Greetings all,
I have been playing piano for years and now I'm a college student majoring in music. Over the last year though I've become interested in working as a piano technician, and have been training as such.
Just curious to see what some of your early experiences were. How old were you when you started? Apprenticing? When you went professional?

I was 16 years old when I first started!

Hard to say when exactly. I collected my first fee from a customer when I was 14, so it had to be some time before that. I used to go with my father sometimes when I wasn't in school and he'd sit me beside him on the bench when he was tuning and I'd have to pull out the temperament strip when he was ready to move to the next note. At first he'd tell me and eventually I knew. I did bridle straps when I was in 3rd grade.

But I didn't pass my PTG exam until I was 21, so Lucas has me beat by 3 years, there. (At the time it wasn't called RPT, it was "Craftsman".

I've been at it for 50 years now and I'm still learning. It wasn't until about 20 years ago that I was happy with my own tunings -- although other people were.

17

17 When I started learning, working for Curtis Music Stores in Lynn, MA.

Old Raymond Curtis was about 80 then (1968), and had once worked in the Chickering factory.
George Cole was a graduate of North Bennett Street. Two great guys.

As Keith says, still learning.

I was about 20, in college. I was recently on campus tuning pianos, realizing that it is unlikely that any of the students who will be taking classes were born when I started tuning those pianos.

Started apprenticing at 23.

about 18 if I remember correctly, as I was not allowed to learn really tuning before one year in the workshop. I did pitch rise pianos, mostly the ones I did restring. so lets say 19

It was not exactly the same as apprenticing but I went to the school once a month.

Before then we had a friend, a woman that was tuning and repairing pianos, and I did came by her on some week ends, with curious eyes I did look at her and gave a hand at some occasion.

My impression at those times is that many techs where protecting their knowledge much more than necessary (I refrain now to add (knowledge or limits, as I discovered later).

Your grandmother's age, 59. (It was a fifth career.) First internship at 60, store work from 60 to 62, on my own (independent practitioner) at 62. In my class at the North Bennett Street School, the median age was about 42.

That is amazing, Dorrie, was not it very difficult to learn the lever manipulation, you did tune vertical pianos left handed ? I am about 60 and avoid tuning much vertical pianos a day ;

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Quick response to Olek: 1) My previous job was nursing, home and hospital, which involved a lot of heavy lifting. 2) The extension hammer, because of the laws of physics, can be an aging technician's best friend; extended, it allows tuning with delicacy and accuracy rather than force alone. Now, back to the OP's question.

19 years old.

19 also. I am now 49.

I started teaching piano and playing for money when I was 16. My father had a great woodworking shop, so I was exposed to tools and workmanship at a young age.

Being a tuner tech was a natural evolution.

I was 14 when I started harpsichord lessons. The first lesson was to tune the instrument in several (unequal) temperaments with understanding.

Kees

I was around 18 or 19. My college teacher was in poor health, and had a hps. He thought I had a decent ear and offered to show the essentials of Equal Temperament. From there, I got into pianos. Gave it up for a number of years during other musical career paths, but got back into it as I neared retirement. I know I tune better now than I used to.

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.

Wow! I'm amazed at how young many of you got into this! I was 24. I had a short career as a practical nurse before I went back and finished my Bachelors degree. My last year at The Evergreen State College is when I met Mitch Kiel (who was the local PTG chapter President at the time) who was very generous and encouraging. Now I'm 47 and finally starting to get it figured out!

I was 36 when I started in 1995. I'd played drums professionally, worked at a christian TV station, was a Minister of Music at a church and even delivered pizza's.

The school I went to taught with an ETD (Electronic Tuning Device) so, looking back, I think I'm a new generation of tuners that has never tuned totally by ear.

Like Ryan, I too am surprised at how young some people got into this!

I grew up in a piano shop. Started working on pianos as soon as my father would trust me doing whatever. Strung my first piano at 13. Rebuild some uprights before I was 16 and had the best car in school. My father was a great tuner tech so we had it worked out that I ran the shop and he was on the road.
I started tuning when I was 15 and never made it my profession as I love the rebuilding work. I did tune 3 pianos in my showroom today but I cant wait for tomorrow cause I'm hanging hammers. If I ever stop having rebuilding work I'll go out tuning but as of now that will not be anytime soon.
I'm going to teach my 15 year old son to tune and perhaps my other two kids as well if they are interested.

My uncle was a jazz pianist who always had a tuning hammer with him. He showed me how to use it mostly because I was a overly rambunctious 7 year old pestering him at family functions. (And, I always made sure he had a cold beer and a clean ashtray.) Years later my aunt told me I was the only person he ever let touch his piano.

I was 28-29 when I got started tuning professionally.

But where are the folk that started at 45 ... or 65?? C'mon, step up. There are many folk that came to this later on in life and are doing well. Let's hear your story on how you switched from archaeology to piano technology! (real case!)

Ok Keith. I was 18 when I started with Palings in Sydney as a work experience, but I did not continue because the firm closed down soon after I started. I then pursued other careers but tuned casually. My last previous job was analysing environmental radionuclides at the CSIRO for 10 years. In 2009 I attended a PianoTechnician conference in Brisbane out of curiosity and bumped into Randy Potter. Randy gave me his demonstration manual so that he didn't have to lug it back home. I started up the business straight away, posted a few ads, and I have never looked back.

So I was 18 when getting my first experiences, 57 when I restarted and now I am 63 with no thought of ever retiring. The early experience provided an invaluable grounding in traditional techniques.

Congratulations to you, Chris!

early 50's...3rd-ish career...well kind-a. Went through conservatory in composition and voice-(tenor-early music)... attempted to be a performer in my 20's...bagged it(bad idea)...started building houses...houses morphed to historic reproduction and conservation of windows for 20 odd years...music sat neglected for a very long time.

Late 40's, music comes back, tentatively...while working on a CD of my compositions, realized how bad all the pianos I had ever played were. Realized my reluctance to sit down and play had a huge amount to do with the awful sound of the pianos I had played. I had spoken to tuners about what I was missing in the sound,and the ones I had spoken to had told me what I wanted to hear could not be done. Ahem...once I realized this was big time not correct, the gloves were off.

Music is back...the technician, bellywork, and tuning have given my ears and playing a clarity it never had at 20. I call it 20's lite...all the excitement, lots of life experience and none of the bloody hormones. The musician's ears have taught my technicians brain much as well...Voice is back too...heywhatdayouknowaboutthat...I should'a done this many years ago...oh well.

At 61 I feel the excitement of what I do as if I were 20. As long as I keep my hat on, covering what has been purported to be receding hairline, and don't look in the mirror too much, the illusion and of being young is still there. No desire to retire...I'm just getting started, and all the various threads from my previous activities are all coming together in this work.

I don't feel the desire to retire either. I will be 63 next weekend and I am far from that! People in this profession often do not retire until they physically can no longer work.

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

I'll bet that many if not most of your clients will offer to pick you up and drop you off to keep having you tune their piano.

Hey that's pretty similar to what I've been doing!
My dad is a general contractor; He does construction, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, household repairs, etc.
I remember when I was little, we got an old piano that was in very rough shape, and he essentially took it apart an rebuilt it into pretty good working order, even with no prior piano experience. I was constantly exposed to his work and watched him build and fix all kinds of things for years, and I think that early experience along with actual piano lessons has led me on a good path. From the tuning I've done so far, I find it very enjoyable and it is indeed a satisfying work.

Amateur tuner on own piano - started last May when I was 67

Ian

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Started a Niles Bryant home-study course during the summer after a year of college. I then found part time work at a Baldwin dealership while studying Music. One day we were delivering a piano and the owner turned to me and said; 'Middle-C is sticking! Do something!'. Turned out to be a return spring out-of-place. Easy fix from a visual inspection. Owner ended up giving me all his tools, books, and supplies and I became a (cheap) way for him to get his pianos serviced.

That was ....back a ways. I've been tuning since 1977. You do the math.
;>)