How to become a musical instrument maker or tuner

Official title: Musical instrument makers and tuners

Also called: Brass instrument repairer, Piano tuner, Stringed instrument maker, Woodwind instrument maker

Musical instrument makers and tuners make, assemble, repair, adjust and restore musical instruments and tune them to the required pitch with hand or power tools. They usually specialize in one type of instrument, such as stringed instruments, brass instruments, reed instruments, pianos or percussion instruments.

Main tasks

• Fabricating and assembling musical instruments and instrument parts of wood, ebonite, metal, leather and other materials
• Repairing or replacing musical instrument parts and components such as strings, bridges, felts and keys, using hand and power tools
• Playing and inspecting instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects
• Adjusting string tensions to achieve proper tone or pitch of stringed instruments
• Adjusting lips, reeds, or toe holes of organ pipes, using hand tools, to regulate airflow and loudness of sound
• Tuning and servicing pipe organs by adjusting pitch of organ A pipes to conform with pitch of the tuning fork and adjusting pitch of other pipes with reference to pitch of tuned pipes
• Installing new drumheads in percussion instruments
• Tuning accordions by aurally comparing pitch of reeds with master reeds and filing reeds to obtain standard pitch
• Aligning pads and keys on reed or wind instruments
• Tuning percussion instruments to required pitch by tightening or loosening cords holding leather pieces fixed atop or at both ends of the instrument

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$21,000 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Sign writers, decorative painters, engravers and etchers
• Jewellery and precious-metal workers
• Precision-instrument makers and repairers
• Handicraft workers in textile, leather and related materials
• Handicraft workers not elsewhere classified
• Glass makers, cutters, grinders and finishers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a musical instrument maker or tuner?

Usually not. Only 9% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a musical instrument maker or tuner?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026