Hitting the right note, one restored P.E.I. piano at time

Beneath the dust and grime lives a nearly hundred year old piano and technician Max Keenlyside is going to do his best to bring the musical instrument back to its natural beauty.

He vacuums the back boards, re-inserts keys, tightens strings and sits down for a test. In a moment, ragtime music fills the home as another P.E.I. piano sings out.

"I get great joy out of knowing that these old bits of history are getting acquired by people who are wanting to preserve them and invest in them," Keenlyside said.

He is comfortable on the piano as a musician and composer but out of necessity found himself working on the tuning and restoring side of the pianos.

"There's a more concentrated demand in P.E.I. right now because of the lack of resident tuners," Keenlyside said.

"It's a profession that needs young blood. There are more piano technicians retiring than there are emerging in the field, so I think it's important to not only keep the industry running but also to show the general populace that it's still a relevant thing and that caring for their pianos is something that should still be done."

It's a profession that needs young blood.— Max Keenlyside

He found demand for his services has grown as there currently seems to be no other Island-based tuners, leaving people with pianos no choice but to bring someone from off-Island to work on their instruments.

Even though he's still a student — studying music in New Brunswick — requests for tuning and restoration mean he travels to and from the Island several times a month.

"I have an apt in N.B., but come back to the Island almost every single weekend, usually every weekend or every other weekend, and I'll visit my parents who live in Charlottetown and stay with them while I do a number of Island tunings and then go back." Keenlyside said.

He's picked up hundreds of new clients since he started working on pianos in 2014.

Old pianos finding new homes

People like this piano's new owner, John McMillan.

McMillan wanted to learn how to play piano and decided to look online for a cheap one as he wasn't sure how the learning would go. He was surprised to find this piano for free — even though it took four people to get it in his house.

He called Keenlyside to see if the new-to-him piano was even worth the effort.

"To find out that this particular piano is almost 100 years old … and is in good condition, can be restored, and tuned and to hear an accomplished pianist play it is just, to me, unbelievable," McMillan said.

Future of Island pianos?

Keenlyside has seen a number of pianos change hands and believes that there will always be a demand to have them worked on.

"Very often pianos that seem — for all intents and purposes that they would be completely dead — are the same ones that have the most potential to be beautiful instuments."

Keenlyside is scheduled to graduate this spring from the music program he is taking.

He said his growing client list means he can move back to the Island and set-up shop full-time.

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