Does the piano need to be tuned for the pianist?

It depends on the event and the venue. As a general rule: yes. A piano’s tuning shifts with the seasons, and even a fine instrument usually doesn’t hold concert-ready tuning for more than a few weeks or months, even with a humidity-control device installed (such as a Dampp-Chaser).

A piano is a fairly complex mechanical object, built from countless small and large wood and metal parts. These swell, shrink, stretch, and shift with changes in humidity and temperature. An upright or grand piano placed near a heating system or an open window is likely to be slightly out of tune within a week of being tuned. With the exception of digital instruments, most pianos don’t hold their tuning for long.

When the instrument is out of tune, the problem isn’t just something musicians and trained listeners will notice. The playing simply sounds worse, less professional. The physical sound itself changes: the pianist can’t effectively draw on sympathetic resonance, the collective ringing of the piano’s free strings. Because the overtones don’t “bloom” the way they would on a tuned piano, the playing can come across as flat, dull, cold, or wrong for the room. Music played on a noticeably out-of-tune piano is unpleasant regardless of how skilled the pianist is.

For occasions like weddings, galas, VIP receptions, or corporate events, piano tuning is worth treating as part of the standard arrangements and scheduling as close to the date as possible. At smaller private events or in care homes, regular tuning isn’t always feasible, and that’s a legitimate constraint. The question is whether the client wants the pianist to produce music at the level the instrument is capable of, or whether the sound is secondary, as long as the pieces are recognizable.

A professional tuner can also check for buzzing strings, non-functioning keys, or other mechanical and acoustic issues. Most such problems can be fixed or at least eased during the tuning. Within the budget of a typical event, tuning is a relatively small investment with a real effect on both the pianist’s expressive range and the listening experience.

How much does a pianist cost?

As in any field, a pianist’s fee depends on a number of factors: demand, experience, the state of the market, and the type of arrangement.

Many things shape the figure. Summer weekends and pikkujoulu season are in high demand. The total length of the gig and the travel involved both matter. For a full-day wedding within reasonable driving distance, I don’t typically charge for travel. Some requested pieces require additional preparation to bring up to performance level, which adds work before the date. For these reasons I can’t quote a price before discussing at least these factors.

Many pianists work through a booking agency. In that case the fee includes the agency’s commission, which can run to nearly half of the gig fee itself.

Skilled players are available both through agencies and on direct booking. Many experienced pianists handle their own invoicing. I may be biased in saying so, but in many cases this arrangement offers the most competitive price for the level of experience.

I handle invoicing for my own performances through my limited company, which is convenient for both corporate and private clients. The fee is always invoiced after the event with a seven-day payment term.

Can you bring your own digital piano and sound equipment?

Unfortunately I no longer take solo gigs that require bringing my own instrument. The logistics are difficult, and I’ve specialized in playing acoustic pianos.

What acoustic piano do you have at home?

A Yamaha YU3S upright, imported from Japan. Over the years I’ve also owned two Yamaha U3 pianos and a Yamaha YUS5 that was the best of all of them but stayed in the United States. As a child and teenager, I had two different Hellas pianos.

As you might guess, pianos vary enormously. A pianist plays with whatever instrument is available, but like most of us my top favorites are well-maintained or restored Steinways, Bösendorfers, Faziolis, and Bechsteins. I prefer Yamaha’s brighter, clearer sound to the darker and fuller Kawai. On gigs the brand isn’t a real constraint; even a modest instrument can be made to sound good when it’s in tune and suited to the room.

What kinds of influences do you have as a musician?

I’ve listened to and played a fair amount of different music. For the first decade I played only classical, then gradually shifted into blues, rock, and later jazz. I read sheet music fluently and can arrange pieces on the fly from just a melody and chord symbols. My jazz background and theory studies let me work with chord inversions and more advanced voicings, which often add color even to simpler pieces. Rhythmically I lean on barely audible ghost notes. For me the piano is above all a melodic percussion instrument, capable of imitating the articulation and phrasing of a human singer (cantabile). I dislike the hammering, overdone show-piano style; I don’t think the pianist’s job is to display technical skills but to do justice to the piece and the audience.

Some of these influences show up more in my playing, others less. I don’t pretend to credibly imitate world-class virtuosos. Among jazz pianists I particularly admire Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans; among classical pianists, András Schiff and Murray Perahia. I listen to a lot of baroque music, such as Bach’s masses and fugues. I’ve sung polyphonic music in choirs for several years. I’m also fond of Schubert’s lieder, Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, and Toivo Kuula’s musical language, as well as older or stylistically faithful swing (Antti Sarpila, for example) and Dixieland (Dukes of Dixieland).

On the rock side, Grateful Dead has shaped my playing the most: a band that improvises every concert differently. I sometimes try to reach for that same in-the-moment charge in my own playing. I’ve listened to Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, Kingston Wall, CMX, Steely Dan, and a number of spacy bands for decades. I’ve played ABBA in a party band. Several Antônio Carlos Jobim pieces are in my own repertoire. I’ll also admit to being a fan of M.A. Numminen, even though I’ve never tried to capture his vocal color at the piano.

Do you use sheet music when you play?

I’ve focused on building a broad repertoire: well over a thousand pieces in all, most of which I don’t try to play from memory in performance. Carrying a few music books to the gig also makes it possible to honor the occasional unexpected request.

I play classical pieces mainly from the score. In jazz and other popular styles, the sheet music is more of a reference for the melody and the underlying harmony. Beyond the melody, the notes I’m actually playing at any given moment have only a loose relationship to what’s on the page. Solos and other improvised passages take shape in real time. I don’t have set, pre-rehearsed versions of any piece. Each one comes out slightly different, shaped by the occasion, what the piano makes possible, and the inspiration of the moment.