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The Secret Life of Piano Tuners

Piano tuning is a beautiful old art that requires a mathematical brain and a musical ear. The aim is to determine the “equal temperament” of the intervals between notes, but this is something that is subtly unique to each piano.

Long an important vocational option for the Blind, piano tuners were crucial to the creation of sculptor Michael Parekowhai’s exhibition at Venice Biennale last year, magically bringing a 90-year old Steinway back to life. 

Producer Julie Hill and her dad attempted to tune their own piano one summer, after a mouse invaded it while moving. It was a formative lesson that being cheap doesn't pay.

  • The Secret Life of Piano Tuners

    Hear from the people who keep New Zealand's pianos sounding sweet, from old dingers to Steinway grands. We meet the man who tuned Paul McCartney's family "joanna" and hear stories of the itinerant… Read more Audio

    This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.

Produced by Julie Hill for Radio New Zealand National.