About This Career

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

This career is part of the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications cluster Performing Arts pathway.

A person in this career:

• Plays instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
• Adjusts string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
• Reassembles instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricates instruments as necessary.
• Disassembles instruments and parts for repair and adjustment.
• Repairs or replaces musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
• Inspects instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
• Compares instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
• Strings instruments, and adjusts trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
• Polishes instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
• Repairs cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Detecting sounds and hearing the differences between sounds of different pitch and loudness
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel