Tuners are professionals who help keep pianos in good working order by adjusting the piano’s workings so that the correct notes are generated when the appropriate keys are pressed. Becoming a piano tuner entails going through a process that necessitates a good ear for music as well as the ability to learn the necessary skills. You can become a piano tuner in a variety of ways, including as an apprentice to an experienced piano tuner, taking a course at a local trade or vocational school, or even learning the basics through an online or correspondence course.
Apprenticeship with an established professional is the most recommended path to take if you want to become a piano tuner. This method allows you to gain practical experience while learning the intricacies of this line of work. During the apprenticeship, the student will gain a better understanding of different types of pianos, the differences between tuning each type, and how to troubleshoot when there appears to be a specific issue preventing an instrument from tuning properly.
If obtaining an apprenticeship is not possible or practical, taking piano tuning courses is an alternative method of becoming a piano tuner. Many vocational and trade schools provide coursework relevant to this field of work. While there are often opportunities to tune several different types of pianos as part of the course’s assignments, the experience is unlikely to be as thorough as an apprenticeship. This could mean that even after completing the coursework, the new piano tuner will need to gain more experience.
If your local institution does not offer a piano tuning course, you can always pursue a career as a piano tuner through distance learning. Today, you can find online courses that teach you how to properly tune a piano, as well as correspondence courses that you can complete by mail. While these courses can be beneficial in some cases, they require significantly more effort on the part of the student because the work must be completed without direct supervision by an instructor or mentor, which can make the learning process more difficult. This indirect method of learning how to be a piano tuner may be a viable option for someone who has easy access to a piano and the discipline to complete tasks without a lot of supervision.