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Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.

Related: Coil Winders, Tapers, & Finishers Electric Motor, Power Tool, & Related Repairers Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers Timing Device Assemblers & Adjusters Watch & Clock Repairers

Industries: Retail Service

Summary
Details

Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
Make wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools.
Refinish instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish.
Wash metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solutions to remove lacquer and tarnish.
Refinish and polish piano cabinets or cases to prepare them for sale.
Refinish and polish piano cabinets or cases to prepare them for sale.
Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
Disassemble instruments and parts for repair and adjustment.
Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
Remove irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of pianos, using wood blocks or filing tools.
Solder posts and parts to hold them in their proper places.
Remove dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallets and burnishing tools.
Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments.
Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles.
Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
Mix and measure glue that will be used for instrument repair.
Assemble and install new pipe organs and pianos in buildings.
Assemble and install new pipe organs and pianos in buildings.
Deliver pianos to purchasers or to locations of their use.

Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Apprenticeship

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

44750/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

21.51/hr

Currently Employed

370

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness

Air hoses
Alcohol lamp
Alignment jig
Allen wrench
Angle gauge
Anvils
Applicator brushes
Arbors
Artist knives
Audio mixing consoles
Automatic lathe or chucking machine
Awls
Belt sander
Bench grinder
Blow pipe
Blow torch
Boring tool
Burnisher
C clamps
Cable bender
Calibration weights or weight sets
Calipers
Center punch
Chamfering machine
Cleaning brushes
Cold chisels
Compressed air gun
Conduit benders
Countersink tool or counterbore tool
Curved nose pliers
Depth gauges
Diagonal cut pliers
Die stocks
Dip tanks
Disc sander
Dollies
Drill gauge
Drilling machines
Electronic instrument tuner
End cut pliers
Extending clamp
Feeler gauges
Flaring tool
Flat nose pliers
Fluorescent lamps
Gas burners
Gas compressors
General purpose motor AC
Glue guns
Guide jig
Hacksaw
Hammers
Hand clamps
Hand or push drill
Hand reamer
Hand sander
Hand sprayers
Heat guns
Heating or drying equipment or accessories
Height gauges
Hex keys
Hold down clamps
Hole saws
Hook wrenches
Humidifiers
Humidity sensor
Incandescent lamps
Inspection mirror
Ironing machines or presses
Jacks
Knife file
Laboratory forceps
Laboratory heaters
Laboratory spoon
Lapping machine
Levels
Lighters
Locking pliers
Loupes
Magnetic tools
Magnetizer demagnetizer devices
Magnifiers
Mallets
Manual wire straighteners
Metal cutters
Micrometers
Multimeters
Needle file
Needlenose pliers
Nut drivers
Oil lubricator
Packing hooks
Planes
Positioning jig
Power buffers
Power drills
Power routers
Power sanders
Power saws
Precision file
Pressure indicators
Protractors
Pry bars
Pullers
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Radius gauge
Rotary paper or fabric cutter
Round file
Rulers
Sand blasting machine
Sash clamp
Saw blades
Saws
Screw clamps
Screw extractors
Screwdrivers
Scribers
Shears
Soldering iron
Spacers or standoffs
Specialty wrenches
Spray gun
Straight edges
Surface thermometers
T handle tap wrenches
Telescoping gauge
Tenoner or tenoning machine
Tension testers
Thickness measuring devices
Thread counters or gauges
Threading die hand tool
Tinners snips
Tongs
Torque wrenches
Torx keys
Tube bending machine
Tuning bars
Tuning forks
Tuning pins
Tweezers
Utility knives
Web clamp
Welding or soldering kit
Wire brushes
Wire cutters
Wire gauge
Wire wrapping tool
Wood chisels
Work benches

Analytical or scientific software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

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