Crowley Piano Services

09/18/2026

I was called out to Skokie to do a few repairs on an upright Wurlirtzer. Here’s a look at a repair on a broken shank in an upright piano. In this case, the shank broken # cleanly above the hammer butt and did not require extracting the shank, but rather keeping all the original parts, and curing the hammer while we tuned the piano. I was warned that the parts on this piano were brittle ahead of time, so I took care when removing the action. While we had it pulled, I decided to also fix some broken bridle straps, jack flanges, replaced a felt, eased a couple keys, and fixed a bobbling hammer.

09/07/2026

School is back in session and September is a great month to get all the work you’ve been meaning to do on your piano! Here’s a snapshot of a few appointments from last week! Hilton Old Town School of Folk Music

07/24/2026

Here at the big annual Piano Technician’s Convention in DC with the Piano Technicians Guild ! Only one day left, but have learned a lot and seen a lot of cool stuff here. Looking forward to next year already!

07/16/2026

Got an email requesting to tune the piano in UP Comedy Club The Second City. High humidity has started pushing pianos sharp this summer. Venues especially deal with this issue in addition to fluctuating humidity as crowds fill in and out of the space. We also found a key wasn’t working due to a swollen bushing around the center-pin at the key’s jack. Luckily today all that was needed was a quick action pull and lubricating the part. If you find your piano sounding a bit too sharp this Summer, shoot me a message and schedule a tuning!

06/15/2026

I was on call for three days as the piano tech for this album. The Steinway that was used for this recording was a Model D, and when I first arrived at the venue it was significantly flat, required a pitch raise and a couple small repairs. It was a bit more challenging of a job than I anticipated going into it, but I’m proud of the result and was in awe of the talent of everyone involved. The whole album releases on July 3rd and will be available here on Apple Music. https://music.apple.com/us/album/where-are-you-tonight/6773832570?i=6773832576

Here is the spot that aired back in March on CBS Chicago:
https://youtu.be/SHIhYyqJlYk?is=jYABWa_DnrPJA2HE

In these high-tech days, letter writing seems to be a lost art rele...

06/13/2026

Well, I got a new ride. Not long after I posted my last story featuring my new car magnets on the Jeep Compass, I got this Kia Sportage Hybrid. I’ve been all over Chicago the last two weeks, and been enjoying the new car. Today I had an appointment with a client who had recently purchased a used grand piano that was producing an unpleasant buzz on select notes in the bass and tenor. I spent about half an hour tightening loose screws in the action of the piano, trying to find culprit(s) that were producing this sympathetic vibration. Ended up being about 6 different slightly loose screws in the hammer rest rail, the dampers, and the plate. Pianos have over 10,000 individual parts and roughly 500 screws both structurally and within the action alone. Finding where that sympathetic vibration is occurring takes a good ear and a knowledge of how to disassemble the piano. If your piano is suffering a similar problem, shoot me a message and we can schedule a time to fix it!

04/08/2026

🎹 Here’s a look at some of what goes into a full service appointment! This piano made by Knight, a company out of London had a significant amount of debris beneath the keys. We cleaned it up and fixed a few bobbling hammers while also raising the piano’s pitch. Full service appointments are generally recommended for pianos that haven’t been tuned in over two years and include any small repairs that can be completed within the allotted time. Send me a DM or schedule online at crowleypiano.com if you’d like to get your piano sounding its best!

🎥:

03/09/2026

✨ This video was taken while getting the grand ready for the concert. 🎹 Piano tuning is one of those crafts most people never see—but every great performance depends on it.

If you’ve got a piano in Chicago that needs some love, send us a message , or self schedule at crowleypiano.com

Chicago piano owners—when was the last time your piano was tuned? 🎥:

03/06/2026

This client’s piano was wildly out of tune. The before/after charts in the video show the ideal curve of this piano’s tuning with the yellow line. The white dots show the actual pitch of the piano at each note. After a full service appointment, we got it sounding much better!

03/04/2026

What is a Piano Life Saver System?
Consistent humidity is what keeps a piano healthy and allows pianos to maintain stable tunings for longer periods of time. Even the best HVAC systems often fail to keep pianos within their ideal range of 37%-43%. Especially in Chicago, we see drastic changes in humidity from season to season. Over time, cracks can begin to form in the soundboard, pinblock, action parts, etc., all of which are piano killers. A Piano Life Saver System keeps humidity consistent by constantly measuring the humidity and automatically turning on the appropriate system when necessary. Your purchase comes with a 5 year warranty when installed by a professional technician.