It's a great time to practice

The relaxing days of summer are a great time to sit down at the piano and work on that favorite piece you've been wanting to master. Start simple and give it a go. Watching a concert pianist or Hiromi Uehara and Chick Corea take command of the keyboard at lightning speed can be a bit intimidating if you're just beginning, but to me it's also tremendously inspiring. The piano truly is the king of instruments, with a frequency range that covers virtually every instrument in a modern day orchestra, and with a versatility that enables even a player of modest talent to make it sing and bring the room alive with a rhythmic jazz piece or popular rock ballad.

Schedule your appointment now

We're getting ready for a major media blitz and new customer drive during July and August so keep your eyes open! Just $55 is all it will cost you as a new customer for a complete tuning if you live within a 50 mile radius of Edwardsville and can work within my schedule. Throw in a few minutes of adjustment for sticking keys or other problems and you'll be itching to make music on a newly tuned instrument. Ask me about voicing, which can dramatically help to restore the tone of your piano if the hammer felts have become hardened with age, as they often do. If you want your piano tuned, call now so that I can work you in my schedule.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata mvt. 3 played by Wilhelm Kempff.

Attention piano buyers

If you're looking for a deal or are in the market for one, please give me a call. I currently have two good customers with pianos they are selling, plus tips on a couple of others that would make excellent practice pianos. One is a good-as-new Wurlitzer, and the other is an equally fine quality Story and Clark console.  I can do a basic service check prior to purchase and also offer technical assistance with moving. (May, 2010)

A small price to pay

Dear customer: Money can be scarce in today's economy. More than ever it's important that all of us stay within our budgets and spend responsibly. I myself am frugal to a fault, the benefits of which I have for years passed on to my customers. It has also indirectly helped me to build a customer list that numbers in the thousands. Needless to say, they do not all have their piano tuned each year, as there would simply not be enough time.

But having such a large pool of customers has, in turn, enabled me to keep my tuning and service fees low-to-moderate, and my travel fees negligible. For customers who are willing to work within my schedule, there are rarely any travel fees at all. The small amount you pay to have your piano tuned can bring hundreds of hours play and practice.

A piano in tune will entice you to play and enjoy the instrument you love. It will give you the chance to work on that song you've been wanting to learn, to entertain your family and friends, and to add some much-needed color to a world which is too often filled with just blacks and grays.