The tension placed upon the frame and structural beams of a piano is considerable. On average each string in an upright piano is exposed to about 160lb of pressure. There are between 220 to 230 strings in a piano and this means the combined pressure equates to approximately 17 tonnes (this can be as much as 30 tonnes for a grand piano) across the entire piano frame. 

 

These pressures, in conjunction with the quality of materials and general manufacture of the piano and other variables, such as shifts in humidity brought about by changes in temperature from season to season, how often and how forcefully the piano is played, will all have an effect on how well a tuning will hold up over time. 

 

To put this into context, a piano in a recording studio will generally be tuned before each recording session and in concert halls pianos are tuned before each recital and often touched up between performances.

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In addition, if a piano is not tuned regularly it is likely that it will fall considerably below pitch and this will make it  harder to attain tuning stability. This may result in the piano needing a pitch raise (if possible) and a piano will usually require several tunings to restore any stability. Tuning stability is also dependent on the environmental factors mentioned above along with the quality of the materials and construction of a piano and the quality of the instrument in general, not to mention the skill and experience of the piano tuner. 

 

For the reasons noted above, I recommend that your piano should be tuned once a year at a minimum and preferably once every three to six months depending on usage. The longer the time that elapses between tunings the more difficult it becomes to tune a piano and achieve tuning stability. I offer a discount for anyone interested in having their piano tuned once per quarter.