My “piano”:http://open-dialogue.com/blog/2007/01/23/in-search-of/ was made in 1940. It’s really in remarkable condition for something that’s 67 years old. I’ve seen newer pianos that look worse than this one.
It was funny – the first piano tuner I got ahold of today launched into a 10-minute lecture when I asked what his company’s rates were for tuning pianos. Most of the information was stuff I already knew, things like how the strings are somewhat elastic and stretch over time, how the sounding board has to be checked for cracks in these older pianos before actually tuning, and how older pianos often can’t be tuned all the way up to their actual pitches because the sounding boards (and other parts) might not be able to take the stress of 26+ tons of pressure (each string apparently holds about 200 lbs. of pressure, which was about the only bit he relayed to me that I hadn’t know before). It was actually pretty amusing to listen to him because he was completely unstoppable. I _am_ still making phone calls, though, and have another who returned my call who actually sounds more promising than this big music company I called.
I also have a line on some piano teachers in the area who can take advanced students. Now, I just have to somehow swing the money from my budget (not that the lessons are really all that expensive, but when you’re paying on a mortgage, every dollar counts).
