Is it time to tune your piano?  It’s never been easier!

Finding a tuner, worrying about paying the right price, or being unsure about the quality of their work can make getting your piano tuned a hassle.

Merriam makes it easy. Our prices aren’t expensive – in fact we’re a little below average.  Our technicians are well-trained and are authorized by many of the top manufacturers. And our service team will make booking the appointment easy and painless.

So give us a call today at 905 829 2020 x 228, or email us at service@merriammusic.com and and let us know how we can help.

How We’re Different

Our single biggest difference at Merriam is that we employ, exclusively and by choice, Piano TECHNICIANS.  How is a piano technician different than a piano tuner?

Pianos have over 6000 parts.  Piano tuners know how to work with just one: tuning pins.  Piano technicians know how to work with all 6000.  The difference in training and experience needed is simply massive.

A good comparison might be an oil & filter change technician, who understands how to drain and refill the oil in your car, vs. a mechanic that can actually fix it.  The skills involved are entirely different, and not at all equal in difficulty or expertise.

There are fewer and fewer piano technicians available these days, and Merriam is proud to boast one of the only technical teams in Canada with four full-time, fully certified technicians on staff.  It has actually become increasingly rare for a piano store to maintain even ONE full-time technician, let alone four.

Piano Tuning FAQ’s

Q:  Do you have to tune your piano?

A:   If you own a piano, it’s the one piece of maintenance that you can’t avoid: it has to be tuned.  Unlike guitars, violins, or nearly all other instruments, a piano cannot be tuned by its owner.  This is because of the sheer number of strings, and the tensions involved.

Q:  How often do you need to tune a piano?

A:  Whether or not the piano is played, a piano should be tuned annually.  How much you play it will determine how often you need to tune it.  A safe rule is that the number of hours played per day is the number of times you should be tuning it a year.

Q:  Are all piano tuners the same?

A:  Piano technicians & piano tuners have very different qualification levels.  It is as different as having a master mechanic look at your car, vs a quick-lube employee.  Technicians and tuners need a lot of experience, a good initial training, and a dealership that requires high standards that push them to continue to improve.

Q:  Will anything happen to the piano if I don’t tune it?

A:  Most piano warranties require you to tune your piano once a year or more – failure to do so may mean that a warranty claim involving the strings, tuning pins, bridge, soundboard, or pin block could be denied.  But more importantly, pianos are designed to be kept at a specific tension – letting a part or all of the piano become untuned may mean that it’s very difficult, or in some cases impossible, to get the piano back to pitch should you want to in the future – at least without several tunings and in some cases parts or string replacement.