Many people wonder if there is a difference between a piano tuner and a piano technician. There is certainly a difference between the two but there is a surprising amount of overlap of these terms as well.
Nearly all piano technicians are tuners, but not all piano tuners are technicians. There are certainly exceptions, but this is a pretty accurate statement when it comes to these two different job titles.
Piano Tuners specialize in tuning pianos. However, if there is a sticking key, a squeaky pedal or a broken string, they may not deal with these issues?
Piano Technicians should be able to deal with a wide range of issues with your piano. Registered Piano Technicians (RPT) – are members of the Piano Technicians’ Guild – and have to go through a course to earn the RPT designation. This ensures that they will be able to cover a wide range of issues out in the field and have the right to call themselves piano technicians. However, there are also many fine piano technicians who choose not to become members of the guild.
The complex nature of the piano assures that no one piano tuner/technician knows how to deal with all piano issues. Occasionally we have had piano problems that required us to consult a number of technicians to solve. With over 12,000 parts, finding a technician who has seen every conceivable problem on different pianos is impossible.
Finding a piano technician who is a fine tuner can be a real benefit to you and your piano. Being able to have someone come over and not only tune your piano but take care of small issues and keep the action working optimally can be invaluable in extending the life of your piano while enjoying a high level playing experience.
I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other, please email me Robert@LivingPianos.com for more information.