Getting Your Piano Ready for the Holidays

For most home pianos, the last three weeks of December are the busiest of the year — carols, guests, a visiting cousin who actually plays, the annual attempt at the Charlie Brown theme. It's also the stretch when an out-of-tune piano is most audible to the most people. Here's the holiday plan we give clients every year: when to book, what to fix, how to party-proof the instrument, and the gift that solves two problems at once.

When should you tune your piano before the holidays?

Two reasons. First, the piano: by late November the furnace has been running for weeks, the house has reached its winter baseline, and a tuning holds beautifully through the holidays and into the new year (the seasonal logic). Tuned in mid-December, it's equally stable; tuned in late October, it may have sagged a little by the 24th. Second, the calendar: December fills fast — the families who book in October and November get their pick of dates; those who call on the 18th get what's left. If it's been more than a year, or the piano has never been tuned since it arrived, book now for a late-November or early-December slot.

What should you do to get a piano ready for the holidays?

• Tune — late November to mid-December.
• Fix the small things now. The key that sticks, the pedal that squeaks, the buzz on the F — all typically handled during the tuning visit, and all the things a guest will find within a minute of sitting down.
• Start the humidifier if you haven't — the house is dry now, and steady 40–50% humidity is what makes the tuning last through January (winter routine).
• Adjust the bench if the young pianist has grown since summer.
• Dig out the music. A piano with carols on the rack gets played; one with a closed lid gets admired.

How do you keep a piano safe when hosting holiday guests?

The holidays are also peak season for piano injuries — not from playing, from hosting:

• Nothing on the lid. No drinks, no candles, no charcuterie. Water rings in lacquer and wax in a grand's strings are December specialties. If the piano is in the party room, a small "please, not on the piano" sign is not rude; it's cheaper than a refinish.
• Candles nowhere near it. Heat and wax, both bad.
• The tree and the piano are not neighbours. Watered trees leak; dry trees near a heat vent are a fire question; either way, a metre of distance.
• Kids and the fallboard. A dropped fallboard on small fingers is the most common holiday piano injury to a person. Close it gently and show the little ones how.
• Coats off the bench, not the lid. The bench holds coats fine; the lid scratches.

What's a good holiday gift for a piano player?

Someone in the family will ask what to get the pianist, and the pianist will not know. A tuning gift certificate — a standard tuning ($160, $140 intro rate) or a pitch raise for the long-neglected instrument — is the gift everyone in the house hears, and it schedules whenever the recipient likes. We issue them by email; details here, alongside the rest of our honest gift list (the $20 hygrometer, caster cups, an adjustable bench).

Does a piano need tuning again after the holidays?

The piano will have been played more in three weeks than in the previous three months; a late-November tuning is typically still true in January. If it isn't — a cousin who plays hard can settle a tuning — a touch-up in the new year is quick, and the winter exam season is a good reason for it. Then the piano returns to its normal rhythm, with the best three weeks of its year behind it.

Book your holiday tuning — late November and early December fill first.

Common questions

When should I tune my piano before Christmas?
Late November to mid-December — the house has settled into the heating season, so the tuning holds through the holidays and into January. Book in October or early November; December slots go quickly.

How do I protect my piano during a holiday party?
Nothing on the lid (drinks, candles, food), no candles nearby, a metre from the tree, coats on the bench not the piano, and show children how to close the fallboard gently.

Can I give a piano tuning as a Christmas gift?
Yes — gift certificates for a standard tuning, a pitch raise, or a service package are issued by email and scheduled whenever the recipient likes.