Musical Instrument Repairer or Tuner
Other Titles
Brass Instrument Repair Technician, String Instrument Repairer, Guitar Repairer, Instrument Repair Technician, Piano Technician, Piano Tuner, Stringed Instrument Repairer
Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects.
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.
Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required.
Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments.
String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights.
Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools.
Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons.
Mix and measure glue that will be used for instrument repair.
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.
Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments.
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.
Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles.
Remove irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of pianos, using wood blocks or filing 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.
Repairing→ Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting→ Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis→ Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Critical Thinking→ Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making→ Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management→ Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Listening→ 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→ Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Operation Monitoring→ Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Service Orientation→ Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking→ Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning→ Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Equipment Maintenance→ Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection→ Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Monitoring→ Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension→ Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Social Perceptiveness→ Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Getting Information→ Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems→ Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public→ 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→ Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material→ Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Controlling Machines and Processes→ Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles.
Thinking Creatively→ Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment→ Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic principles.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People→ Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work→ Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Scheduling Work and Activities→ Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships→ Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Performing Administrative Activities→ Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge→ Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events→ Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization→ Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates→ Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Monitoring and Controlling Resources→ Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information→ Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings→ Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Selling or Influencing Others→ Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Performing General Physical Activities→ Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others→ Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Training and Teaching Others→ Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.
Align equipment or machinery.
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.
Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
Solder parts or connections between parts.
Inspect mechanical equipment to locate damage, defects, or wear.
Remove dents from equipment, materials, tools or structures.
Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning.
Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.
Prepare compounds or solutions to be used for repairs.
Refinish wood or metal surfaces.
Fabricate parts or components.
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.
Hearing Sensitivity→ The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Arm-Hand Steadiness→ 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→ 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→ 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→ The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Control Precision→ The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Near Vision→ The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Deductive Reasoning→ The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning→ The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Problem Sensitivity→ 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.
Visualization→ The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Flexibility of Closure→ The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Information Ordering→ The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g. , patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Oral Comprehension→ The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression→ The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Selective Attention→ The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Category Flexibility→ The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Multilimb Coordination→ The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Speech Recognition→ The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity→ The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
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.
Fine Arts→ Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mechanical→ Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Language→ Knowledge of the structure and content of a language - English, French, Swahili et cetera - including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Air hoses
Alcohol lamp→ Alcohol lamps
Alignment jig→ Alignment jigs; Key button jigs; Neck jigs
Allen wrench→ Allen wrenches
Angle gauge→ Flute gauges; Hammer angle gauges
Anvils→ Bench anvils
Applicator brushes→ Glue brushes
Arbors
Artist knives→ Felt cutting knives
Audio mixing consoles→ Looping machines
Automatic lathe or chucking machine→ Bench lathes
Awls→ Pointed awls
Belt sander→ Belt sanders
Bench grinder→ Bench grinders
Blow pipe→ Blowpipes
Blow torch→ Blow torches; Butane heaters; Pencil torches
Boring tool→ Bore tools
Burnisher→ Burnishing rings; Flute body mandrels; Flute head mandrels; Hand burnishers; Scraper burnishers
C clamps→ Adjustable C clamps; Deep throat C clamps
Cable bender→ Bending irons; Damper spoon benders
Calibration weights or weight sets→ Gram weights
Calipers→ Dial calipers
Center punch→ Center pin punches
Chamfering machine→ Chamfer tools
Cleaning brushes→ Bench brushes; Bore cleaning brushes; Brass mouthpiece brushes; Valve brushes
Cold chisels
Compressed air gun→ Air dusting guns
Conduit benders→ Heat staking tools
Countersink tool or counterbore tool→ Countersinks
Curved nose pliers
Depth gauges→ Fret slot depth gauges
Diagonal cut pliers→ Diagonal cutters
Die stocks
Dip tanks→ Chemical dip tanks
Disc sander→ Disc sanders
Dollies
Drill gauge→ Drill gauges; Wire drill gauges
Drilling machines→ Drill presses
Electronic instrument tuner→ Digital tuners; Electronic tuners
End cut pliers→ End cut nippers
Extending clamp→ Cam clamps
Feeler gauges
Flaring tool→ Tubing shrinkers
Flat nose pliers→ Duck bill pliers; Jaw pliers; Long flat nose pliers
Fluorescent lamps→ Leak lights
Gas burners→ Bunsen burners
Gas compressors→ Sprayer compressors
General purpose motor AC→ Bench motors
Glue guns
Guide jig→ Post drilling jigs
Hacksaw→ Hacksaws
Hammers→ Dent hammers
Hand clamps→ Feeler gauge holders; Pin vises; Soldering clamps
Hand or push drill→ Hammer head borers; Hand drills
Hand reamer→ Barrel reamers; Broaches; Flange bushing reamers; Hammer head reamers; Jack spring hole reamers; Pin hole reamers; Socket reamers
Hand sander→ Fret dressing sticks
Hand sprayers→ Precision spray guns
Heat guns
Heating or drying equipment or accessories→ Pad cup heaters
Height gauges→ Height measurement gauges; Key dip blocks; Neck relief gauges; Nut slotting gauges; String height gauges; Top deflection gauges
Hex keys→ Ball-end hex keys; Bracket hex wrenches; Hex drivers
Hold down clamps→ Violin clamps
Hole saws→ Tone hole cutters
Hook wrenches→ Damper rod hooks
Humidifiers→ Guitar humidifiers
Humidity sensor→ Digital humidity gauges
Incandescent lamps
Inspection mirror→ Inspection mirrors; Valve mirrors
Ironing machines or presses→ Flute pad irons
Jacks→ Grand piano jacks; Scissor jacks
Knife file→ Nut files
Laboratory forceps→ Alligator forceps; Curved nose forceps
Laboratory heaters→ Glue pots
Laboratory spoon→ Wax spoons
Lapping machine→ Valve lapping machines
Levels→ Clarinet pad leveling tools; Fingerboard levelers; Flute key leveling tools; Piano leveling devices; Sharp leveling and key-dip devices
Lighters→ Spark lighters
Locking pliers→ Vise grip pliers
Loupes
Magnetic tools→ Pencil magnets; Telescoping magnetic pickup tools
Magnetizer demagnetizer devices→ Magnetizers
Magnifiers
Mallets
Manual wire straighteners→ Hart spring tools
Metal cutters→ Spring cutters
Micrometers
Multimeters
Needle file→ Needle files
Needlenose pliers→ Chain nose pliers
Nut drivers
Oil lubricator→ Bench oilers; Oilers; Precision oilers
Packing hooks→ String hooks
Planes→ Hand planers; Hand planes
Positioning jig→ Saddle locating jigs; Soldering jigs
Power buffers→ Buffing machines
Power drills
Power routers→ Routers
Power sanders
Power saws→ Portable band saws
Precision file→ Fret end dressing files; Fret files; Razor files
Pressure indicators→ Mag machines
Protractors→ Hammer angle protractors
Pry bars→ Punching lifters; String lifters
Pullers→ Agraffe removers; Piano stringing hooks
Punches or nail sets or drifts→ Arch punches; Piano tuning pin punches; Punches; Spring punches; Tuning pin bushing punches
Radius gauge→ Radius gauges; Understring radius gauges
Rotary paper or fabric cutter→ Felt cutters
Round file→ Rat tail files
Rulers→ Regulating gauges; String action gauges; String spacing rules
Sand blasting machine→ Sand blasters
Sash clamp→ Fingerboard band clamps
Saw blades→ Screw slotters
Saws→ Adjustable fret slotting saws; Bridge pin hole slotting saws; Cross-cut saws; Gauged saws; Japanese fret saws; Pearl cutting saws; Refret saws; Rip saws
Screw clamps→ Edging clamps; Soundhole clamps; Spool clamps
Screw extractors
Screwdrivers→ Flange screwdrivers; Grand screwdrivers; Regulating screwdrivers; Slotted screwdrivers
Scribers→ Magnetic scribers
Shears→ Curved nose scissors
Soldering iron→ Soldering irons
Spacers or standoffs→ Hammer butt spacers; Piano key spacers
Specialty wrenches→ Action regulators; Bushing inserters; Endpin jack wrenches; Gripper truss rod wrenches; Hammer shank reducers; Jack screw regulators; Key bushing tighteners; Key easing tools; Lost motion regulators; Output jack wrenches; Piano regulators; Pocket truss rod wrenches; Tuning wrenches
Spray gun→ Automated sprayers
Straight edges→ Fret rockers
Surface thermometers
T handle tap wrenches→ Tap wrenches
Telescoping gauge→ Telescoping gauges
Tenoner or tenoning machine→ Tenon expanders
Tension testers→ Gram tension gauges
Thickness measuring devices→ Screw gauges; Tuning pin gauges
Thread counters or gauges→ Screw pitch thread gauges
Threading dies→ Thread cutting tools
Tinners snips
Tongs→ Soldering clips
Torque wrenches
Torx keys→ Torx drivers
Tube bending machine→ Dent machines
Tuning bars→ Tuning hammers; Tuning levers
Tuning forks
Tuning pins→ Piano tuning pin cranks; Piano tuning pin extractors; Tuning pin setters
Tweezers→ Cross lock tweezers
Utility knives→ Purfling cutters; Seam separation knives
Web clamp→ Band clamps
Welding or soldering kit→ Heat control units
Wire brushes→ File cleaners
Wire cutters
Wire gauge→ Music wire gauges
Wire wrapping tool→ Coil makers
Wood chisels
Work benches→ Bench blocks
Realistic→ 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→ 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.
Investigative→ 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.
Conventional→ 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.
Attention to Detail→ Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability→ Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity→ Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence→ Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Independence→ 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→ Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Initiative→ Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Analytical Thinking→ Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Adaptability/Flexibility→ Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Self Control→ Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation→ Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Stress Tolerance→ Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Innovation→ Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Concern for Others→ Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Independence→ Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement→ 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.
Working Conditions→ Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.