Installation, maintenance and repair
Musical instrument repairers and tuners
Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.
Median pay
$46,420
Growth to 2035
+2%
little or no change
Openings a year
600
Time to qualify*
4 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Musical instrument repairers and tuners
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Apprenticeship
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to musical instrument repairers and tuners
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hazardous conditions
Musical instrument repairers and tuners: 38% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
Also called: Brass Instrument Repair Technician (Brass Instrument Repair Tech) · Fretted String Instrument Repairer · Guitar Repairer · Instrument Repair Technician (Instrument Repair Tech) · Luthier · Musical Instrument Repair Technician (Musical Instrument Repair Tech) · Piano Technician (Piano Tech) · Piano Tuner
Outlook and AI
Musical instrument repairers and tuners held 6,000 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 6,100 by 2035 (+2%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
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