Piano tuning is both an art and a science — and after more than 50 years of tuning pianos in New Orleans, I’ve developed a method that combines the best of both worlds.
Learning the Traditional Way — Tuning by Ear
When I first learned piano tuning, electronic tuning devices didn’t exist. Everything was done by ear — and honestly, learning that way gave me a foundation that no technology can replace.
The traditional method is built around understanding beats — the subtle wavering sound you hear when two notes are played simultaneously and their frequencies don’t quite match. These beats are measured in cycles per second (CPS). A trained tuner learns to hear these beats, count them, and adjust the string tension until the intervals sound exactly right.
The most critical part of this process is called setting the temperament — tuning the middle octave of the piano so that all the intervals within it are balanced and musically correct. This is the foundation everything else is built on. Get the temperament right and the rest of the piano follows. Get it wrong and no amount of work above or below will fix it.
This takes years to master. You’re not just listening for one thing — you’re hearing multiple intervals simultaneously, comparing them, and making tiny precise adjustments with a tuning hammer. It’s a skill that’s more like musicianship than mechanics.
The Evolution — Electronic Tuning Devices
As electronic tuning devices (ETDs) matured and became more sophisticated, I began incorporating them into my work. A good ETD can analyze string frequencies with remarkable precision and takes some of the guesswork out of setting the temperament.
But here’s what many piano owners don’t realize — an ETD alone isn’t enough. Technology can measure frequencies but it can’t hear the way a trained human ear can. It can’t account for the unique characteristics of each individual piano, the way a particular soundboard responds, or the subtle musical judgments that make a truly great tuning.
My Hybrid Method — The Best of Both Worlds
After decades of experience I’ve settled on what I call a hybrid tuning method — and I believe it gives my clients the best possible result.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1 — Set the Temperament with the ETD I use my electronic tuning device to set the temperament in the middle octave. The ETD gives me a precise, mathematically accurate starting point that would take significantly longer to achieve by ear alone.
Step 2 — Tune Octaves by Ear From that foundation I tune upward and downward through the piano by ear — listening to the intervals, feeling the resonance of each note, and making musical judgments that no device can replicate. This is where 50 years of experience really matters.
Step 3 — Perfect the Unisons The final and most critical step is tuning the unisons. Most piano notes are produced by two or three strings struck simultaneously by the same hammer. For the piano to sound its best every one of those strings must vibrate at exactly the same frequency — what we call beatless.
When unisons are perfectly tuned, the note has one pure, clear frequency with no wavering or beating between the strings. When they’re even slightly off, the note sounds slightly “off” or unstable even if the pitch itself is correct. Getting every unison perfectly beatless across the entire piano — except for the very lowest bass notes which have only one string — is what separates a great tuning from a merely acceptable one.
Why This Matters for Your Piano
Whether you have a modest upright in your living room or a concert grand, this level of attention to detail makes a real difference in how your piano sounds and plays. A piano tuned with care — with every unison beatless and every interval balanced — simply sounds better, responds better, and inspires better playing.
After more than 50 years and thousands of pianos tuned across New Orleans, Metairie, Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, and beyond — from family homes to Preservation Hall to the stages of Jazz Fest — this is the standard I bring to every single appointment.
Schedule Your Piano Tuning Today
Experience the difference that 50 years of expertise makes. Whether you’re in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, Abita Springs, or Slidell — Henry Artigue comes to you.
📞 Call or text: 504-669-0048 🌐 artiguepianotuning.com
“New Orleans humidity is one of the biggest challenges for keeping a piano in tune — learn more about how humidity affects your piano.”