Ruth Halvorsen tunes pianos in homes across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A tuning takes about ninety minutes. Ruth brings her own tools, works around your day, and leaves a card on the music stand that says when to call next. Most people call once a year in the fall, when the heat comes on and the pitch starts to drift. You can book a visit below or call (612) 555-0147.
What a visit is like
Ruth arrives at the time you agreed, takes off her shoes at the door, and asks you to play something first. That tells her more than the piano's age does. Then she opens the lid, checks the pins and the hammers, and tunes by ear with a fork and a tuning hammer, the same way she was taught. It is not quiet work, so it helps to pick a time when nobody is napping.
If something else needs attention, a key that sticks or a pedal that squeaks, she tells you what it would cost before touching it. Small fixes are often done on the spot. Bigger ones get a written estimate and a second appointment.
At the end you get a receipt, the card for next year, and a few minutes of her playing so you can hear the difference.
Prices
- Standard tuning$140
For a piano tuned within the last two years. About ninety minutes.
- Pitch raise and tuning$190
For a piano that has gone longer, or has moved house. Two passes in one visit, about two and a half hours.
- Second piano, same address$95
- Regulation and repairs$90 an hour
Sticking keys, uneven touch, buzzes, pedals. The estimate comes before the work, and parts are at cost.
- Hammer voicingfrom $120
For a piano that sounds harsh or dull. Done after a tuning, never instead of one.
- Humidity control, installed$520
A two-part system under the soundboard that keeps the pitch steady through a Minnesota winter. Parts included.
- Travel beyond 25 miles$1 a mile
Paid at the visit by card, check or cash. Prices include tax and there is no call-out fee inside the two cities. Schools and churches can be invoiced.
Where she goes
Anywhere inside Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the first ring of suburbs, at the prices above. Farther out is fine too, with the travel charge, and Ruth tries to group visits in the same town on the same day so the drive costs you less.
- Longfellow and Seward
- Linden Hills
- Northeast
- Kingfield and Tangletown
- Mac-Groveland
- Highland Park
- Como and St. Anthony Park
- Edina and Richfield
- Roseville and Falcon Heights
- Golden Valley and St. Louis Park
Book a visit
Fill in what you can. Ruth answers within a day, usually the same evening, with two or three times to pick from.