I recommend having your piano tuned at least once or twice a year to keep it sounding its best and at concert pitch (A440). Here in Scotland, seasonal shifts in humidity and temperature cause the wood inside your instrument to swell and shrink. If you teach on your piano, practice daily, or run a venue, you might find tuning every 3 to 4 months works better.

My main base is my workshop in Livingston, and I regularly travel to clients across Edinburgh, West Lothian, Midlothian, East Lothian, Greater Glasgow, Fife, Stirling, Perth, and the Scottish Borders. I also occasionally travel further afield—including visits out to the Isle of Colonsay.

I completed a 3.5-year apprenticeship in Germany at PIANOVUM in Düsseldorf under Michael Thron, combined with technical study at the Oscar-Walcker-Schule in Ludwigsburg. I am a member of both the Pianoforte Tuners' Association (PTA) here in the UK and the Bund Deutscher Klavierbauer (BDK) in Germany.

A piano is made out of natural materials, built to hold a lot of tension. Even if it sits untouched in a quiet corner, daily shifts in room temperature and humidity cause the wooden soundboard to expand and contract. This constant movement changes the tension on the strings, causing the pitch to drift over time.

Yes, absolutely. When a piano goes untuned for a long time, the string tension drops significantly below standard pitch. In these cases, I perform a "pitch raise"—a swift initial tuning to pull the strings back up to overall tension—and then follow up with a fine tuning to stabilize the instrument.

I offer complete technical service for uprights and grands. Beyond tuning, I handle everything from fixing sticking keys or broken strings to full key and action restoration, touchweight adjustments, voicing, acoustic soundproofing, and casing repairs. Minor quick fixes can usually be taken care of during a piano tuning appointment.

Yes, and I strongly recommend it. Before you commit to buying or moving a pre-owned piano, I can inspect it to check the tuning stability, soundboard condition, and action wear so you know if it's a sound investment. I also occasionally have fully restored and regulated second-hand pianos available at my workshop.