How we list, and what we will not do.

Real businesses only. Every entry on this directory is a genuine, verifiable piano business. We do not invent tuners, teachers, shops or names to make a town look busier than it is, and we do not generate listings from guesswork. If we cannot confirm a business from a real source, it does not get published. That rule has a cost. Some towns have fewer listings than you might expect, and the directory grows steadily rather than all at once. A short list you can trust is worth more than a long list you cannot, and where a source will not load we would rather show fewer real entries and say so than fill the gap with anything made up. Of 858 businesses we list, 168 carry a website on file and 809 are independent or owner-run.

Where our information comes from

We build records from sources that can be checked.

• For tuners, the recognised trade registers, in practice the Pianoforte Tuners' Association (PTA) and the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology (IMIT), along with the tuner's own listing.
• For teachers, the teaching associations such as EPTA, the European Piano Teachers Association, and the teacher's own details.
• For shops and dealers, manufacturer dealer locators, the shop's own website, public mapping data from OpenStreetMap, and company registration details.
• Where a business has confirmed its own details with us directly, we treat that as the most reliable source of all.

We do not copy another directory wholesale, and we do not scrape sites whose terms forbid it. A listing is built from primary sources or it is not built. Every entry carries its provenance, and where it is useful a listing shows when it was last checked. We attribute OpenStreetMap on our open data page.

We favour independents

When we build out a category we put independent and small businesses first: sole-trader tuners, private teachers, family-run shops, one-person parts suppliers. These are the people who do good work but rarely get found, because chains and paid adverts sit on top of them everywhere else. Larger businesses can still be listed where they are genuinely useful, but the directory is built to give independents a fair shot at being seen.

What blank fields mean

If a field on a listing is empty, it means we have not yet confirmed that detail from a reliable source. A missing phone number, website or opening time is not a judgement on the business. We would rather leave it blank than print something we are not sure about. If you run the business and a field is blank or wrong, the quickest fix is to claim the listing or contact us, and we will check what you send against the source and update it.

How often we update

We add and review listings regularly rather than in one big dump, which keeps the checking thorough. Existing listings are corrected on an ongoing basis, and always when someone reports a problem. If you spot an error, a closure or an out-of-date detail, tell us through the contact page. Reports from owners and from people using the directory are the fastest way we keep it accurate, and we act on them. Corrections and removals are free, and you do not have to be the owner to report a problem.

The one part of the trade we run ourselves, piano moving, storage and disposal, is set out openly on our disclosure so you always know which hat we are wearing.