Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

Also called: Accordion Repairer, Accordion Tuner, Band Instrument Repair Technician, Band Instrument Repairer, Banjo Repair Person

Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

Varies

estimated salary

Musical Instrument repairers and tuners repair percussion, strung, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.

  • Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
  • Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
  • Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
  • 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.
  • Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
  • Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
  • String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
  • Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
  • 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.
  • Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
  • Refinish instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish.
  • Make wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools.
  • Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments.
  • Solder posts and parts to hold them in their proper places.
  • Remove dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallets and burnishing tools.
  • Test tubes and pickups in electronic amplifier units, and solder parts and connections as necessary.
  • Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles.
  • Remove irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of pianos, using wood blocks or filing tools.
  • Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
  • Wash metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solutions to remove lacquer and tarnish.
  • Assemble and install new pipe organs and pianos in buildings.
  • Refinish and polish piano cabinets or cases to prepare them for sale.
  • Deliver pianos to purchasers or to locations of their use.
  • Remove drumheads by removing tension rods with drum keys and cutting tools.
  • Place rim hoops back onto drum shells to allow new drumheads to dry and become taut.
  • Solder or weld frames of mallet instruments and metal drum parts.
  • Repair breaks in percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals, using drill presses, power saws, glue, clamps, grinding wheels, or other hand tools.
  • Cut new drumheads from animal skins, using scissors, and soak drumheads in water to make them pliable.
  • Assemble bars onto percussion instruments.
  • Stretch drumheads over rim hoops and tuck them around and under the hoops, using hand tucking tools.
  • Cut out sections around cracks on percussion instruments to prevent cracks from advancing, using shears or grinding wheels.
  • Clean, sand, and paint parts of percussion instruments to maintain their condition.
  • File metal reeds until their pitches correspond with standard tuning bar pitches.
  • Replace xylophone bars and wheels.
  • Remove material from bars of percussion instruments to obtain specified tones, using bandsaws, sanding machines, machine grinders, or hand files and scrapers.
Work Context

Work Context information for this career will be available soon.

Work Activities
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.
  • Adjust tuning or functioning of musical instruments.
  • Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
  • Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.
  • Inspect mechanical equipment to locate damage, defects, or wear.
  • Adjust tuning or functioning of musical instruments.
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Knowledge

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.
Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills

Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting
  • Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis
  • Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Critical Thinking
  • Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
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Abilities

Hearing Sensitivity
  • The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Finger Dexterity
  • The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Manual Dexterity
  • The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Analytical or scientific software
  • Katsura Shareware KS Strobe Tuner
  • Katsura Shareware ProLevel
  • Katsura Shareware SoundFrames
  • Mensurix Audio
  • Reyburn CyberTuner
  • TuneLab
  • Tunic OnlyPure
  • Veritune Verituner