KEYBOARDS
Lauded for his skills as a ragtime and traditional jazz pianist, Max Keenlyside has performed for CBC Radio and head-
lined at festivals across North America. Max’s debut album, KeenlyStride, was met with critical acclaim and his latest
release, Mostly Max, puts emphasis on his own piano compositions. Max also engraves and transcribes music and offers
piano tuning, servicing, and restoration. Find out more at www.maxkeenlyside.ca.
Max Keenlyside
A Piano Tuning Primer
An Interview with Pianist & Technician Max Keenlyside
CM: How did you first get into piano
tuning, and how did you develop your
skills to the point that you were comfort-
able offering tuning as a professional
service?
MK: I began tuning pianos out of necessity!
I’ve been piano-obsessed since I was nine
years old, and having played ragtime since
day one, I’ve always had a penchant for the
older instruments. Over the years, my par-
ents were gracious enough to support me
in collecting numerous pianos; I think at one
time I had as many as seven instruments in
various locations. I doubt I paid more than
$200 for any of them. The internal workings
of pianos are absolutely fascinating, and as
a kid I would take them apart, study them,
and try to figure out how they worked. I also
immersed myself in any piano history and
information I could dig up on the internet.
While owning one or two pianos is fi-
nancially manageable, owning any more
can become an expensive proposition. Turn-
ing once again to the internet, books, and
some tools purchased online, I learned the
fundamentals of how to tune and repair a
piano. For several years I continued to do this
for every new piano I acquired, constantly
searching for ways to improve the instru-
ments I owned.
Two years ago, I reached the point where
I felt comfortable enough with the quality of
my work that I could offer it as a part-time
professional service. Very rapidly, however, I
found that I enjoyed the job of tuning and
restoring pianos so much that I decided to
make it my full-time “day-job.” I reached out
to other piano technicians in my region,
particularly Tyrrell Pearson of Sussex, NB.
Tyrrell is a registered piano technician and
26 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
the chapter president of the Piano Techni-
cian’s Guild, the leading organization of its
kind in North America. I’m very fortunate to
have benefited from his generous support
and guidance over the last two years. I am
also an associate member with the Piano
Technician’s Guild, and have trained with
that organization at seminars in Las Vegas.
CM: How often should a piano be tuned?
I’d imagine this differs from case to case,
but are there some basic guidelines you
can offer?
MK: The average home piano should be
tuned at least once or twice a year, depend-
ing on conditions and how heavily it’s being
used. If a piano is left a year or more without
being tuned, it will likely need a pitch-raise
or pitch-lower tuning, which is more costly
than a standard tuning. The extra cost of a
pitch adjustment is incurred because the
tuner must essentially tune the piano twice
in one session, so as to balance the tension
on the instrument.
CM: