Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum How and Why did you become a tech?

I am very intrested to know. I am trying to find someone to apprentice under, but it might be tricky being 16. Is that the way to go?

-Jon W

Hi Jon,

Why? Well, I found I enjoyed the work and the environment; working for myself. Also, I have a background in engineering and music, so piano tuning was a good mix of those skills and interest.

How? At first I joined the PTG and went to their monthly meetings. At the same time I purchased the Reblitz book and read it cover to cover. I volunteered at a rebuilding facility for a summer. I went to PTG conventions. I took a rebuilding course from another technician.

I have also condensed all the skills and information I gathered in the first two years and pass it on through courses I offer. Some other techs may get annoyed that I mention this but the truth is, I learn more about piano tuning and repair from teaching it, than from just reading about it. The act of teaching serves to solidify concepts one thinks one may know, into solid knowledge that a person can be confident about; students challenge knowledge and force us to re-examine our own ability and confidence.

Good luck,

16 is not too early to start, in many countries in the world people this age are already beginning their first steps towards a skilled trade. I think that the trade seems to draw folks who recognize that they work well with their hands, have a connection with the instrument (or other instruments/vocals) such as playing or even listening.

Some of the work requires patience and abiity to handle delicate/intricate tasks. Some tasks are repetitious and straightforward, others require some detective work and ability to solve problems and associate causality to an issue at hand. Most importantly, a bit of humbleness and an understanding that the learning process never ends when stepping into this work.

Its hard to say what the future holds for this work so I would think that it would be a good idea not to abandon general studies/education at this young age. Its nice to have something else to fall back on to should something come along that wipes out this trade. A self tuning piano, a digital that truly emulates an accoustic, or even a shift in consumer needs could spell the end of what we have become accustomed too.

It seems impossible to imagine, but when I think that piano tuning as a skill has only been widely practised in the past 120 or so years, it's not as hard.

Well, I am going to try to get a job at Meyer Music. They have many of pianos and other instruments. That seems like a great opportunity for me to get my feet wet. Also, how much does it cost to go to the meeting for PTG?

Hi Jon,

Don't forget about Schmitt Music. You might PM Daryl Durand for some advice. He is a frequent poster here.

BTW - Kansas City is the home of the PTG.

Jon, I apprenticed when I was 16, and I'm 52 now.

When it looked like I was getting serious about singing, my parents found an old upright player piano so I could have something to practice on; I still have it. I was fascinated to learn what made it work, and I began tinkering with it, taking it apart and reassembling it, much to my parents' initial shock and dismay (my dad: "I hope, for your sake, you can put that thing back together."). They sought a rebuilder for whom I could apprentice, and I interviewed with him. I worked in his shop for about 2-1/2 years.

Schmitt Music is a little far for me to drive after school. Does anyone know of any good tech in missouri/kansas that i might be able to apprentice under?

Jon,

Daryl is a tech and PTG member.

Mark, you were not on this site when we had a fellow posting about the self tuning piano he had designed. It used individual optical sensors for pitch recognition and heated each string through resistance process to bring it into pitch. Its been a few years now since he announced it, it looked quite feasable and promising. Not sure what happened since.

It wouldnt last. As soon as the power goes out, the piano would be super out of tune (if it wasnt tuned for a while). At least I hope it doesnt last.

How did pianos get tuned before 1893?

Some techs believe that pianos didn't exist before 1893. Cristofori is just a quaint little tale like the Easter Bunny.

Wait. Pianofortes or actual modern-like pianos? Ahh... ok, I see.

Some techs would rather jump at the chance to make someeone else look foolish rather than try to understand the essence of a post. One suggestion might be to read the whole post. Words are used for a reason. Try and reread my post and concentrate on the word "widely". If after that, you are still confused, maybe we could delve into another one of those long, drawn out, boring waste of time threads that these forums are famous for...or not.

Jon,

Do you play the piano? If not, what sparked your interest?

It's just me putting my foot in my mouth. Anywho, I appreciate all of the answers. Along with Meyers, I may also call a few tech to see about apprenticing.

I'm not trying to make you look foolish. I meant to be asking a serious question with an economy of words. I did notice the word "widely", but it still didn't explain your original statement to me. I would have expected that keyboard instruments needing tuning were widely distributed before 1893, and so I would have expected the need for tuners to be widely distributed. Perhaps I am wrong in that. I would still appreciate elucidation. What changed around 1893?

I started playing piano at age six and started teaching piano when I was seventeen at a private music school.

My father had a well tooled hobby woodworking shop, so I already knew quite a bit about tools, and I was mechanically inclined since being a child.

There was a piano tech next door to the school where I taught. I approached him and said I would work for free for a week, and if he liked how I was learning and working, he would hire me.

I have been doing work for him ever since. He was a great mentor.

PianoStudent88,

Keyboard instruments, with stretched strings fastened to a peg for adjustment, go way back to the early Renaissance. Tuning, as a skill, can be traced back at least that far. Long before the Pianoforte, Harpsichords and all of its cousins, needed to be tuned. It is not, at all, a recent concept.