New pianos tend to go out of tune much faster during the settling period of their lives. After that first warranty tuning, you will probably need to have it tuned three more times during the first year. They also require to be used as much as possible so it settles properly.

In time, after the piano settles (adapts itself to the environment), and its materials reach their “maturity”, the tuning will hold longer.

For example: For an average family piano two tunings a year (or once every six months) are recommended. However, it may vary depending on your piano, its environment, and the use you give to it. On the other hand, a concert piano, in addition to its regular maintenance, must be tuned before every presentation, and sometimes even during a pause within the performance.

Even further, every piano manufacturer has standards as of materials, designing and building procedures that give different requirements of maintenance to its instruments. In the Technical Bulletin “What manufacturers have to say“, published by the Piano Technicians Guild, Inc.