Should you tune your Clavinet yourself? Absolutely yes!

And in fact, we suggest you should. Because the Clavinet has strings that are under similar tension to a guitar, they can go out of tune quite quickly, expecially when played frequently or there are changes in temperature and humidity (i.e. its been in the back of your car for 3 months)

The strings are easy to adjust, but tuning a keyboard instrument is certainly more difficult than a clavinet. We use professional piano tuning software to tune our electric pianos; but a inexpensive guitar tuning app can do a decent job on a Clavinet. A quick tuning before a gig or session can make that out of tune note go away and you’ll be thanked for it!

The tuning process:

Below the keys is a rail that can be removed to reveal the tuning pegs that the strings are wrapped around. You can remove this by unscrewing the thumbscrews on either side and in the middle. Each string has a tuning peg similar to a guitar. But on a Clav these need to be adjusted by a small flathead screwdriver. The process is quite intuitive, turn the screwdriver clockwise to make the pitch sharp, and anti-clockwise to make it flat.

Using an electronic tuner this can take around 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer if it’s your first time. Check that the octaves sound in tune and also test the fifths. Hearing the beats can take some practice but it is well worth it. Be aware that the tuning peg for a note is not the key above it – the corresponding key is usually an octave above. See the guidance note on the right hand side of the tuning rail.