Piano Guidance
Photo by Charles Parker Pexels Logo Photo: Charles Parker

Do piano strings wear out?

You can tune your piano strings once or twice a year to maintain the sound of your piano, but you will eventually hit a point where more work needs to be done. Piano strings will wear out, and their tuning pins will loosen over time and need to be replaced.

What level of piano is The Entertainer?
What level of piano is The Entertainer?

The original version of Scott Joplin's The Entertainer is at least piano grade 8 standard (ABRSM/Trinity College London). There are also many...

Read More »
What is the most emotional piano piece?
What is the most emotional piano piece?

10 Of The Saddest Classical Piano Pieces Ever Written “ Piano Sonata No. 9” By Alexander Scriabin. “ Prelude in E minor” by Frédéric Chopin. “...

Read More »

We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our site. Learn more . It can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 to restring a piano. The price depends heavily on what type of piano you are looking to restring and any additional issues with the piano. In many situations, the cost to restring a piano is more than the value of the piano. Keep reading to learn what goes into this cost, how often a piano should be restrung, and what you can do instead to save money while improving the condition of your piano.

The Cost to Restring a Piano

You can tune your piano strings once or twice a year to maintain the sound of your piano, but you will eventually hit a point where more work needs to be done. Piano strings will wear out, and their tuning pins will loosen over time and need to be replaced. The cost to restring a piano varies quite a bit, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. If you look at specific types of pianos you will see that upright pianos usually cost $2,000 to $4,000 for restringing, while baby grand or grand pianos sit in the range of $4,000 to $10,000. You may find some technicians offering services by the string if the whole piano does not need to be restrung. This can still cost about $50 per string, adding up to thousands of dollars for a single octave.

Cost Factors

The cost of material for restringing a piano is generally low compared to the labor costs. Piano strings usually run about $2 per string, and they can be even less if they are created by a technician from piano wire. While the cost varies depending on the quality of strings, a full set usually costs somewhere between $250 to $400. A set of 12 tuning pins costs about $18 here, but technicians may be able to get them for less. This cost depends on how many tuning pins need to be replaced when restringing and the size of the replacement pins. The largest factors in play when calculating the cost to restring a piano depend on non-material costs, such as the:

Is your music taste genetic?
Is your music taste genetic?

While genetic influence on the music we like (55%) is clear, genes have a significantly lower influence (25%) on our motivations for listening to...

Read More »
Is 40 years too old to learn piano?
Is 40 years too old to learn piano?

“Learning piano has no age limit. In fact, activities like learning piano can stimulate the brain, increasing the ability to recall information....

Read More »

Technician’s level of experience

Type of piano you are restringing

Number of strings you are replacing (whole or a portion)

Going rates in your area

The labor involved in restringing a piano goes well beyond what might be involved in restringing another instrument, such as a guitar, and the cost reflects this challenge.

The Process to Restring a Piano

If you have seen the process for restringing a piano, you might have an idea of everything that is involved. Technicians have a series of steps that they must follow carefully to restring the piano effectively without causing any damage. The process requires patience, dedication, and a wealth of knowledge.

Prep Work

The technician starts by exposing all the strings in the piano. In an upright piano, this requires the technician to flip the piano on its back. After this, they will remove the entire front of the instrument, including:

Keys

Action

Panels

Once all the strings are exposed they need to be loosened over several passes. The typical piano holds over 30,000 lbs of pressure on the strings. While this is essential to produce the correct note with a good tone, it creates a sensitive situation for technicians to navigate. Clipping a string while it is tight releases over 100 lbs of tension at once, which is more than enough to damage the piano or injure the technician. Passing over them several times gives the piano a chance to adjust to the changes in pressure. After they are loosened enough the technician can clip the strings and get started replacing the old tuning pins. If a piano reaches the point where it needs to be restrung then odds are the pins have loosened over time and created larger holes in the pin block. Replacing with larger pins is essential for holding the new string properly. Piano strings are made of solid steel, and they are thicker in diameter than what you would use on a guitar or other string instruments. These strings do not bend easily, and they are also more likely to break in the process. Mishandling the strings can send them flying across the room. Technicians must have the strength and finesse required to place the new strings effectively, as well as the patience to complete the process.

How do I know if my child has perfect pitch?
How do I know if my child has perfect pitch?

You have perfect pitch if: You are able to name a musical note played with a musical instrument or object (example: a bell) You are able to sing a...

Read More »
Is a tritone 3 whole steps?
Is a tritone 3 whole steps?

A minor second is simply one half step away from the starting note, and a tritone is an interval of three whole steps (or three tones, hence the...

Read More »

Finishing Up

The work is not done when the strings are set.

Technicians still need to retune and reassemble the piano. This means they need to go through the set several times to reach the correct pitch without damaging the piano.

The entire process can easily take over 20 hours of dedicated work.

How Often Should You Restring a Piano?

You should not need to restring a piano more than once every 30 years. Single strings can be replaced as needed, but restringing the whole piano should only be done when several are damaged or rusted. In many cases, it can cost less to buy a new piano than it would cost to restore the one that you have. Most people will only invest in restringing if the piano is:

High quality

Old

In need of additional attention

For this reason, restoring a piano is not usually a great investment either. The extensive process to repair and restring can cost several times over the value of the piano.

Cost-Effective Repairs

Instead of restringing the entire piano, focus on the strings that need attention. You can also look at other repairs to improve the quality of the piano, including:

Tuning: $100 to $200

Regulating: $500

Voicing: $500

These repairs are a fraction of the cost to restring the piano, but they easily improve the tone and evenness of the piano. If the piano is beyond repair, you might be better off purchasing a nice, used replacement for the same cost. You can sell the old one to help offset the cost, or you can repurpose it into a shelf, desk, or table to retain some use.

How do musicians memorize so many songs?
How do musicians memorize so many songs?

How can their brains hold on to this much information? Musicians can memorize many songs for a performance through massive repetition and by having...

Read More »
What is FN and F8?
What is FN and F8?

The default F8 key primary function on Apple keyboards is to play and pause in media players. Pressing fn + F8 for the secondary function is F8....

Read More »
How long does it take to become a good pianist?
How long does it take to become a good pianist?

If you want to be a professional classical performer, you're looking at a minimum of 10 to 15 years of concentrated study with a master teacher,...

Read More »
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide
Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »
What is the saddest key?
What is the saddest key?

D minor From there it's an easy skip to D, the root of today's subject, the “saddest key,” D minor. That the key of D minor is the key of true...

Read More »