Various pins and agraffes on a grand piano

Wrest pins in grand pianos

Steinway model B tuning or wrest pins

Tuning pins hold the string in place and are turned by a tuning lever to the correct tension. Turning the pin clockwise in creases the tension and raises the pitch.

A single tuning pin. It is made of steel The part that enters the wood and causes the grip to stop the piano from going out of tune has a shallow screw fitting. If the pins are loose then either new tuning pins need to be fitted or the wrtst plank itself needs to be changed.

Grand pianos are more comfortable to tune than upright pianos as the tuner can rest his arm on the case of the piano.














Agraffes in grand pianos
Agraffes guide the string in its journey from the pin to the back of the piano where it connects to the hitch pins (see bellow), via the bridge pins.

Steinway model B agraffes	Steinway model O aggraffes	Steinway model O agraffes

Bridge pins in grand pianos

Steinway O bridge pins for three strings	Steinway model B bridge pins for two strings

Hitch pins in grand pianos

Steinway model B hitch pins. This illustration also shows the "duplex scaling" between the hitch pins and the bridge pins. This is tuned to allow the non speaking part of the string to symathetically vibrate when the note is sounded. The effect of this is to give a high "zing" to the tone, making it more lively.