REGULATION  -Kind of like chiropractic for your piano-
 

Each time you hit a key on a piano, it pushes up a complicated mechanism that would eventually throw a hammer onto a set of strings, lifts a damper from said strings, places the hammer back in position to get ready for the next stroke.  Among those parts there are multiple points that can be adjusted to a fraction of a millimeter.  Adjustment of these small parts to improve touch and response, and to prevent malfunctions, is called Regulation.

 

Since so many of these parts are made of wood, felt, and metal, the slightest change in climate can affect their performance and can prevent you from developing advanced touch and technique.

 

Why have I never heard of this "regulation" you talk of?

 

People talk a lot about tuning, but you don't hear about regulation as much. Why is that?  The reason behind this is because it requires a technician to know so much more about piano's structure and materials.  Less experienced tuners who only learned to tune pianos through little training will often ignore what's going on with the action because they don't know how to work with it.

 

Proper regulation will help you play with more dynamics, develop proper technique, get better sound, and prevent damage to crucial action parts.