“How long’s it been since you tuned your piano?”
When I was eight my parents bought me a Baldwin Acrosonic piano. It became a dear and faithful friend. By the time I gave it to a young seminary wife whose dream was owning a piano this instrument had thousands of moving miles wrapped around its strings.
Ten years ago a new Baldwin piano joined me – this time a grand with a glorious sound. We immediately bonded. Losing intonation was a red flag – my piano was displaying a distress signal.
This week I found an outstanding tuner whose sensitive ear and touch restored the sounding board to its optimum level. As soon as he left I sat down to play. The robust, clear sound thrilled me.
As I ran up and down the keyboard I started thinking about the necessity for my own tuning. Are there times when someone asks me, “How long has it been since you were tuned?” What does it take to carefully check each string, to make sure the tension is well-adjusted? Who can help listen and tweak motivations, decisions, and actions?
When we fail to stop and assess, our lives can start sounding a bit tinny. We begin to sound a bit off.
A great pianist once said, “When I don’t practice one day I know; two days and my coach knows; three days and everyone knows.” A life well-tuned is the same way. We can slowly grow out of tune and eventually everyone knows.
Is it time for a tuning fork? Stop before the rest of the world grimaces! Begin the joy of perfect intonation.