r/pianotech

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I’m wondering what the actual demand for piano tuners is and whether this is a good career to pursue?

I was thinking of going to North Bennett for piano technology to learn piano tuning and then pursue a career. But the more I researched I’m not sure if this is the best move. It seems like most piano tuners are entrepreneurs and that salaries positions are rare. And I’m concerned bc will this career be phase four as electronic keyboards continue to be made?

I keep hearing this job is in demand but I’m not so sure as I keep researching.

I have been wanting to learn how to tune, maintain, and repair pianos for a while now. I just learned of a school in Oregon that has one-week on-site intensive trainings for aspiring piano technicians. It sounds wonderful, but it's rather expensive at $2500 for 5 days of hands-on instruction. It does sound like the instruction is very personalized and tailored to the individual participants.

Does anybody have experience or knowledge of this school and would you recommend it? Or do you have any opinion about whether this would be a good way to learn? Or any other recommendation for a short term on-site training that I should consider?

I have thought about trying to apprentice with a professional locally, and of course there are plenty of online resources. But I like the idea of a week of intensive instruction and practice.

I’m not the most seasoned technician, but I’m by far not a novice. This piano, however, makes me wanna quit.

Storytime: I tune for a music academy (9 pianos) and get a lot of clients from their recommendations. I got this one client recently, their kids attend the academy. Very nice people.

Their piano is a 1908 Kohler & Campbell full upright that has held up surprisingly well. Has some sentimental value to them but they only passingly care about cosmetics. More so they want it functional.

You can tell someone cared about this piano. The internals have been Frankenstein-ed together a few times. Mismatched hammers, muffler felt that was literally sown together like Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and used so much it was disintegrating before they even got the piano, pedal rods kept in place by a shoestring… you get it. I’m hired for a cleaning & tuning and to fix a few small things. Average day.

1st appt: going well. Fixed minor issues, cleaned up real nice, start tuning… this bad boy is wildly out of tune. Okay, I start a pitch raise. I do my best. A string breaks. I can’t finish the tuning in the time allotted, so I let them know and make another appointment. I’m finishing cleaning up the piano. I get the pedals with a bit of Brasso to really get them shining with my blue rag used for brasso only.

I’m reassembling and see something on the plate. I pick up my yellow rag (for wiping down exterior) and wipe at it a bit. The gold plating starts coming off. I freak out. I look down… this is my blue rag. I swear to god I grabbed the yellow one.

I tell them. They aren’t too worried about it. I give them the number for a restorer and tell them to keep me updated.

2nd appt: I come back for the rest of the tuning and to replace the string. While replacing the string (high treble, not to crazy), I get everything in place, triple check my work, everything looks good. I put the action back in and start tuning. The string is twisted. I look at it, making sure that’s actually the one I just replaced… yep, it is. How? Okay, action off, fix the string, back on, start tuning. I let them know it will most likely need another tune and, if they want, I can replace that muffler felt next time. They agree.

3rd appt: I come back for another tune. The tuning is holding up MUCH better than expected. Awesome! One of their keys is sticking so I remove what I can and fix it. While I’m at it, some of their keytops are loose so I reglue them. Happy to be able to throw something free in.

I set up everything to replace the muffler felt. Everything is going great and according to plan. Piano is protected with a drop cloth and I start gluing the muffler felt on.

As soon as I’m done, I look and… what is that?!? I have no idea when, but somehow my glue exploded and is all over 5 hammers and their jacks. Luckily, this glue is tacky and very easy to remove from the wood and smaller felt, but it absolutely soaked 5 hammers. Enough to drastically change the sound. I let them know and say I’ll come back to replace those hammers free of charge.

Everything else is great. Piano sounds great, muffler felt is working like a charm. Tuning is good… but, damn. This piano is haunted and the old owner hated me, I swear to god. I have NEVER made this many mistakes on one piano in my entire career.

TL:DR Please tell me your horror stories so I don’t just completely quit. I’m honestly completely scared of this piano and you cannot convince me it’s not cursed.

i’m just looking for tips on pricing larger jobs. I know to consider things like cost of parts, travel, etc. But when it comes to larger jobs, I have a hard time ascertaining the optimal price.

I’m gonna be potentially repinning a whole set of hammer flanges and I’m finding myself arbitrarily picking a cost that I think would be reasonable. Any more practical ways of determining the cost? Think in terms of per flange? Per hour and give total afterwards?

Got a small Barratt & Robinson upright and no specialist tools. Is it ok to carefully tip the whole thing onto its side, on a rug, to access the wheels?

(I want to remove the wheels and replace with flat plastic furniture sliders, to get the piano closer to the ground, and one wheel is slightly buckled anyway)

Also I’ve got a tuner coming in 4 weeks anyway, so not too concerned about any minor tuning impact, just don’t want to cause any permanent damage!

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Thanks

I have a pianola that was built in 1917 but the pneumatic pipes have perished. The keys work though to play it manually.

It was my grandmothers but unfortunately I am moving and I do not have space for it in my new home.

I live in Melbourne in the Eastern suburbs. Does anyone know how I can get rid of it. There are a lot of free ones on marketplace so I don’t think that is an option.

All advice greatly appreciated 🙂

Hello all,

I posted a few weeks ago about some snapped butt springs and you were all very helpful. I had some vibrating keys and assumed that'd be the issue since it was the main issue I could see. A technician came and fixed them and put some new bushings on the pedal rods in case they were causing the bushings.

He then put all the casing back on and played it and there were no vibrations, and then for a few days it was great with no vibrations.

But now a few days later the vibrations are back in the same sort of area, around the F# above middle C.

What other things may be causing this vibration? And why might it come and go?

Thank you

I have a 7'6" grand piano that feels a little heavy to play. The keys aren't sticking or binding, they just require more force to press than other grands of the same model and brand.

With the grand, very light playing sometimes doesn't produce a note, whereas the other same model grand I tested responds much more easily to gentle touch.

Could this be high downweight, excessive action friction, or regulation? What should I check or measure first, and how can I safely make the action lighter and more responsive?