Jimmy Liu is a highly sought after piano technician, and is the current tuner for Chatham University and the Ellis School. He has tuned pianos for over 900 clients in Pittsburgh, including venues such as PPG Paints Arena, Benedum Center, Heinz History Museum, as well as dozens of churches, schools, and performance centers around Pittsburgh. With more than 100 five-star reviews on Google, Jimmy is known for delivering exceptional customer care and consistent precise, professional tunings.

The current base rate for piano tuning is $205.  For locations outside standard service radius, additional charges will be applied to account for travel time and expenses.  Minor repairs such as sticky keys are included in the price.  Tax is also included.  Additional charges may be applied for pianos that haven’t been tuned in over 10 years, as a pitch raise will be required.  A pitch raise is a procedure to restore a piano’s proper pitch, it ensures your piano sounds its best, with the extra charge covering the expertise and effort involved in this process.  Accepted forms of payment include cash, check, Venmo, and Zelle.  The visit should last around 90 minutes depending on the condition of the piano.

For booking inquiries please email Liujunyi22@gmail.com.

You may also call or text 412-251-7219.  Please include your name, which part of Pittsburgh you’re located, and a brief description of your piano. 

Testimonials from Google reviews:

“Jimmy has extensive knowledge of tuning pianos and is committed to enabling players to experience their instrument at its top potential. I am exceedingly satisfied with the service that Jimmy provided and he has transcended my expectations in quality, pleasantness, and professionalism.”

-Sarah R

“I am so happy I worked with Jimmy to have him tune our piano and would highly recommend hiring him to anyone who’s in need of a tuning. I found his pricing to be affordable and well worth it. Jimmy is professional, kind, and efficient; I will definitely be reaching out to him for all future piano tuning needs and would encourage others to do so, too!”

-Elana G

“After the first tuning, I liked Jimmy Liu’s work enough to recommend hiring him for Chatham University as a Piano technician, and have never regretted it since. In a short time of almost two years, Jimmy has quickly gained respect from all Chatham Music faculty. Jimmy received a high quality training as a pianist, which is especially valuable. He knows what pianists hope to achieve, hear and feel from their instrument, so Jimmy goes far beyond regularly tuning. Jimmy is very resourceful when it comes to finding creative solutions, while facing challenges in his work. Jimmy is highly professional and easy to communicate with – he always responds quickly, and he is pleasant on a personal level. Jimmy’s expert knowledge of the instruments, fair rates and wonderful personal qualities make him one of the best Piano technicians in Pittsburgh area and beyond”

-Pauline R

Q & A with Jimmy

Q: Why does my piano need tuning and how often?

A: Due to weather and humidity change, the piano strings change in tension each season, but not all at the same time.  This causes the piano to sound out of tune, and should be tuned at least once per year.   I tune my home pianos around 4 times per year as I play on them every day for teaching purposes.  However some pianos may only need to be tuned once per year, depending on use, quality, and environment.

Q: My piano keys are sticking, pedal is squeaky, string is broken, etc.  Do you fix these?

A: Minor repairs are included with the tuning.  In most cases sticky keys are easily fixed.

Q: What makes you different from other piano technicians?

A: I’ve been playing piano since age four and have a masters degree in piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University.  I tune each piano as if I’m about to give a performance on the instrument, and like to play through some of the repertoire I’m currently working on after each tuning.

Q: My piano hasn’t been tuned in over 10 years!  What should I do?

A: Don’t worry, seeing pianos that haven’t been serviced in a long time is common.  The piano will need a “pitch raise”, and I will bring the piano back to standard pitch over several tunings throughout the year.  Pianos like to be played but don’t like to be tuned, so the piano will sound great after the initial tuning but it may only last for a few weeks or a few months at best as the pins will want to go back to where it’s been resting all the previous years.  After around the second or third tuning within the same year, the piano’s pitch will be back to normal and be stable enough to last for many months at a time.  I have included a short video on Youtube demonstrating a “before and after” tuning of a piano that hasn’t been tuned for 30 years.  The piano was more than a half step flat.  It will be significantly better after the first tuning session, though it will need another tuning within 6 months to maintain its pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bpwP1HfWU