Have a Question for One of Our Experts?**

Do you have a question about your piano to ask our panel of experts? We have a special mailing list set up with a group of experienced piano technicians to answer your questions. Please read our Frequently asked questions before sending in your question. Then enter your question in the box below to send it to our panel. These experts are there to answer questions from the public about their pianos. This is not a list for piano technicians to ask technical questions. For that, see the pianotech list.

FAQ

Opinions expressed in responses are those of the individual writer and not of the Piano Technicians Guild.

1. How old is my piano?  With the brand name and serial number we can date most pianos.  For some small companies we don't have information and can't date them.  The serial number is usually a 5-7 digit number.  It is usually stamped on the iron plate (the part that is painted gold) or stamped in the wood showing through a small window in the plate.  On some grands, the number is stamped in the soundboard underneath the strings. See our Finding the Serial Number page for pictures. For European pianos, Bill Kibby in England has better information than we do at Piano Gen. There is a fee for some of his services.

2. How much is my piano worth?  Please don't ask us to give you a value for your piano.  The value of a piano depends on so many variables that we can't give you a value over the internet.  You need to have a technician look at the condition of the piano.  The condition of the pinblock is crucial.  If it is in good shape and holds the tuning pins tightly the piano may have many years of life left.  If the pinblock is bad and the tuning pins slip the piano may not be tunable and the repairs could easily be more expensive than the value of the piano.  This could mean that the piano is worth nearly nothing.  Also local markets can be quite variable for used pianos.  Finding a technician who knows the local market will give you a much better estimate of the value.  We provide a list of Registered Piano Technicians in the Piano Technicians Guild.

3. How do I find a piano technician?  Our searchable database of Registered Piano Technicians is available to help you find a technician near you.  Registered Piano Technicians have passed a series of exams given by their peers to prove basic competency in tuning, action regulation, and repairs.  The Registered Technician page describes this in more detail.

4. Questions about playing the piano.  The Piano Page is a site by the Piano Technicians Guild.  As such, we are basically piano technicians, not teachers.  Our expertise is related to piano construction, servicing and repair.  There are links to sites presented by piano teachers that can help you find out more about learning to play the piano.

5. How do I learn to be a piano technician? The Piano Technicians Guild is an organization of professional piano technicians.  While we are not a school to teach beginners we provide lots of seminars about piano service.  These are listed on the coming events page. We also have compiled a list of training resources.  These include residential schools, correspondence courses, and individual training. The Piano Technicians Guild does not endorse schools but we provide this list of them for your information.

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**Please Note: Opinions expressed in responses are those of the individual writer and not of the Piano Technicians Guild.