In Tune for the Season: Preparing Church Pianos for Easter and Christmas

Written By Brent Witten

As a piano technician, my favorite times to tune each year revolve around Easter and Christmas. Churches, big and small, from every denomination need to have their pianos ready and in their best shape for the Easter and Christmas seasons. Holy Week alone can include multiple services such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, where choirs sing cantatas and instrumentalists play some of the best-known classical works. Extra rehearsals are also needed to coordinate all the music-making. We are coordinating with music ministers and parish leaders to make sure their pianos are in tune. I have serviced many pianos in the Louisville and Southern Indiana region over the past 12 years, and one thing I can attest to is that it gets extremely busy for me at these times of the year. We encourage our churches to get on the schedule for a piano tuning as soon as possible before Easter and Christmas.

As one who has served as a music minister for over 25 years, I appreciate getting to know our local church music leaders and instrumentalists. I love finding out what music their choirs and pianists are preparing to perform for their churches and communities. I get to learn how they use the piano in their services. In some churches, the piano and organ need to be tuned together, and in others, not so much. This information is good to know as a tuner, especially if the organ is tuned to a pitch other than A440. I once was told to tune the piano to the organ, which was at A435, and I did. I got a call the next day that they had forgotten that the piano was going to be used to play with the handbells on Sunday. Problem: The handbells were pitched at A440. I had to go back and re-tune the piano to match the handbells. Fortunately, we had developed a good relationship over the years, and we can now look back and laugh at the situation. This business, like many others, is about fostering good relationships and being there to meet the church’s piano needs. I have been privileged to serve our area churches and look forward to continuing these wonderful relationships.

Brent Witten

Brent’s passion for piano began at age 9 in Lawrenceburg, KY, quickly growing into accompanying church services and school choirs by his early teens, and earning a place in the Kentucky All-State Chorus as a bass singer. He attended the University of Kentucky on a music scholarship, where he accompanied musicians, taught piano, and worked at a Baldwin & Yamaha piano store, gaining deep industry knowledge and connections. His hands-on journey into piano technology began in 1997 through an apprenticeship, leading him to maintain a fleet of 33 university pianos while earning both a B.A. and M.A. in Music. Since joining The Piano Shop in 2014, Brent has serviced everything from uprights to concert grands for top manufacturers and prestigious venues across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Now with Vanguard Piano Service, he brings decades of expertise and a commitment to helping every piano sound and feel its best.

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