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Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
    • Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
    • Solder or weld frames of mallet instruments and metal drum parts.
    • Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
    • Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
    • Repair breaks in percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals, using drill presses, power saws, glue, clamps, grinding wheels, or other hand tools.
    • Make wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools.
    • Solder or weld frames of mallet instruments and metal drum parts.
    • Test tubes and pickups in electronic amplifier units, and solder parts and connections as necessary.
    • Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
    • Solder posts and parts to hold them in their proper places.
    • Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
    • Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments.
    • Assemble bars onto percussion instruments.
    • Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools.
    • Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
    • Wash metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solutions to remove lacquer and tarnish.
    • Deliver pianos to purchasers or to locations of their use.
    • Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices.
    • Remove drumheads by removing tension rods with drum keys and cutting tools.
    • Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
    • Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons.
    • Remove dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallets and burnishing tools.
    • Refinish instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish.
    • Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
    • Replace xylophone bars and wheels.
    • Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
    • Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
    • 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.
    • Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles.
    • Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments.
    • Clean, sand, and paint parts of percussion instruments to maintain their condition.
    • 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.
    • Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary.
    • Test tubes and pickups in electronic amplifier units, and solder parts and connections as necessary.
    • Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
    • Clean, sand, and paint parts of percussion instruments to maintain their condition.
    • String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.

    Skills

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    Knowledge

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Sales and Marketing

      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.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Administration and Management

      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.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Engineering and Technology

      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.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      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.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 43530/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 20.93/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 120
    • Yearly Projected Openings 10

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Persistence
    • Independence
    • Achievement/Effort

    Tools

    • Air hoses
    • Alcohol lamp
    • Alignment jig
    • Allen wrench
    • Angle gauge
    • Anvils
    • Applicator brushes
    • Arbors
    • Artist knives
    • Audio mixing consoles
    • Automatic lathe or chucking machine
    • Awls
    • Belt sander
    • Bench grinder
    • Blow pipe
    • Blow torch
    • Boring tool
    • Burnisher
    • C clamps
    • Cable bender
    • Calibration weights or weight sets
    • Calipers
    • Center punch
    • Chamfering machine
    • Cleaning brushes
    • Cold chisels
    • Compressed air gun
    • Conduit benders
    • Countersink tool or counterbore tool
    • Curved nose pliers
    • Depth gauges
    • Diagonal cut pliers
    • Die stocks
    • Dip tanks
    • Disc sander
    • Dollies
    • Drill gauge
    • Drilling machines
    • Electronic instrument tuner
    • End cut pliers
    • Extending clamp
    • Feeler gauges
    • Flaring tool
    • Flat nose pliers
    • Fluorescent lamps
    • Gas burners
    • Gas compressors
    • General purpose motor AC
    • Glue guns
    • Guide jig
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hand clamps
    • Hand or push drill
    • Hand reamer
    • Hand sander
    • Hand sprayers
    • Heat guns
    • Heating or drying equipment or accessories
    • Height gauges
    • Hex keys
    • Hold down clamps
    • Hole saws
    • Hook wrenches
    • Humidifiers
    • Humidity sensor
    • Incandescent lamps
    • Inspection mirror
    • Ironing machines or presses
    • Jacks
    • Knife file
    • Laboratory forceps
    • Laboratory heaters
    • Laboratory spoon
    • Lapping machine
    • Levels
    • Lighters
    • Locking pliers
    • Loupes
    • Magnetic tools
    • Magnetizer demagnetizer devices
    • Magnifiers
    • Mallets
    • Manual wire straighteners
    • Metal cutters
    • Micrometers
    • Multimeters
    • Needle file
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Nut drivers
    • Oil lubricator
    • Packing hooks
    • Planes
    • Positioning jig
    • Power buffers
    • Power drills
    • Power routers
    • Power sanders
    • Power saws
    • Precision file
    • Pressure indicators
    • Protractors
    • Pry bars
    • Pullers
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Radius gauge
    • Rotary paper or fabric cutter
    • Round file
    • Rulers
    • Sand blasting machine
    • Sash clamp
    • Saw blades
    • Saws
    • Screw clamps
    • Screw extractors
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scribers
    • Shears
    • Soldering iron
    • Spacers or standoffs
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Spray gun
    • Straight edges
    • Surface thermometers
    • T handle tap wrenches
    • Telescoping gauge
    • Tenoner or tenoning machine
    • Tension testers
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Thread counters or gauges
    • Threading die hand tool
    • Tinners snips
    • Tongs
    • Torque wrenches
    • Torx keys
    • Tube bending machine
    • Tuning bars
    • Tuning forks
    • Tuning pins
    • Tweezers
    • Utility knives
    • Web clamp
    • Welding or soldering kit
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire cutters
    • Wire gauge
    • Wire wrapping tool
    • Wood chisels
    • Work benches

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software

    Tags

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