Installation, Maintenance & Repair
Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
Also called: Brass Instrument Repair Technician (Brass Instrument Repair Tech), Fretted String Instrument Repairer, Guitar Repairer, Instrument Repair Technician (Instrument Repair Tech)
US median pay
$46,420
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+1.9%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
600
6,000 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
- Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.9/5
- Troubleshooting3.8/5
- Repairing3.8/5
- Service Orientation3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Equipment Selection3.0/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.3/5
- Mechanical3.8/5
- Fine Arts3.5/5
- English Language3.4/5
- Sales and Marketing2.9/5
- Administration and Management2.9/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-secondary certificate55%
- Less than high school18%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Artistic
Creating, designing and self-expression
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.