NoteWorthy Pianos

10/29/2026

This week I had the opportunity to tune a Yamaha CP-70B, which is a digital grand. However, it's not like modern digital grands, which are essentially standard digital keyboards but with a soundboard for better amplification; this grand actually has an action and strings, but no soundboard! Instead of traditional resonance methods, this piano has electronic pickups on the strings that send the sound to an electric amp. The CP-70 was traditionally used on stage for rock and other similar styles, but this piano is retired from all of that. One other interesting part is the hammers have a thin layer of leather rather than the chunky felt hammer heads on most pianos. With no soundboard, only 73 notes, and only two strings per note, this piano is very unique and was a lot of fun to work on!

10/23/2026

My antique Mason & Hamlin is getting some action upgrades, starting with new backcheck felt 😎

Backchecks are put in place to catch the hammer as it returns after striking the strings. When the felt gets worn and thin, it becomes more difficult to properly regulate the exact position that the hammer catches at, which has consequences for the sound and touch when repeating the note quickly. The wood is in great shape, so after cutting off the old felt and putting on newly cut felt, the backchecks are ready for regulation!

10/15/2026

🎹 The holidays are approaching, but is your piano ready for family to gather around? Your piano deserves the best care possible, and Ryan at NoteWorthy Pianos knows how to take care of it. New clients: book by November 15th and get $30 off your first standard tuning or pitch correction!

If your piano is out of tune, has a sticking key, or needs a good cleaning, call or text NoteWorthy Pianos today.

Proudly Serving Middle Tennessee
(629) 252-3815 | www.noteworthypianos.com

10/14/2026

Like any other piece of furniture, pianos get dirty! Over time, oil and dirt from your fingers will build up on the keys, and it can be tricky to know how to safely clean them without ruining the shine or, in the case of ivory, causing the keytops to curl from the moisture. Before you try to clean it yourself, consider calling to request a piano cleaning service at your next tuning!

10/07/2026

When your piano tells you something is going wrong, listen! If you hear a clicking, rocking, or buzzing noise when you play your instrument, it means that it is time to call a piano technician to have it serviced. While regulating a grand piano action, I found that all of the hammer screws were at least a quarter turn too loose! In a few months the pianist would have begun hearing a clicking noise due to the hammers moving under their loose screws.

If your piano is making any noise besides music, call and ask how I can help keep your piano in top shape!

09/30/2026

I've had four major action refurbishment projects in the last month, so I haven't had much time to work on my own Mason and Hamlin upright, but today I finally got to pull it away from the wall and clean it! Like many antique uprights, it has an old wood cover with a metal net to keep debris out; the problem with this design is that it makes it much more difficult to dust and scrub the back when it needs it, and that netting can start to fall apart. I was able to staple the net back together, but in the end it was too difficult to properly clean, so I chose to dispose of it. Besides, I think being able to see the soundboard more clearly looks really cool! There will be more to see on this piano soon: I hope to finish cleaning it, replace a few parts in the action, and then order all new hammers for it.

09/23/2026

If you're interested in a taste of the science and history of standardized pitch in music, read this post on my website! Hopefully it leads you to some new questions about what I do to your piano so you can learn more about this art we call tuning.

https://www.noteworthypianos.com/post/pitches-in-pianos

If you haven't seen a tuning fork in action before, it's a real treat. Sound waves have so many unique properties that musicians and physicists alike are still learning about, but the science behind a tuning fork is fairly well established. Below is a YouTube video from the channel Jeri Crosby showc...

09/18/2026

I post a lot about unique or complex repairs, but I don't post a lot about tuning! I enjoyed tuning this grand piano for a church this morning; the stained glass was very pleasant as a background for my work.

While I find the jobs I post about to be some of the most fun, most of what I do on a daily basis is tuning. I typically tune 3-4 pianos per day, and I love hearing my customers all across Middle Tennessee playing their pianos after I finish. I'd love to tune your piano soon!

09/16/2026

When piano parts wear out, the best option is usually to replace them. However, it's not the cheapest method, and you can sometimes get a little more mileage out of the parts with some small fixes. That's why I like bolstering the knuckles on grand pianos! By adding new material to the knuckles, I can round them out again, whereas they were previously completely flattened due to wear, which allows the parts in the action to move and reset more smoothly.

This doesn't completely solve the problem like a new knuckle would, but it does give the piano more years before it needs a rebuild, and it gives the pianist more control over play during those years. There are lots of little tricks we piano technicians use to extend the lifespan of your piano while saving you money, so if you think your instrument could use some TLC, feel free to give me a call!

09/09/2026

Last weekend was all about repinning hammers. I recently attempted to regulate a client's Hamilton upright, only to find that when the action was properly regulated the hammers would bobble, which is when the hammer strikes twice when the key is pressed only once. It turned out that the hammer friction was far too low, with each hammer fl**ge only needing about 2 grams of force to move, making them too bouncy due to lack of stiffness in the pivot point.

A second client has a Steinway Model O, a fantastic grand piano that has seen much wear and tear through the decades, and it also had hammer friction issues. Same deal here: regulation alone would not fix the playability problem, this time because the friction was much too high; about 8-10 grams of force needed to be applied to move the hammer fl**ge, which is extraordinarily stiff!

I keep 10 different sizes of centerpins, which are the main pivot points in each action part. By reaming and burnishing the cloth bushing around the pins, and adjusting the sizes of pins, I can make the hammers sit at any friction level I choose. By bringing the upright hammers into the 4-6 range and the grand hammers into the 2-4 range, both actions now play smoothly and can be regulated properly! If you're curious, I set the upright hammers to a higher level on the gram gauge because it has very new and stiff springs that pull the hammers back into place. I wanted stiffer centerpins to make sure that the hammers didn't bounce because of the high tension from the springs. Grand hammers just reset with gravity, so I like having those set a bit lower.