Are you interested in being a piano technician?
Goal for this session:
Acquaint yourself with the piano, be able to identify its parts, complete the first tuning and learn tuning service procedure. Learn hands-on training of the basics from our professional (Paul Rea) to get the skills you need to get started as a piano technician.
We will supply tuning equipment and basic regulation tools.
Tuition: $1,000 (Financial aid is available)
Paul Rea
Director of Product Development and Quality Control
Master Piano Builder working with Sauter, Petrof and Hailun
Piano manufacturing is, by its nature, a materials-intensive craft. A modern grand piano contains roughly 12,000 individual components. It requires carefully selected hardwoods — spruce, maple, beech, walnut — sourced from forests in multiple countries. It uses felt, leather, metal alloys, and chemical finishes. Building one well takes skilled labor spanning months.
In January 2026, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas included something that would have seemed out of place a decade ago: a piano technology exhibit generating genuine buzz alongside the televisions, smartphones, and AI gadgets that dominate the show floor. The products on display — connected instruments, app-integrated learning systems, multi-device MIDI setups — weren't novelties. They were the direction the piano industry is heading.
For years, the piano world operated on a fairly clean division: acoustic instruments for those who could afford the space and maintenance, digital pianos for everyone else. That division has been eroding steadily, and by 2026, it has given way to something more interesting — a category of instruments that refuses to sit neatly on either side of the line.
