A standard piano tuning costs $160 + tax with us. If it's been 2 to 6 years since your last tuning, you'll likely need a pitch raise tuning at $240 + tax. After 6 or more years, it's usually an extreme pitch raise at $300 + tax. Across the GTA, standard tunings run roughly $120 to $300 depending on who you call. What moves the price most is how far your piano has drifted since its last tuning. A piano close to pitch needs one careful pass. One that has sagged flat for years needs two or three passes to get there safely and stay there. We check the pitch before we start and tell you which tuning your piano needs, so there's no surprise at the end. Small fixes like a sticky key or a squeaky pedal are $75 per half hour, and most are sorted in a single 30-minute service call. See all our prices → · Read the 2026 Toronto price guide →

Once a year keeps most home pianos healthy. Twice a year, in spring and fall, keeps them sounding their best, and it's what we recommend for piano teachers, serious players and anyone who winces at a sour note. Toronto's seasons are the reason. Dry furnace air in winter pulls a piano's pitch down, and humid summers push it back up. Tune once a year and your piano spends part of that year a little off. Tune twice and you catch both swings. New pianos need more attention. Most manufacturers recommend three to four tunings in the first year while the new strings stretch and settle. Past two years without a tuning, you're usually into pitch raise territory, which costs more. If you'd rather not keep track, we'll remind you when you're due. How often should you tune a piano? →

A standard tuning takes about an hour to an hour and a half. A pitch raise tuning, which is two full tunings in one visit, takes closer to two hours. An extreme pitch raise, with three passes, can run two and a half to three hours. Repairs add time. If a key sticks or something buzzes, mention it when you book and we'll plan for it. You're welcome to get on with your day while we work. Fair warning: the first part of the visit sounds like someone playing one note over and over, very slowly. That's the job. The music comes at the end. Book your tuning online →

A pitch raise is an extra tuning pass that brings a very flat piano back up close to standard pitch (A440) before the fine tuning. If your piano hasn't been tuned in two years or more, it most likely needs one. A piano has around 220 strings, and together they pull on the frame with close to 20 tons of force. When the whole piano has sagged flat, every string needs tightening, and tightening one shifts the tension on the others. So you can't make a big jump and land an accurate tuning in one pass. The first pass gets every string into the right neighbourhood. The next one is the precise tuning. Skip that step and the tuning won't hold. That's why our pitch raise tuning includes two tunings in one sitting, and an extreme pitch raise includes three. Quick check at home: play a few notes against a tuner app on your phone or another instrument. If your piano sounds noticeably lower, it's flat enough to need one. About pitch raise tuning →

Mostly humidity. Your piano's soundboard is made of wood. In humid Toronto summers it swells and pushes the pitch sharp, and when the furnace dries out the house in winter, it shrinks and the pitch drops flat. The winter drop is usually bigger than the summer rise, so a piano left alone sinks a little flatter every year. Playing it isn't the main cause. Where the piano sits matters as much as how often it's tuned. Keep it away from windows, radiators, heat vents, fireplaces and direct sun, and on an inside wall if you can. The Piano Technicians Guild puts the sweet spot around 42% relative humidity. An inexpensive hygrometer will tell you how close your room gets. If your piano still won't hold a tuning, we can install a Dampp-Chaser Piano Life Saver system inside it. It adds or removes moisture automatically, right at the soundboard. Now and then the cause is mechanical, like loose tuning pins in an older piano. If that's what we find, we'll tell you straight. Humidity control systems →

Wait about two to three weeks. That gives your piano time to adjust to the temperature and humidity of its new room. Tune it the day it arrives and you'll pay for a tuning that drifts while the piano settles in. Movers often get the blame, but the bumps of the ride rarely knock a piano out of tune. The shift in temperature and humidity does, from one home to another and sometimes from a cold truck into a warm living room. Don't wait too long, though. After a couple of months you're just letting it drift further from pitch.

Almost always, yes. Most pianos that have gone 10, 20 or even 50 years without a tuning can be brought back to pitch, usually with an extreme pitch raise. If yours is one of the few that can't, we'll tell you before you spend a dollar. And no piano shaming. Ever. I once tuned a piano that had gone 75 years without a visit. It had spent its whole life in one room, away from windows and heat, and it tuned up beautifully. Condition matters far more than age. What can get in the way is rusty strings, loose tuning pins or a cracked pin block (the wooden block that grips the pins). A few pianos can't hold a tuning anymore, and some would cost more to fix than they're worth. We'll check first and give you an honest read. Thinking about buying a used piano or taking one from a relative? Have us look at it before anyone moves it. That's a lot cheaper than moving a piano that can't be saved. Extreme pitch raise tuning → · Piano appraisals →

Yes. Pianos go out of tune because of humidity, not playing, so a quiet piano drifts just as much as a busy one. Left alone, it also sinks flatter every year, which can turn a $160 tuning into a pitch raise. A couple more reasons to keep it up. Many piano warranties require regular tuning, so skipping it can put your coverage at risk. And if someone in the house is about to start lessons, tune first. Learning on a flat piano trains the ear to the wrong pitch. A yearly tuning keeps a quiet piano ready for the day someone sits down at it. Book a tuning →

A tuning adjusts the tension of every string, about 220 of them, so your piano sits at standard pitch (A440) and every note agrees with its neighbours. While the piano is open, we'll point out anything else that needs attention. Tuning fixes pitch. It doesn't change how the keys feel or how bright or mellow the piano sounds. Those are separate jobs: • Regulation adjusts the action, the thousands of moving parts between your fingers and the hammers, so every key feels even and responsive. • Voicing works on the hammers to change the tone, warmer or brighter. If your piano is in tune but feels uneven or sounds harsh, it probably needs regulation or voicing, not another tuning. For recitals, recordings and high-end pianos, our Master Tuning Service adds concert-level tuning, string seating for stability, tightening of loose screws, Keybright™ key treatment and a showroom polish. Master Tuning Service → · Piano repairs →

Clear everything off the top of the piano, make sure we can reach it, and keep the room as quiet as you can. That's most of it. A few details help: • Uprights: the lid lifts, so photos, plants and lamps need to come off. • Grands: we remove the music desk and open the lid, so clear the top and leave us some elbow room. • Quiet, please: tuning means listening for very small differences in sound. The TV, vacuum and dishwasher can wait. • Tell us when you book roughly when the piano was last tuned and anything odd, like sticky keys or buzzing. That way we bring the right tools and book the right amount of time. • Downtown condo? Let us know about parking and the concierge. You don't need to stay in the room. Kids are welcome to watch, though. They always have questions, and we like answering them.

Call or text (647) 206-7563, email spencer@pianotuners.ca, or book your tuning online →. We've been answering piano questions across Toronto, the GTA and Hamilton since 2009.