Professional Piano Tuners come in all shapes, genders and sizes. It doesn't matter what your religion, ethnicity or personal features are.
What is important is that you know what you are doing and how to do it. As a customer you want to understand the credentials of the professional you are employing and what that means. Here are a couple of routes people might have taken in to being a professional piano tuner:
1. An Apprenticeship. As a traditional trade many piano tuners, technicians and restorers have been through an apprenticeship. During the 1900s this was the preferred method of mentoring and passing on skills for many trades e.g. construction, electrician, plumber.
Apprenticeships vary in length and skill base, for example a piano tuner might not have all of the skills of a piano technician, or a piano restorer. One massive benefit of doing an apprenticeship is that you have the opportunity to learn the most relevant and important things in that environment and working trade. A good apprenticeship will scaffold the knowledge building on your skill base each month and ensuring that you have a well rounded education and experience base. An apprenticeship is an excellent way of gaining almost entirely all hands on experience.
An apprenticeship is still a very common and respected way of becoming a piano professional. Ask your piano tuner/technician/restorer how they gained their skills.
2. A University Course. More recently you have been able to study the piano at a university level. The most known British course for this is at Newark College where you can gain a BA in Piano Tuning and Restoration. This is a standardised 3 year course including written and hands on work. The course includes things such as the History Of The Piano and How To Make Technical Tools. As this is a newer method of gaining professionalism in the trade there are less people that have this qualification.
By asking your piano tuner you can find out what sort of skills they gained at University. Follow the link to find out more about the course at Newark College.
3. A Short Course. There are some course which are offered in the UK which are considered short courses, either mere weeks or a year in length. These vary in the skill set they teach and the level of experience and skills which the piano tuner will have afterwards. Most piano technicians would work at a junior level following this to gain further experience in the trade. Most recognised of these is currently The Piano Technology School by Steve Droy in Rugby.
Steve offers a comprehensive short course and is accredited by names such as Kawai, Bluthner and Steinway and has a strong desire to help the next generation of technicians come in to the trade. Click on the link below to find out more about The Piano Technology School.
These are three of the most common ways that a piano tuner becomes a "professional". Each route requires the student to build and hone their skill base and understanding, using practical hands on experience and guided teaching.
We are confident that any piano tuner, technician and/or restorer should be competent at their role after one or more of these routes. Don't hesitate in asking your professional how they became, a professional!
We hope that this blog post has helped you understand What Makes A Professional Piano Tuner, A Professional and encourage you to speak to your piano tuner today.
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