Tuning in China

[Kerry]

I was in Xiamen for a month in October-November to refresh my Mandarin (I
read Chinese and was fluent in speaking years ago, but since have become
rusty). Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province across from Taiwan, is
well-known in China for its pianists, especially a small island there named
Gulangyu (with a fabulous piano museum - worth a sidetrip if you're in the
vicinity).

 

While I was there I arranged with friends to tune some pianos to help defray
costs. I can only speak to my limited experience in that small area, but I
found that while there are some tuners there, the quality of work did not
seem to be very high. For one thing, all the pianos I tuned needed pitch
raising, even though some had been tuned recently.draw your own conclusions.

 

On availability of work, there are a lot of pianos, at least in the Xiamen
area, and I think that's typical of the cities. Everyone lives in apartments
or condos, some really run-down but also some of the most beautiful,
fabulously decorated places I've ever been in. Most of the tuners seem to
work out of a store - no one I spoke to had heard of anyone having a totally
independent business. A professor of piano at Xiamen University told me that
he could arrange as much work for me as I could handle, and that he didn't
trust any of the local techs to do decent work. As far as pay, I got 200
yuan per tuning (about $30), so it's not high. Also, getting around is a
little tricky - their addressing system is not as easy as ours - and no
Mapquest. On the other hand, most stuff is cheap there - I could buy a nice
lunch, including a big bottle of beer, for about $1.50 so it sort of
balances out. And I was always treated as an honored guest - it was expected
that I would sit first and chat over tea, which was excellent for my
purposes in practicing Mandarin. 

 

China's going through some incredible changes, so there's no telling what
the environment will be like in just a few years, but there are lots of
opportunities there. I spoke with several friends who agreed that a tuning
school would go over big, for example. The primary issue for anyone wanting
to work in or with China is understanding the culture, which is hugely
different (like the fact that 99% of the drivers on the road have only 2-3
years of experience or less - it's a real wild west on the streets there!)
All in all, it was a great trip and a fascinating place and I'll definitely
go back. 

 

Kerry Kean

 

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From: itunepiano at aol.com [mailto:itunepiano at aol.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 9:52 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Tuning in China

 

Considering all the growth in the Chinese piano industry, I wonder if they
have a shortage of tuner/techs in China.  Can anyone describe  the tuning
environment in China?  Is the pay good?   Is there a shortage of techs?
Just curious.   Bob.

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