EP #196 Piano Tuning Basics That Actually Matter

That piano in your living room is not just furniture, it is a precision instrument that reacts to every season, every HVAC cycle, and every humid Virginia week. We talk with Tanner from Commonwealth Piano Services about what a working piano technician actually does, why instruments drift out of tune so slowly you may not notice, and how simple maintenance can make playing feel easier and sound dramatically better. 

Tanner shares the personal backstory that pushed him from lifelong pianist to professional: inheriting his grandfather’s piano, trying to tune it himself, then realizing just how technical the craft is. We get into the real-world training path, the value of mentorship, and what certifications can look like, plus the practical services he offers beyond piano tuning, including on-site repairs, piano inspections, and climate control systems that improve tuning stability. 

We also dig into two big misconceptions: waiting until a piano sounds “bad enough” and assuming a cheap or free Facebook Marketplace piano is a deal. Tanner explains why older pianos can hide thousands of dollars in repairs, what to look for before you buy, and the warning signs owners should not ignore, like sticky keys, buzzing notes, ringing, or clicking. He also lays out a simple rule for how often to service your piano and where he works across the Fredericksburg region, from Stafford to Spotsylvania and up toward Woodbridge. 

If you enjoy local business stories and want your piano to sound its best, subscribe, share this with a friend who owns a piano, and leave a review so more neighbors can find the show.

Tanner Honig

Commonwealth Piano Services

commonwealthpiano.com

tanner@commonwealthpiano.com

+1 540-475-5225

Transcript

Show Welcome And Host Intro

Speaker 1 0:01

This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 0:13

Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands.

What Commonwealth Piano Services Does

Speaker 0:20

I have a special guest joining me today. We've got Tanner joining us. He is with Commonwealth Piano. Tanner, welcome to the podcast. Thanks. It's good to be here. Well, I'm really excited about this. I'm excited to learn more about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with us what is Commonwealth Piano.

Speaker 2 0:42

So Commonwealth Piano Services is a piano servicing business. We primarily do tuning and other on-site repairs. Also, inspections, we install climate control systems for your piano, which really helps with the tuning stability. Yeah, that's that's pretty much the main things we do.

Speaker 1:05

Amazing. So I want to learn about your backstory. Tell me how did you get into it to this and what led you to starting your own business?

How Tanner Became A Technician

Speaker 2 1:15

So I've been a pianist for a very long time now. Um, most of my life, I would say. But about three years ago, when my grandfather passed away, he left me his piano and it needed tune. I decided I would try and tune it myself. Um turns out it's pretty hard, and there's a reason we get paid what we do to do this job. Um, but I really enjoyed it, got connected with the piano technicians guild pretty quickly, got a mentor to help me out. Um, now a couple years later, I'm doing it professionally.

Speaker 1:52

Amazing. And it's probably way more complicated than it sounds. So walk me through what that process looked like. Um, you know, getting it is it's a certification like how you got trained. Talk to me a little bit more in detail about that.

Speaker 2 2:09

Yes, the best way to learn is to have someone show you how to do stuff. Um, there are lots of online programs as well that help uh with some of the education. There are a lot of certifications you can get either from the online programs as well as through the piano technicians guild. I got certified through an online program and had a mentor help me learn things and give me feedback.

Speaker 2:35

Amazing. Well, congratulations on that. And tell me, uh, what do you love most about what you do?

Speaker 2 2:43

Um I really like helping people make their pianos sound better, feel better. It's much more enjoyable to play, a lot less frustrating when the instrument's set up properly, when it sounds right. Um so that's that's one of my favorite parts of the job.

Speaker 3:03

Yeah, yeah. Do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions that you hear

Tuning Myths And Used Piano Traps

Speaker 3:10

about what you do?

Speaker 2 3:11

Uh there are lots of them, probably more than we have time to talk about.

Speaker 3:15

Ah, share a few.

Speaker 2 3:16

Let's let's let's do the big the big two, I would say. Okay. All right, the first one is people often don't realize that their piano needs service uh until it's well overdue because these changes happen so gradually. I mean, you don't just wake up one morning and your piano went from perfectly in tune and playing right to all of a sudden it sounds terrible and the keys are sticking. Um, these things happen with the humidity changes, which we have a lot here in Virginia. Um and people oftentimes they'll they don't realize until after their piano's been serviced, and they'll go, Oh wow, I didn't realize it was so far out of tune. Um, so so staying on top of regular servicing is really important. Um and then the other big one usually comes around buying pianos. Um if you spent any time on Facebook Marketplace, I'm sure you've seen there are lots of pianos, very cheap, oftentimes free, and it seems like a really good deal because you'll go, oh, the outside looks really nice. Um, and it's free. But a lot of the times, especially their older pianos, um they need a lot of work. A lot of the times, um, thousands of dollars of work that for a piano that's probably not worth a hundred dollars, unfortunately. Um, so definitely have someone look at a piano before you buy it, um, because there are great deals there too. Like the piano behind me, I got on Facebook, and it's incredible. Um, but you just have to know what you're looking for inside the piano.

Speaker 5:00

Is that a service that you offer as well? So if someone is is looking and and maybe they've been gifted a piano or they're looking at buying one, is that a service that you provide where you can, you know, kind of help people and determine, okay, if you buy this piano, you're looking at X amount of work that needs to be done to it?

Speaker 2 5:22

Yeah, I do that occasionally. Um, and that can be something I either meet them um and show up to their house if it's the piano they already have, or if they're looking to buy one, I can just arrange a meeting with the seller and show up, inspect it, and send them a report, send them pictures, video if they want, um, to give them a more complete picture of the condition of the instrument.

Signs You Need Piano Service

Speaker 5:46

So you mentioned that some people don't don't realize that their piano needs to be tuned until it's too late. Are there some signs that piano owners can look for that kind of gives them that clue, like maybe I should have this looked at?

Speaker 2 6:06

Um, if it starts sounding weird, um if you're noticing things aren't feeling right, if the keys are starting to feel heavy or sticky, um, if it's making like ringing noises that it shouldn't be buzzing, um maybe clicking noises, any sort of noises or feelings or sounds, stuff like that, that just doesn't seem right. A good rule of thumb is at least once a year it should be serviced, ideally twice a year, uh, but most people once a year is probably good enough. It just depends on um how sensitive their ears are and what their needs are.

Speaker 6:51

That's good to know. I bet a lot of people don't realize that that they need to have it, you know, need to have regular maintenance. That's good to know.

Turning A Hobby Into Business

Speaker 7:01

If someone listening is thinking, you know, this is um, you know, I I love hearing Tanner's story and I would love to start my own business. What advice would you give someone thinking about going into starting something that they love?

Speaker 2 7:19

I feel like, especially if it's something you love, at a certain point you have to make the distinction between is this a hobby or is it a business? Um and that's something I struggle with early on too, because when it's something fun, it's very easy to just think of it as another thing you do. Um, but at a certain point, you do have to start treating it like a business if you want to grow and if you want to succeed.

Speaker 7:45

Yeah. Yeah, that's really good advice. I think a lot of people love something and they love they love doing that thing, and then they start a business and then they realize, oh wait, I'm not doing that thing as much as I thought, because now I'm doing bookkeeping and I'm doing marketing and I'm doing all of this other stuff, and I don't actually get to do what I love as much as I thought.

Speaker 2 8:12

Yeah, especially because you keep, especially if you do you're doing everything yourself too. You're learning, spending a lot of time learning things that maybe you aren't really that passionate about, but they gotta get done.

Speaker 8:24

Yeah, yeah.

Service Area Across Fredericksburg Region

Speaker 8:25

So talk to me about your service area. Do you cover, you know, you cover Stafford? Do you cover beyond uh the Fredericksburg area?

Speaker 2 8:34

So probably the easiest way to define it would be I will go as far north as Woodbridge. Um, I don't like to go farther north than that just because of all the beltway traffic gets crazy and unpredictable. Um, other than that, as far as west, east, and south of Stafford, which is where I'm located, I would I would go about an hour away from that. It's my regular service area. So Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, King George. Uh those are probably the three biggest areas for me right now. But you know, anywhere in that that region.

Speaker 9:08

Gotcha. That's good to know. What is something that you wish the listeners knew about Commonwealth Piano Services?

Speaker 2 9:18

I would say that I want to help you primarily, and I want to make music more enjoyable for you.

Speaker 9:28

That's good. Is there anything that we haven't talked about yet that you would like the listeners to know?

Speaker 2 9:37

I don't think so. I feel like we we did a pretty good job

How To Contact And Nominate

Speaker 2 9:40

covering everything.

Speaker 9:41

Amazing. If the listeners want to connect with you, if they want to learn more about your services, where can they find you?

Speaker 2 9:48

They can find me at my website, which is commonwealthpiano.com. Um, and they can reach me by phone or social media, which if you scroll down to the bottom of my page, all that information is there, my email address, phone number, uh social media links. So that's probably the easiest way if you just want to remember one thing: Commonwealthpiano.com.

Speaker 10:13

Amazing. Tanner, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Commonwealth Piano with us.

Speaker 2 10:21

Thank you.

Speaker 1 10:21

It was fun. Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.