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Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

The occupation Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners covers people who repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. O*NET rates it as medium preparation, which usually means one or two years of vocational training, an apprenticeship or an associate’s degree. It leans on quality control analysis, troubleshooting, and repairing. You may also need to adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices. On the six-type interest model it reads RCA, meaning hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world comes first, followed by orderly work with data, records and clear procedures. People who want hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world usually fit better here than those who need leading, persuading and making business decisions.

What they do

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

Main tasks

  • 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.

Skills

  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Critical Thinking
  • Service Orientation
  • Judgment and Decision Making

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You are willing to put in a year or two of focused training.
  • You are comfortable relying on quality control analysis and troubleshooting.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather stay away from physical, hands-on tasks.
  • You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You need to start within a few months, with no training period.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code RCA takes the three highest, and Realistic comes first here.

Preparation

Medium preparation. Expect vocational school, an apprenticeship, related experience or an associate’s degree, usually one or two years in total.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Post-Secondary Certificate. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

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

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.