Get better sounding tunings than they ever thought possible in a short amount of time. As in traditional aural tuning, Verituner listens to all the partials on all notes. Verituner is the only electronic tuning technology that measures the inharmonicity of every note during tuning, accumulating a detailed picture of the entire scaling of the piano. It calculates tuning targets for all the partials of each note to produce a well balanced tuning custom fit to the piano.
Piano Tuning Software Verituner
I know there is a lot to piano tuning that goes way beyond setting each key to its theoretical frequency. Namely the "untuned" extremes of the keyboard or particular aspects of each brand. I also found software where you actually mention the brand and what type of tuning you wish.
Some of the best examples of reputable and powerful professional tuning software are Tunelab, Verituner, and Cybertuner. However just because the software is high quality doesn't mean anyone can operate them effectively. Perhaps everyone can operate a web browser, but not everyone can be effective in Emacs (extreme analogy). It is not a matter of simply following the instructions, they all assume a level of knowledge of piano tuning.
To the sub-questions: the reliability of the software is directly related to the knowledge and skill with which it is used; yes, download the software from your favorite app store (though not all packages are available on all platforms); the standard microphones of modern mobile devices are sufficient; the age, brand, and peculiarities of the piano all factor into the knowledge needed to effectively use the software
I am a professionnal piano technician who started out as an aural tuner and then switched to EDT devices and softwares. The simple answer to the original question is yes: professionnal piano tuning softwares do work and can achieve a professionnal concert quality tuning.
But first, you have to understand the acoustic properties of a piano wire that makes it very different to any other souding bodies. One of the main characteristics of a vibrating piano wire is called INHARMONICITY that makes all the partials to be shifted on the sharp side compared to the theoratical values. The first result of this is that all the octaves will have to be somewhat stretched in order sound in tune. This is why a regular chromatic tuning device will be of no use for tuning pianos.
A good professional piano tuning software however will be able to measure the harmonicity ratio (that differ from one piano to another) throughout the entire keyboard and then calculate a tuning that will FIT this particular piano. The one I currently use and favor is the Reyburn Cybertuner.
Short answer: Yes. Software can work, but only the right software. Your generic guitar tuner app won't do it properly because it simply tunes to the theoretical frequencies of flat equal temperament with no "stretch", which is really important for a piano to actually sound in tune (particularly in the treble and bass). As a piano tuner I also don't trust apps that claim to "sweeten" a tuning by putting in some stretch.
There are 6 software packages out there that do a good job and that professional piano tuners use. They are: Cybertuner, Verituner, TuneLab, OnlyPure, PianoMeter and Pianoscope. They all have pros and cons, but I won't do a review of the various packages because I am affiliated with one of them, but I will say this: Piano tuning software is expensive because it is very specialized software developed for a small group of people (piano tuners). While each of these apps cost in the hundreds of dollars, two of them (PianoMeter and TuneLab) have limited options that are more affordable for someone like the OP who just needs to tune one piano. In PianoMeter that comes in the form of a "plus" version that costs about $25 and has the basic functionality to tune a piano but doesn't have the bells and whistles that a professional might use. TuneLab has more of a "shareware" approach with full functionality that pauses note switching every 12 note changes with a prompt to purchase a license. There is also a free app out there called "Entropy" but in my experience it's a pain to use and isn't well-maintained (last updated in 2017).
Also, just a note, getting the right software solves half the problem. The other half is developing the right tuning lever technique that will allow you to tune quickly, accurately, and have the tuning be stable. It will take more time at first, but you'll get better with practice. My first piano took me 4-5 hours (that was without software back in the day). Now I can be done in 1-1.5 hours, depending on the piano.
I asked my piano tuner that very question last time he worked on my piano. There are professional tuners who rely quite a bit on such tuning tools though I don't know if there are the kinds you can just download for your phone (yet). Them using the tools doesn't mean that they don't also use their skills to know the limitations of their tools, such as adjusting the amount of stretching based on how it sounds on the specific piano and what the customer likes.
Many professionals use tuning software (though I think the BEST professionals still do it by ear). But the skill goes beyond knowing what pitch to aim for. You need the mechanical technique of turning the pin so that the note STAYS in tune, and you don't cause damage. And damage is easy to do. A tuning pin can have its ability to stay in tune destroyed.
If the question was that if you can effectively tune a piano with a cheap software, the answer is no. The inharmonicity of the piano strings makes it so that a tuning software has to calculate the right amount of stretch for the octaves if you want them to sound in tune. The other thing is that you will also have to learn the know how and use the pitch raise mode, if there is any, because if the piano is too flat (which is the case most of the time), the pitch will drop back by an amount of 15-35% if you tune on target pitch.
Much disputed! The engineers and piano tuner/designers of "TuneLab", "Verituner," "Sanderson Accutuner" etc etc--all high end piano-tuning programs tell you, basically, NOT to spend money on a measurement microphone.
Why? Because piano-tuning software is based, essentially, on measuring "partials" generated by piano strings; and those partials can be measured very accurately by the cheapest mic on the market. Spending even, say, 100 bucks on the cheapest of measurement mics (with ostensibly flat frequency response and low distortion) is just a complete waste of money. A 5 buck mic will serve just as well.
Tonal accuracy doesn't seem important to the tuner's primary function of frequency-counting. In other words, you pluck/strike an "A" string - the tuner counts the vibrations per second to a high degree of accuracy (to several decimal points) even from the el-cheapo mic. The tuner (or tuning software) knows that an A (A4) should be 440Hz and indicates sharp or flat based on that. Software based tuners I suppose have more than one temperament.
For piano tuning, we don't need a completely nuanced representation of the sound. We need to have a measurement of frequency of fundamental and overtone, and that measurement is independent upon strength of the partial/harmonic. In other words if I am measuring 3:1 aurally (or with machine) in the 5th octave (eg g5:d7), the relative strength of those myriad partials that create the tone are irrelevant. It is the quelling of any dissonance between the third partial of g5 to the root d7 that is the point.
Sometimes i feel the whole enterprise (electronic tuning of a complex instrument like the piano) is a fool's errand. But I persist. My ears, what there is of them and such as they are, tell me that Verituner has provided me with some downright pleasing tunings of my Hailun 218. Maybe it's just the unisons, which are well nigh perfect with VT (or any other decent edt); but also it sounds like the whole instrument is resonating after a "successful" tuning.
If I might be allowed a digression, if the room in which you are tuning your Hailun has quite a few hard surfaces that cause significant reflections, that can cause problems even for an aural tuner. When I learned tuning it was as an aural tuner. It was a natural extension of my horn pedagogy especially in regards just intonation, historical practice etc. After I reached a minimum level of competency as an aural tuner, my mentor recommended I select an eletronic tuner to augment and speed my growth. I did choose Tunelab but Verituner is an extremely good tool. Basically I tune aurally and double check with the electronic device. By changing the octave styles to purposeful ratios I began to learn what the different styles sound like in the upper and lower end of the piano-they are all extremely similar in the temperament octave.
Tuning has huge impact on how notes flows and keeping flowing/ sustain or drop of like a dead weight , like rejection.. Reverb and harmonic that go 3d. Great tuning makes or breaks me everytime. After all those years experiencing this, I can't play with people unless we are beating together. I mean I can, but that magic doesn't happen. I'm going on here but my point is, when I create music and mix music, I'm not just listening to the song or the mix, I listen for those harmonics that grab everything and make even the simplest note seem full and meaning full. Yup, its that thing brilliant piano tuners hear and listen for.
Also, for the benefit of anyone into piano-tuning software, I've had a chance to check the mic out and find it provides quite a bit more precise "inharmonicity" measurements, which is the at the core of all piano-tuning software. By "precise" I mean that repeated measurements yield IH values that are much closer to each other, on average. So, it's much easier to arrive at an accurate IH target for any given string on the piano.
So there you have it. I think I can get my piano in pretty good shape tuning-wise prior to recording it--which was my main purpose here. (Other than having the thing in tune pretty much all the time, which is nice.) 2ff7e9595c
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