D&S Pianos 1700 Hyde Park Road-Unit 7, London ON

(519) 641-4343

 http://www.dandspianos.ca

Dealer of high quality new and used Yamaha pianos.  They also rebuild and move pianos.  I highly recommend them.

519-697-1385

joshua@pianotuningpro.com

Joshua Richardson was raised and lives here in London, Ontario. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s Piano Technology program. He does contract work for Piano Tune Canada and Piano House Burlington as well as D&S Pianos on Hyde Park road. He tunes the pianos at the Grand Theatre and at L. B. Pearson school for the arts.
He is the lead songwriter of the local music group The Favourite Game (formerly SEeKing Dawn) who has played in and around London since 1996. Richardson is also a key proponent for London theatre. He was assistant to director Susan Ferley on the Grand Theatre’s production of Beauty & the Beast and starred as George in Fountainheads production of Our Town. He wrote and produced three musicals, of note P&J, which was awarded best production at the London Fringe Festival 2005 and was invited to be apart of the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2007.
Of the London community, “I am honoured to be able to give back to the community I am so personally indebted to. The schools I attended and the mentoring I have received here in London have created the vibrant, creative person I have become. Therefore it is my priviledge to serve this city as a piano tuner, but more notably as a member of the London community.”

Voicing is the process of removing inconsistencies of tone, attack and decay. The most desirous sounds of a piano is when all the notes maintain an even voice. Each note is neither louder, softer, harsher or duller than it’s neighbour. To achieve this universality a piano technician must spend time with the piano in regulation. Regulation is the attuning of all the mechanical parts in the piano to the manufacturers specifications. Pianos are made mostly of wood, and wood has a tendency to alter in shape slightly especially in response to large swings in humidity, but also merely with the passing of time and use. The piano technician must adjust these mechanical parts to ensure the piano maintains it’s optimal playability. Evenness in key height, key depth as well as hammer checking all contribute to evenness of sound and touch.

Once the regulation has been taken care of, the more specific art of hammer manipulation is possible. Piano’s with a lot of use tend to sound very bright and even brash or harsh. This is caused mostly by the packing of the hammer felt. The hammer is constantly mashed against steel strings which eventually leave deep grooves in the felt of the hammer. Hammers are made of compressed felt. This compressed felt is made at a consistency that creates a desirous piano tone. Neither too soft, nor too loud. After prolonged use the hammer felt is further compressed where it strikes the strings creating the above mentioned grooves and a harsh or brash sound, being beyond the specifications of the piano hammer manufacturer. A piano technician has the ability to card the hammer with sandpaper to eliminate the grooves and thereby ridding the piano of it’s brash sound and restoring the hammer to it’s original consistency. A hammer may be able to withstand 4 or 5 hammer reshapings. The carding of a hammer may prolong the life of the hammer and will definitely improve the tone of the piano. Once the hammer has been carded, further manipulating of the hammer may be needed to restore the piano’s original tone. During the reshaping of the piano hammer, the technician will often stick needles (4 or 5 sewing type needles encased in a special tool) into the shoulders of the hammer to lengthen the decay of the notes. Once this has been accomplished certain notes that stand out from the others will be further needled to match their neighbours. On rare circumstances, if the tone of the piano after reshaping of the hammers is too dull, a small amount of lacquer may be applied to the hammer to bring out a brighter sound.