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Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

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

What you’d do

  • Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
  • Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
  • Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
  • 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.
  • Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
  • Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
  • Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.

Skills that matter

  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Repairing
  • Troubleshooting
  • Critical Thinking
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Judgment and Decision Making

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Instrument Repair Technician (Instrument Repair Tech)
  • Luthier
  • Piano Technician (Piano Tech)
  • Piano Tuner
  • Brass Instrument Repair Technician (Brass Instrument Repair Tech)
  • Fretted String Instrument Repairer

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