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>Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Examples
These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, travel guides, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters, and medical assistants.
Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $23K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $29K
Median Salary: $36K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $47K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $60K
Demand
Core Tasks
Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments.
Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
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.
Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
Solder posts and parts to hold them in their proper places.
Remove dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallets and burnishing tools.
Test tubes and pickups in electronic amplifier units, and solder parts and connections as necessary.
String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles.
Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
Remove irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of pianos, using wood blocks or filing tools.
Mix and measure glue that will be used for instrument repair.
Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
Refinish instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish.
Make wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools.
Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
Wash metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solutions to remove lacquer and tarnish.
Assemble and install new pipe organs and pianos in buildings.
Refinish and polish piano cabinets or cases to prepare them for sale.
Deliver pianos to purchasers or to locations of their use.
Place rim hoops back onto drum shells to allow new drumheads to dry and become taut.
Remove drumheads by removing tension rods with drum keys and cutting tools.
Solder or weld frames of mallet instruments and metal drum parts.
Repair breaks in percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals, using drill presses, power saws, glue, clamps, grinding wheels, or other hand tools.
Assemble bars onto percussion instruments.
Cut new drumheads from animal skins, using scissors, and soak drumheads in water to make them pliable.
Clean, sand, and paint parts of percussion instruments to maintain their condition.
Cut out sections around cracks on percussion instruments to prevent cracks from advancing, using shears or grinding wheels.
File metal reeds until their pitches correspond with standard tuning bar pitches.
Stretch drumheads over rim hoops and tuck them around and under the hoops, using hand tucking tools.
Replace xylophone bars and wheels.
Remove material from bars of percussion instruments to obtain specified tones, using bandsaws, sanding machines, machine grinders, or hand files and scrapers.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Customer and Personal Service
86%
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Fine Arts
69%
Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mechanical
69%
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
English Language
67%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management
58%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical
57%
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Mathematics
56%
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sales and Marketing
56%
Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Engineering and Technology
51%
Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
50%
Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Top 10 Skills
Repairing
78%
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting
75%
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis
73%
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Critical Thinking
70%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
68%
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management
65%
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Listening
63%
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving
63%
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Operations Monitoring
63%
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Service Orientation
63%
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Top 10 Abilities
Hearing Sensitivity
83%
The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
80%
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Finger Dexterity
80%
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Manual Dexterity
80%
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Auditory Attention
78%
The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Control Precision
78%
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Near Vision
78%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Deductive Reasoning
73%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning
73%
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Problem Sensitivity
70%
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Top 10 Work Activities
Getting Information
85%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
85%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
83%
Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Handling and Moving Objects
78%
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Controlling Machines and Processes
76%
Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material
76%
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Thinking Creatively
76%
Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
75%
Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
73%
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
73%
Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Detailed Work Activities
Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.
Adjust tuning or functioning of musical instruments.
Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
Reassemble equipment after repair.
Lubricate equipment to allow proper functioning.
Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.
Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
Inspect mechanical equipment to locate damage, defects, or wear.
Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.
Prepare compounds or solutions to be used for repairs.
Refinish wood or metal surfaces.
Fabricate parts or components.
Align equipment or machinery.
Solder parts or connections between parts.
Remove dents from equipment, materials, tools or structures.
Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning.
Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order.
Assemble mechanical components or machine parts.
Travel to work sites to perform installation, repair or maintenance work.
Remove parts or components from equipment.
Operate welding equipment.
Cut materials according to specifications or needs.
Paint surfaces or equipment.
Work Context
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Electronic Mail
How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Freedom to Make Decisions
How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Deal With External Customers
How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Frequency of Decision Making
How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Structured versus Unstructured Work
To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
Education
Interests
Realistic
100%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic
67%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Conventional
58%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative
58%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Enterprising
24%
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social
19%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Top 10 Work Styles
Attention to Detail
99%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability
94%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity
90%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
88%
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Independence
87%
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Achievement/Effort
82%
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Initiative
80%
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Analytical Thinking
79%
Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Adaptability/Flexibility
78%
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Self Control
77%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Work Values
Achievement
62%
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Independence
62%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Working Conditions
46%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition
39%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Relationships
39%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
39%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
