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Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere

How to become a Piano Tuner

Adjusts the sound of pianos, taking into account how a piano is built and how it behaves.

Workers in this job say vocational college (senmon gakko) or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but many people study the necessary knowledge and skills at a training school run by a piano maker, a senmon gakko (vocational college) or the tuning department of a music university. To enter a tuner training school you need a keen ear for sound and fingers that can reach an octave on the keyboard. There are also written tests and aptitude tests. Training takes one to two years, or one to four years including specialist courses. Gaining work experience after starting and then the national trade skills test (ginou kentei) in piano tuning helps you earn customers' trust. Some tuners start as employees of a piano maker, learning basic skills in the stages of piano design, assembly, regulation and voicing. It is said to take at least five years before you can advise piano owners on care and on managing temperature and humidity from your own experience. At the top of the profession are concert tuners: tuners with the highest skills who work as partners to pianists, tuning grand pianos for concerts.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Piano Tuner?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but many people study the necessary knowledge and skills at a training school run by a piano maker, a senmon gakko (vocational college) or the tuning department of a music university. To enter a tuner training school you need a keen ear for sound and fingers that can reach an octave on the keyboard. There are also written tests and aptitude tests. Training takes one to two years, or one to four years including specialist courses. Gaining work experience after starting and then the national trade skills test (ginou kentei) in piano tuning helps you earn customers' trust. Some tuners start as employees of a piano maker, learning basic skills in the stages of piano design, assembly, regulation and voicing. It is said to take at least five years before you can advise piano owners on care and on managing temperature and humidity from your own experience. At the top of the profession are concert tuners: tuners with the highest skills who work as partners to pianists, tuning grand pianos for concerts.

How much does a Piano Tuner earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,833,100 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Piano Tuner?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 67% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Piano Tuner?

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

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026