Most experieneced piano technicians are members of the Piano Technicians Guild. The organization has a complete listing of members and their locations. As indicated in the previous section, electronic tuning aids can help those who tune their own keyboards, including pianos. Most piano owners, unless they have studied piano tuning techniques, will do better to hire a professional piano tuner. Frequency of tuning depends on economic priority and musical needs.
Professional pianists have their pianos tuned before every concert.
Most acoustic pianos in homes should be tuned about once a year. Pianos that are severely out of tune may need to be tuned once and then again in a couple of weeks after the strings have had a chance to settle into the new tension. Sometimes strings that have not been not touched for a long time permanantly kink at the bridge. When one of these strings is tuned and its kink moves between the bridge the tuning pin, it will produce some false tones. At this point the string needs replacing.