Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning.
Also called: Brass Instrument Repair Technician (Brass Instrument Repair Tech) · Fretted String Instrument Repairer · Guitar Repairer · Instrument Repair Technician (Instrument Repair Tech) · Luthier · Musical Instrument Repair Technician (Musical Instrument Repair Tech)
Median pay (national)
$45,320
$30,130–$73,430 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
5,730
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+1.4%
~600 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for musical instrument repairers and tuners shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $73,430 versus $30,130 at the bottom 10% — 2.4x. The median of $45,320 leaves roughly 62% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +1.4% from 2024 to 2034 — slower than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 600 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 32 states with released data, Nevada pays the most for this role (median $66,460, +47% vs the national median), while Georgia sits lowest at $25,420 — a 161% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
Tools & technology
- Katsura Shareware KS Strobe Tuner
- Katsura Shareware ProLevel
- Katsura Shareware SoundFrames
- Mensurix Audio
- Reyburn CyberTuner
- TonalEnergy Tuner & Metronome
- Tunable Instrument Tuner
- TuneLab
- Tunic OnlyPure
- Veritune Verituner
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Fine Arts
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Sales and Marketing
- Engineering and Technology
- Physics