Voicing

    A piano may need voicing if it sounds too bright or dull after tuning. When a piano hammer is too hard, the sound it produces when played is bright. On the contrary, hammers that are too soft will sound dull. Voicing involves working with the felt on the hammers to soften or harden them on the edges, resulting in a beautiful tone rather than bright or dull.  A hammer may be “voiced up” by adding a lacquer that hardens in the center of the hammer, adding more power to the tone. Hammers may also be “voiced down” by needling their edges to soften them and mellow out the tone. If a piano has a mixture of both bright and dull tones, the goal is to even out the sound across the piano.