tuning.
4. Do not exceed 30 cents sharp.
ex:
1. 20 cents flat
2. 20/2=10
3. Tune 10 cents sharp
DO NOT EXCEED 30 CENTS SHARP!

[@boldcautionproductions9203]

Great share, I am prepping to take on my first piano, a 1900's upright. This video told me much about what is going on in a pitchraise, at all. I hope to restore the piano a step at a time and learning how to tune it myself is just one of those steps. I am seeing piano tuning is an artform, much physics at work. At some point, I am going to have to replace the hammers as they must be original, quite dirty, with deep grooves cut into them. One thing is for shore, it got a lot of use and that makes me happy to extend its lifetime. Have a Happy New Year and thanks for sharing your expertise...

[@MrPianoTech]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it useful. Good luck with the restoration, let me know if you run into any problems, I might be able to help.

[@christree553]

Keep in mind that new hammers might have a different weight and change the playability of the action drastically! My Yamaha G2 had very bad action after replacing the hammers and I had to invest a lot in re-balancing all the action parts.

[@mccallweed9094]

Thanks so much! I’m looking forward to your Tune Lab video!!

[@christree553]

I am using the very same equipment and I am so happy to have found your channel. Thanks so much for sharing your great knowledge. Greetings from Hamburg!

[@MrPianoTech]

Awesome, thank you very much!

[@NathanielLich]

Thanks for the information, the calculation part is very helpful

[@MrPianoTech]

Thanks for watching!

[@EarlyManStanding]

Do you ever use Protech on bearing points where old and or rusty strings are present? Thank you for making all your videos!

[@MrPianoTech]

No, on strings I’d prefer a dry lube like Teflon powder. I’ll also use Teflon on grand knuckles and pedal trapwork. I like Protek on flange pins, action centers, and old dry rubber bits. Thanks for watching!

[@jaredini]

I'm picking up a 1972 upright that had one owner, tuned regularly until around two years ago. After I've let it settle for a few weeks I will tune it up BUT not sure if I need to do a pitch raise. When I checked it out it was out if tune very slightly as it is stored in a garage.

[@MrPianoTech]

I'd say if it's less than 5 cents off you should be okay with a regular tuning.

[@nylophone5730]

Haven't watched your video yet, but just a thought... I think you'd be better off with piano music in your intro than what you currently have

[@Vandalfoe]

I dunno; I kinda like his intro. It's so over-the-top epic and gets me all hyped up for some fist-pumping, knee-slapping, high-fiving piano tuning excitement! Wooooop wooop! Yeah!

[@stevendolinsky]

What do you do when the piano is sharp....Can you still use the overpull program in Tunelab? Would that be called a pitch drop?

[@MrPianoTech]

Yep, it’ll work that way too. After pulling the notes down they will try to pull themselves back up. Always seemed to me that it went against the laws of physics but there it is. Perhaps a physicist can chime in and let us know why it does that 😀.

[@NN-rn1oz]

Excellent. Subscribed!

[@MrPianoTech]

Thank you!

[@paulmann4579]

Thanks for the video . On a pitch raise Is there a reason why you go to the temperament octave first , then treble or bass ? The TuneLab software seems to want to take you to AO as the starting point ?

[@MrPianoTech]

Because I only use TuneLab to set the temperament, then finish by ear. I only follow note for note with it if I’m doing a pitch raise by overstretching the recommended amounts.

[@christinenorbe8618]

You don’t have to mute strings to do the measuring in Tunelab?

[@MrPianoTech]

I don't find it necessary when measuring for a pitch raise unless the unison is way out, then I'd focus on the center string. However, when measuring for inharmonicity I mute all but one of the unison.

[@andrewsachs4776]

Hey, are you saying for a 20 cents flat string, to tune 10 cents sharp of the starting pitch (undershooting the final intended pitch) or to tune 10 cents sharp of the intended final pitch (overshooting it)? Genuine and warm thanks for sharing your expertise.

[@MrPianoTech]

Overshoot it by tuning sharp of the intended final pitch. Thanks for watching!

[@nesoiva]

What does it mean - Do not exceed 30 cents sharp? If the piano is down 60 cents can I raise it 60 plus 30 for a total of 90 cents (that's over the intended pitch by 30 cents)?Your videos are very helpful, I hope you make more. Greetings from Serbia.@@MrPianoTech

[@MrPianoTech]

@@nesoiva Greetings! Yes, you are correct, don’t go over the intended pitch by more than 30 cents. New videos coming soon with a new direction for the channel.

[@emilioooo9678]

I have an android so I cant get tunelab but I have an app called panotuner, Will it work? Also When you make a pitch raise do you set the pin or is not needed? How much time do I have to wait after I complete the pitch raise so I can make the fine tuning?

[@Vandalfoe]

Panotuner will not work. It's not specifically for pianos. I believe Mr. Tech mentioned no pin setting at first, as it's going to be adjusted again later. Also, Piano said you can do the fine-tuning immediately.

[@johny_mac]

Every time I have seen a demonstration of a pitch raise with tunelab the unison's have been OK. What would the do if the unison's are out on every note, would you tune the unison's first on the measurement notes or use mutes to isolate one string.

[@MrPianoTech]

I talk about that, it's around 8:10. Yes, I recommend tuning all strings of each note before moving onto the next. That way they'll stretch together.

[@johny_mac]

@@MrPianoTech I think you may have misunderstood my question. Lets say that you have a piano that is 56 cents flat and mostly all the unison's are out as well. As you will know with Tunelab when doing a pre-measure for a pitch raise the note changes automatically ( not sure if you can go back and remeasure ). Would you clean the unison's ( Not tune them just clean them up at whatever frequency they are at the time )of the measured notes C E G up the keyboard before doing the pre-measure or use mutes the isolate one string.

[@MrPianoTech]

@@johny_mac Gotcha. No, I've never cleaned them up. It seems to pick the worst of the group and goes with that.

[@johny_mac]

@@MrPianoTech Thanks for that. I was under the impression that you would get a error or inconsistent results with 3 stings with slightly different tunings. I guess it is different from measuring inharmonicity.

[@MrPianoTech]

@@johny_mac Yeah, if I was measuring inharmonicity I'd single one out.