- Associate Member
- A member of the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) who has not passed the Registered Piano Technician (RPT) examinations.
- Basic Tuning
- A tuning where the piano doesn't require a Pitch Correction of more than ±5.0 cents. Also called a "Standard Tuning".
- CA Glue
- Cyanoacrylate Glue (Super Glue) used to treat pinblocks with loose tuning pins.
- Cent (¢)
Like a Dollar ($) is divided into 100 Cents (¢), so is the musical Half-Step interval.
100¢ = 1 Half-Step. 1¢ = 1/100th or 1% of a Half-Step.
In comparison, 50¢ is a Quarter-Tone.
- Concert Pitch
- A4 = 440 Hz (A440). Also referred to as "Standard Pitch".
- Equal Temperament
- A tuning system in which the octave is divided into 12 equal semitones, or half-steps. Each semitone increases in frequency by a factor of 2 to the 1/12 power (or the 12th root of 2), approximately 1.059 Hz.
- Pitch Correction
- A pre-tuning where all of the piano strings are roughly re-tensioned to raise or lower the pitch of the piano to its design specification, typically A440 Standard Pitch ("Concert Pitch") or a Custom Pitch.
- Pitch Lower
- A pre-tuning where all of the piano strings are roughly re-tensioned to LOWER the pitch of the piano to its design specification, typically A440 Standard Pitch ("Concert Pitch") or a Custom Pitch.
- Pitch Raise
- A pre-tuning where all of the piano strings are roughly re-tensioned to RAISE the pitch of the piano to its design specification, typically A440 Standard Pitch ("Concert Pitch") or a Custom Pitch.
- Registered Piano Technician
- A member of the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) who has passed a series of rigorous examinations on the maintenance, repair, and tuning of pianos. See What is a Registered Piano Technician (RPT)?
- RPT
- See Registered Piano Technician.
- Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN)
- A method of specifying musical pitch by combining a musical note name (A thru G) with an accidental (as needed…piano technicians use only the sharp '♯'), and a number identifying the pitch's octave. The octave number changes at every 'C'. So, a Standard 88-key piano has notes A0—B0 and C1—C8 (notice the 1st octave break between B0 and C1). The 97-key Bösendorfer Concert Grand 290 Imperial has a full 8 octaves, notes C0—C8, adding 9 extra notes in the bass, C0—G♯0. And the newest 108-key Stuart & Sons 300 Beleura has nearly 9 full octaves, notes C0—B8, adding 11 more extra notes in the treble, C♯8—B8!
- Standard Pitch
- A4 = 440 Hz (A440). Also referred to as "Concert Pitch".
- Standard Tuning
- A tuning where the piano doesn't require a Pitch Correction of more than ±5.0 cents. Also called a "Basic Tuning".