Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

What the job really is

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

At a glance

• Sector: Installation, Maintenance & Repair
• O*NET-SOC code: 49-9063
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.
• String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
• Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
• Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
• Mix and measure glue that will be used for instrument repair.

Tools and technology

Action regulators, Adjustable C clamps, Adjustable fret slotting saws, Agraffe removers, Air dusting guns, Air hoses, Alcohol lamps, Alignment jigs, Allen wrenches, Alligator forceps, Arbors, Arch punches

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers
• Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters
• Watch and Clock Repairers
• Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
• Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
• Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
• Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.