Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum How old were you when you started tuning?

I'll have to retire when they don't let me drive anymore!

17. My dad was the kind of man who could handle virtually any household repair or service: plumbing, electrical, TV, washing machine or dryer, all maintenance on the cars, etc. but not tuning the piano. He resented having to have someone else do that. So, when I saw an ad in a music trades magazine for a correspondence course that offered lessons and tools and I had my own paper route money to pay for it, he was all for it. I was a music student in high school at the time.

As an engineer, he was fascinated with the action and how it worked. So was my oldest brother. Both of them had worked as engineers at Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles but they had wide eyed fascination with how a piano action worked.

My dad really wanted me to follow in his footsteps but he was encouraged and encouraged me when I showed that I could make money tuning and servicing pianos. He actually had good advice for me just by looking at a piano action: tighten the flanges. Of course, it says to do that in any piano service manual but apparently it does not sink in for many technicians. It is absolutely fundamental.

He also had an eye for evenness and alignment. He would look at my study guide and then look at the piano and with no experience at all as a piano technician, he could guide me and critique my work.

People do become piano technicians for any variety of reasons. The most important one is the desire to do it. Second is attention to detail. Third is a sense of accomplishment. An aptitude for mechanical skills is helpful but if you are clumsy at first, you can overcome that with sheer repetition. Having music skills is not actually a fundamental requirement but it sure does come in handy.

As a pianist, you must have had to play on pianos that were not very well in tune and probably not in perfect working order most of the time. Becoming a piano technician affords you the opportunity to actually experience something better under your own hands and ears. The only downside to that sometimes is that one becomes overly critical and cannot enjoy piano music for what it is anymore. One focuses more on the perfection or lack thereof from the piano. It is not true for everyone but for many piano technicians, it is.

One absolute recommendation I have is to learn first to tune by ear. Otherwise, you may find it far too difficult later on.