I have been a piano tuner/technician since 1977 and have never known any tuner to do 4 or 5 tunings a day. I believe it is an urban legend and/or the tuners exaggerate to make it sound like they are in such demand. I spend about 2 hours at a tuning sometimes more if required and then the driving time to and from the job. Do the math and you are looking at 12 hour days when all is accounted for. Most pianos I come across have not been tuned in YEARS and it takes a lot of time to get the job done. In our So. Cal. climate pianos do not have the drastic swings in pitch as they might in other parts of the country so the customer will not usually tune again tell they can't stand it anymore and by then they are so far out it takes 2 hours or more.
I think it varies on how much time is spent on a tuning appointment as well. On an average tuning appointment, I will spend about an hour tuning or 1-1/4 hours if I have to do a pitchraise. I know another technician in our area who is very skilled and used to work for Steinway as one of their concert techs and he typically spends about 35 minutes on an average tuning. Also, much of my work is done in churches and schools where I have multiple pianos in one appointment. In those cases, it's not difficult to tune 3 or sometimes 4 pianos before lunch.
are there piano tuners that actually get to tune 4 pianos a day every day all year long I have been tuning for 30 years and do not have that many customers! I am impressed if you can get that kind of customer base. Good for ya lad!
I just use that as an example. Realistically a piano technician does do other work besides just tuning such as repairs and regulation work, but many technicians can stay as busy as they would like to be year round. I have heard of some technicians tuning 1,000 pianos or more per year so it is possible, but it depends on the area you're in. With our online business I don't have enough time to tune that much.
I've found that prices in L.A. are LESS than rural areas. Partly because there are more technicians and also because driving distance/time is less (technicians will focus on certain parts of the city. Where it's more rural, drive time to/from appointments is more, so travel time is longer, and I've found fewer techs in those areas, making demand for them in those areas higher.
This is probably a little outdated as wages have gone up quite a bit in the last few years, but the principles talked about are the same. Also, as mentioned, the rates vary quite a bit from one area to another.
I’ve always only taken cash or check, but if you get set up with other payment options you could offer that. You just have to figure in if there are any fees for that as that can take some of your earnings.
With 600 plus tuner graduates being launched on the UK market by the education authority has effectively almost destroyed some piano tuners. The number of places for courses was increased by 400 per cent a few years ago. Even before it was difficult to earn a living. I am a former works manager to a large music chain. Now we specialise in restoring vintage STEINWAY grands to compare favourably with the maker. Needless to say many of those graduates are not too pleased!
Yes, there has to be a balance between the number of pianos and the number of piano technicians. I feel like in the USA there is starting to be a deficiency in the number of technicians compared to the need. The reason for this from my viewpoint is that so many of the technicians are retiring and not as many getting into the trade. We definitely are going to need more highly skilled technicians.
@@ronaldware1239 I've been looking into training in the UK. Apart from Newark and another one year course in Nottingham there aren't any other courses apart from Steinway. London Living in Wales it poses a problem. Where did these 600 get trained?
The charge to tune a piano often depends on three distinct criteria: (1) the age and condition of the piano, (2) the last date of service/tuning, and (3) geographic/economic location. Example: A 60 year old, >10+ year untuned, non-reconditioned piano will cost more to tune, than a 10 year old regularly serviced instrument. If the piano has been serviced regularly, and is no more than 5-10 cents flat (A440hz), >$100 in most instances and locations is a fair price to begin at, depending entirely, of course, on the quality of the tuning and the experience of the tuner/technician.
Policies as to when to charge and what to charge for a pitch raise is something that I have found varies, sometimes greatly, among tuners. While tuners in the same area may have standard tuning fees that are close in price, the actual price a customer will pay may very quite a bit depending on the particular pitch raise policy of the tuner they choose. In my own practice a piano that is 30 cents low would require what a call a "minor pitch raise" this is a pitch raise that can be accomplished in one pass through the piano and as a rule of thumb is needed for pianos that have not been tuned for five or more years. For this I charge about a third of what I charge for a standard tuning. For pianos that have not been tuned for over 10 years, what I call a "major pitch raise is generally required. This is a pitch raise of around a 80 cents or more that will require two passes to accomplish and costs around half of my standard fee. After many years of struggling to find a pitch raise policy that I that was fair to both me and my clients this is the policy that I finally landed on and one I have been happy with for many years now.
It all depends on what kind of area you are in and what kind of competition you have. If you are in an area with a lot of pianos and not many technicians, you can certainly keep a full schedule year round.
Obviously in a large city like Los Angeles there will be an abundance of pianos. There are also many piano technicians. Most of the highly qualified technicians will only be working on concert level instruments for the most part, but there are always many people who have older pianos that also need serviced. If you have less experience you'll want to make sure your prices are lower than someone who is much more experienced. There are a number of different ways to advertise. Here is a video that talks about some of the different marketing methods: ua-cam.com/video/9BjsQz9UGvM/v-deo.html
I'm a little put off by the best local shop's cost. They charge a $125 flat fee for tuning, I wanted a quick touch up that took the technician less than a half hour and he billed me $125! And the hourly for regulation is $85. I feel like this is a little high as I live very close to the technician. What are your thoughts?
Rates can vary quite a bit depending on your location and the competency level of the technician. I know in some areas you can easily pay well over $125 for a standard tuning by a well qualified technician. Large cities will generally be higher priced than smaller cities or rural areas. And you will pay a higher price for a more experienced or advanced technician. If you're unhappy with the price, you can always shop around, though remember that just because someone is less expensive doesn't mean that they will be as qualified. So all of that said it is difficult to say if you got charged too much without knowing the level of the technician or the area you're in. In our area, the best technicians charge around $100 for a standard tuning but we aren't in a large city.
We don't really have a video on diagnosing a buzzing key. There are quite a few things that could cause this. It could be a loose screw in the piano somewhere or it could be a string that isn't properly seated on the bridge or it could be something sitting on the soundboard or it could be a crack in the soundboard. There are other things, but these are the first things that come to mind.
You wouldn't need to have 1,000 customers in order to tune 1,000 pianos per year. If you have a number of churches and schools that have multiple pianos and tune more than once per year, this can add quite a bit to the number of pianos. I know in the spring when it is time for the schools to host their local music festivals, I can end up tuning 30 pianos between 3 different schools. This doesn't count all of the other events schools will need their pianos tuned for. I have many churches with 2-4 pianos and they have them tuned a couple of times a year and sometimes 3 times a year. I realize if you're in a small community this may be difficult, but if there is enough population then it certainly is feasible. I'm not located in a very large city, but we have enough population around to have plenty of pianos to care for.
I have been a piano tuner/technician since 1977 and have never known any tuner to do 4 or 5 tunings a day. I believe it is an urban legend and/or the tuners exaggerate to make it sound like they are in such demand. I spend about 2 hours at a tuning sometimes more if required and then the driving time to and from the job. Do the math and you are looking at 12 hour days when all is accounted for. Most pianos I come across have not been tuned in YEARS and it takes a lot of time to get the job done. In our So. Cal. climate pianos do not have the drastic swings in pitch as they might in other parts of the country so the customer will not usually tune again tell they can't stand it anymore and by then they are so far out it takes 2 hours or more.
I think it varies on how much time is spent on a tuning appointment as well. On an average tuning appointment, I will spend about an hour tuning or 1-1/4 hours if I have to do a pitchraise. I know another technician in our area who is very skilled and used to work for Steinway as one of their concert techs and he typically spends about 35 minutes on an average tuning. Also, much of my work is done in churches and schools where I have multiple pianos in one appointment. In those cases, it's not difficult to tune 3 or sometimes 4 pianos before lunch.
This video is 8yo. I would like to see it updated for 2023
You can essentially double these prices, tuning a piano for $80 is severely undercharging now
are there piano tuners that actually get to tune 4 pianos a day every day all year long I have been tuning for 30 years and do not have that many customers! I am impressed if you can get that kind of customer base. Good for ya lad!
I just use that as an example. Realistically a piano technician does do other work besides just tuning such as repairs and regulation work, but many technicians can stay as busy as they would like to be year round. I have heard of some technicians tuning 1,000 pianos or more per year so it is possible, but it depends on the area you're in. With our online business I don't have enough time to tune that much.
I've found that prices in L.A. are LESS than rural areas. Partly because there are more technicians and also because driving distance/time is less (technicians will focus on certain parts of the city. Where it's more rural, drive time to/from appointments is more, so travel time is longer, and I've found fewer techs in those areas, making demand for them in those areas higher.
can go by the clock guy too? I seem to make as much as him.
This is probably a little outdated as wages have gone up quite a bit in the last few years, but the principles talked about are the same. Also, as mentioned, the rates vary quite a bit from one area to another.
i tuned up to 10 pianos in day! :)
but it when i prepared musical school to study year.
What method of payment do you recommend when charging on tuning? Can one take paypals, Venmo’s and other digital methods?
I’ve always only taken cash or check, but if you get set up with other payment options you could offer that. You just have to figure in if there are any fees for that as that can take some of your earnings.
With 600 plus tuner graduates being launched on the UK market by the education authority has effectively almost destroyed some piano tuners. The number of places for courses was increased by 400 per cent a few years ago. Even before it was difficult to earn a living. I am a former works manager to a large music chain. Now we specialise in restoring vintage STEINWAY grands to compare favourably with the maker. Needless to say many of those graduates are not too pleased!
Yes, there has to be a balance between the number of pianos and the number of piano technicians. I feel like in the USA there is starting to be a deficiency in the number of technicians compared to the need. The reason for this from my viewpoint is that so many of the technicians are retiring and not as many getting into the trade. We definitely are going to need more highly skilled technicians.
but experience cannot be taught!
Hey Ronald. I am 19 and thinking of becoming a piano technician here in London (part time/full). Are there any advice would you give me?
Thanks
@@ronaldware1239 I've been looking into training in the UK. Apart from Newark and another one year course in Nottingham there aren't any other courses apart from Steinway. London Living in Wales it poses a problem. Where did these 600 get trained?
greetings. I have seen their videos. I would like to know soon as charge set a grand piano. Thank you.
The charge to tune a piano often depends on three distinct criteria: (1) the age and condition of the piano, (2) the last date of service/tuning, and (3) geographic/economic location.
Example: A 60 year old, >10+ year untuned, non-reconditioned piano will cost more to tune, than a 10 year old regularly serviced instrument.
If the piano has been serviced regularly, and is no more than 5-10 cents flat (A440hz), >$100 in most instances and locations is a fair price to begin at, depending entirely, of course, on the quality of the tuning and the experience of the tuner/technician.
Dear sir: You didn't define what is a piano tuning. If a piano is 30 cents below standard pitch, is that a standard piano tuning?
Policies as to when to charge and what to charge for a pitch raise is something that I have found varies, sometimes greatly, among tuners. While tuners in the same area may have standard tuning fees that are close in price, the actual price a customer will pay may very quite a bit depending on the particular pitch raise policy of the tuner they choose. In my own practice a piano that is 30 cents low would require what a call a "minor pitch raise" this is a pitch raise that can be accomplished in one pass through the piano and as a rule of thumb is needed for pianos that have not been tuned for five or more years. For this I charge about a third of what I charge for a standard tuning. For pianos that have not been tuned for over 10 years, what I call a "major pitch raise is generally required. This is a pitch raise of around a 80 cents or more that will require two passes to accomplish and costs around half of my standard fee. After many years of struggling to find a pitch raise policy that I that was fair to both me and my clients this is the policy that I finally landed on and one I have been happy with for many years now.
Theres no way Im gona find 4 pianos a day to tune! is that really something you can expect? seems like a lot.
It all depends on what kind of area you are in and what kind of competition you have. If you are in an area with a lot of pianos and not many technicians, you can certainly keep a full schedule year round.
thank you
Im in Los Angeles actually, would you consider that a good thing?
Obviously in a large city like Los Angeles there will be an abundance of pianos. There are also many piano technicians. Most of the highly qualified technicians will only be working on concert level instruments for the most part, but there are always many people who have older pianos that also need serviced. If you have less experience you'll want to make sure your prices are lower than someone who is much more experienced. There are a number of different ways to advertise. Here is a video that talks about some of the different marketing methods: ua-cam.com/video/9BjsQz9UGvM/v-deo.html
Great video
I'm a little put off by the best local shop's cost. They charge a $125 flat fee for tuning, I wanted a quick touch up that took the technician less than a half hour and he billed me $125! And the hourly for regulation is $85. I feel like this is a little high as I live very close to the technician. What are your thoughts?
Rates can vary quite a bit depending on your location and the competency level of the technician. I know in some areas you can easily pay well over $125 for a standard tuning by a well qualified technician. Large cities will generally be higher priced than smaller cities or rural areas. And you will pay a higher price for a more experienced or advanced technician. If you're unhappy with the price, you can always shop around, though remember that just because someone is less expensive doesn't mean that they will be as qualified. So all of that said it is difficult to say if you got charged too much without knowing the level of the technician or the area you're in. In our area, the best technicians charge around $100 for a standard tuning but we aren't in a large city.
Great info, thanks. Do you have a video on how to fix a note that buzz. My A 440 buzz a little.
We don't really have a video on diagnosing a buzzing key. There are quite a few things that could cause this. It could be a loose screw in the piano somewhere or it could be a string that isn't properly seated on the bridge or it could be something sitting on the soundboard or it could be a crack in the soundboard. There are other things, but these are the first things that come to mind.
howardpianoind - thanks for taking the time to reply. 👍
How would someone get 1,000 clients ???
You wouldn't need to have 1,000 customers in order to tune 1,000 pianos per year. If you have a number of churches and schools that have multiple pianos and tune more than once per year, this can add quite a bit to the number of pianos. I know in the spring when it is time for the schools to host their local music festivals, I can end up tuning 30 pianos between 3 different schools. This doesn't count all of the other events schools will need their pianos tuned for. I have many churches with 2-4 pianos and they have them tuned a couple of times a year and sometimes 3 times a year. I realize if you're in a small community this may be difficult, but if there is enough population then it certainly is feasible. I'm not located in a very large city, but we have enough population around to have plenty of pianos to care for.