Piano Voicing

While tuning corrects the pitch of a piano, voicing changes its tone quality or timbre.

Needle voicing freshly reshaped hammers from a grand piano in Tacoma, Wa.
Hammer reshaping from an upright piano before voicing in Buckley, Washington.

Voicing is done to achieve or maintain a certain sound. The optimal tone quality for any given piano depends on the customer’s personal preferences, the instrument's characteristics and the properties of the room in which the piano is located. With use, the hammers become flattened, compressed and grooved causing the tone to become uneven from one note to the next, resulting in an unfocused sound and a constricted expressive range

Techniques like needling, applying hardening or softening products and reshaping the hammers can improve a piano’s tone.

Reshaping the hammers and voicing can restore the original tone and richness of a piano that is lost over time. Even with proper tuning and voicing, a piano won’t reach its full potential without the correct regulation of the action.