After years of falling numbers, there is hope a new qualification will help turn the tide on a major nationwide shortage of piano tuners.
The decline has been causing problems for those in sector — including choirs, recording studios, music teachers and orchestras.
John Vague, who has been playing piano since he was four, is one of those who has been affected by the drop in numbers.
“The good ones love their work and they’re very good and they’ve got the skills but they’re so busy. They haven’t got the time to do the job they should be doing.”
He said even when he can find a tuner, they aren’t all up to scratch.
“I had one recommended to me and I had to get it retuned two weeks later because you don’t have to be qualified to be a piano tuner. It’s ridiculous," he said.
Piano tuner David Jenkin has been in the industry for decades and said these holes in the workforce are across nearly every region in New Zealand.
“Piano tuners in general are getting old – like me – and they want to work less, or within last couple of years I think three have died. And we’re talking about a relatively small pool of people… so small numbers make a big difference to the available service.”
Among the groups that depend on these services are retailers.
KBB Music Keyboard and Piano Manager Daryl Cogger said without piano tuners, we do not have a piano industry. He’s seen the shortage first-hand in Aotearoa, but said this is a worldwide problem.
“We’re fortunate in our company because we’ve got great relationships. But what I’m seeing is a lot of piano tuners working huge hours and extra days to meet customer expectations and to keep up with the workload.”
He said that workload is only set to increase.
“As musical instruments have become a lot more synthetic and a lot more digitalised, people have found romance back in acoustic instruments. And pianos have been one of those who have grown a lot in sales. In that same time we’ve seen a reduction in piano tuners.”
Jenkin said the reduction is largely due to fewer local opportunities for those interested in joining the workforce, which is forcing many people overseas.
“In the past large piano retailers had workshops out the back and sold a lot of second hand pianos and there was an opportunity to learn as you repaired. These days retailers are focused on selling new pianos and they don’t have that facility.”
That’s what prompted him, with the wider New Zealand Piano Tuners and Technicians Guild, to approach Toi Mai in early 2022. The guild wanted to create a training program that attracts new comers and upskills current technicians.
The qualification was approved by NZQA in July. It will allow students to learn on the job, for about two to three years, learning technical skills and theory.
Jenkin said the next step is delivering the training.
“12 trainees want to be piano tuners. It’s going to be a complex training arrangement but we’re committed to getting it started and going.”
More details on the New Zealand Certificate in Piano Tuning and Technology is available here.
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