DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
49-9063 Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
Occupational Description:
Repair percussion, stringed, reed, or wind instruments. May specialize in one area, such as piano tuning. Excludes ?Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers" (49-2097) who repair electrical and electronic musical instruments.| Percentiles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| Minnesota | 110 | 35 | $18.94/hr | $1.16/hr | $11.92/hr | $13.46/hr | $15.95/hr | $23.63/hr | $30.09/hr |
| U S | 8,020 | 577 | $19.39/hr | $0.33/hr | $11.51/hr | $14.02/hr | $17.88/hr | $23.75/hr | $29.35/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change 2023 - 2025 | |
| Sewing Machine Operators | 1,900 | $15.54/hr | 0.1% |
| Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic | 790 | $17.50/hr | 2.2% |
| Home Appliance Repairers | 770 | $18.60/hr | 2.3% |
| Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers | 530 | $17.72/hr | 0.8% |
| Motorcycle Mechanics | 410 | $21.81/hr | 2.5% |
| Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers | 300 | $20.23/hr | 1.9% |
| Pourers and Casters, Metal | 260 | $17.76/hr | N/A |
Tasks for Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
- Cuts new drumhead from animal skin, using scissors.
- Removes drumhead, using drum key and cutting tools.
- Places rim hoop back onto drum shell to allow drumhead to dry and become taut.
- Strikes wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, such as xylophone or vibraharp, to ascertain tone.
- Repairs breaks in percussion instruments, such as drums and cymbals, using drill press, power saw, glues, clamps, or other hand tools.
- Repairs or replaces defective, broken, or worn parts, using hand tools, power tools, glue, and nails.
- Disassembles and reassembles instruments and parts to tune and repair, using hand tools and power tools.
- Removes irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of piano, using wood block or filing tool.
- Compares pitch of instruments with specified pitch of tuning tool to tune instrument.
- Cleans instruments, using vacuum cleaner.
- Mixes and measures glue.
- Makes wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools.
- Assembles and installs new pipe organs and pianos in buildings.
- Inspects and tests parts of pianos, pipe organs, accordions, and concertinas to determine defects, using hand tools, gauges, and electronic testing equipment.
- Adjusts alignment, string spacing, and striking point of hammers of piano, using wrench, burner, shims, and bushings.
- Adjusts lips, reeds, or toe hole of organ pipes, using hand tools, to regulate airflow and loudness of sound.
- Adjusts felt hammers on piano to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddle, lacquer, or needles.
- Repairs broken parts, using glue, clamp, and handpress.
- Strings instrument and adjusts truss and bridge of instrument to obtain specified string tension and height.
- Refinishes instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish.
- Adjusts string tension to tune instrument, using hand tools and electronic tuning device.
- Disassembles instrument or bow, using hand tools.
- Removes cracked, worn, or broken parts of instrument, using heated knife and hand tools.
- Assembles instruments according to specifications, using hand tools.
- Tests tubes and pickups in electronic amplifier units, and solders parts and connections.
- Plays instrument to determine pitch.
- Carves wood replacement parts, such as wedges or plugs, according to the shape and dimensions of the instrument or bow.
- Inspects musical instruments, such as cellos, violins, guitars, and mandolins, to determine defects.
- Reassembles instrument or bow with new or repaired part, using glue, hairs, yarn, resin, and clamps.
- Disassembles instrument parts, such as keys, pistons, and other parts, to tune or repair, using gas torch and hand tools.
- Files reed until pitch corresponds with standard pitch of tuning bar.
- Lubricates and reassembles instrument, using hand tools and soldering iron or torch.
- Removes dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallet and burnishing tool.
- Operates bellows to sound metal reed and ascertain its pitch.
- Shapes old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathe, or soldering iron.
- Washes metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solution to remove lacquer and tarnish.
- Polishes instrument, using rag and polishing compound, buffing wheel, or burnishing tool.
- Compares pitch of reed with pitch of tuning bar.
- Inspects mechanical parts of instrument to determine defects.
- Replaces worn pads and springs, using hand tools.
- Repairs cracks in wood or metal instruments, using wire, lathe, filler, clamps, or soldering iron.
- Stretches skin over rim hoop, using hand tucking tool.
- Removes dents in tympani, using steel block and hammer.
- Compares tone of bar with tuned block, stroboscope, or electronic tuner.
- Cleans, sands, and paints parts of percussion instruments to maintain their condition, in accordance to blueprints and shop drawings.
- Solders or welds frames of mallet instruments and metal drum parts.
- Assembles bar onto instruments.
- Removes material from bar, using bandsaw, sanding machine, machine grinder, or hand files and scrapers, to obtain the specified tone.
- Soaks drumhead in water to make it pliable.
