[pianotech] I'm interested in becoming a piano tuner/technician

[John Ross]

A place to start is the book, Piano Servicing, Tuning and Rebuilding, by Arthur A Reblitz.
It is my understanding, that a lot of people started this way.

Serious study can be had by purchasing the Randy Potter course, I think around $1500 US., http://www.pianotuning.com/

As to why no one appeared to want to help you, it is a matter of economics.
There are only so many pianos, in your area, and an extra tuner, who would probably charge less while learning, might have an effect on their bottom line.
John Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tyler Ferrari 
  To: pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 4:39 PM
  Subject: [pianotech] I'm interested in becoming a piano tuner/technician


  Hello everyone.

  I own a new Yamaha U1 upright and I have been tuning it myself for the last six months using some ETD software, and some aural techniques. I don't have any training, but I'm absolutely certain that I have developed a reasonable technique for tuning my piano. I'm very anal about tuning with all of the instruments I play, which is why I decided to take up the rigorous task of tuning my own piano to begin with. I believe that I am actually quite good at tuning my piano, yet I know I am missing a lot of the techniques that aren't exactly intuitive.

  I live in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, and I've been e-mailing and phoning various piano technicians locally and offering to pay them to answer some questions and show me some techniques. No one is interested in doing this for pay, and I'm not exactly sure why.

  I believe that I would be a proficient enough tuner after another year or so of practice, and would like to do it part time for extra income as well as for the sake of having another music-related hobby. The issue is that I know that I'll require a 'technician' side - what if a string breaks? What if some minor regulation work needs to be done?

  I've perused the internet and I'm not entirely sure of where to begin. I am aware of some of the training options including formal instruction, but I am not interested in that. I am a quick learner, and I have a passion for music. I am very mechanically inclined and am able to make small action adjustments on my piano just based on intuition by looking at how the action works. I certainly have dedication to learning, and have fine attention to detail as well as a deep interest in the science behind a lot of the method.

  This message is a little convoluted, but I hope you guys (and gals) understand what I'm trying to get at here! Where do I begin?

  Please pass along any helpful information - whether it be your suggestions, opinions, facts, or reading materials you suggest etc.

  It is much appreciated.

  -Tyler


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Messenger has tons of new features that make chatting more fun. Click here to learn more. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090310/d98a9a36/attachment.html>