Introduction
An instrument repair technician is a professional who is thoroughly trained to repair, adjust and restore musical instruments that are used in a band. Not only is an instruments pro a skilled craftsman and technician, he/she is also an artisan who is an invaluable aid to the amateur and professional musicians whose craft depends upon the sound working of their musical instruments. Since a musical instrument is an extremely fragile piece of structured engineering, even a bump or slight mishandling can cause its precision to become imbalanced, causing it to become useless. Therefore, the life of an instrument rests quite a bit on the person who is supposed to repair and restore it to its former glory. It would therefore be safe to say that an instruments pro plays an essential role in the development of a musicians professional career, being able to allow the musician to play with an instrument that plays to its fullest potential.
Step 1
An instruments pro is a skilled technician who usually begins his/her career with a sound understanding of musical instruments, how they are played, and a keen liking and respect for the profession and the instruments themselves, allowing them to correctly understand the intricacies that go into making a musical instrument, thereby allowing them to repair and maintain instruments pro accurately. These instruments repair professionals also generally undergo 9 month or 2 year diplomas at Repair Schools during which they go through rigorous hands on training as well as instructions about the process and theory of repairing all musical instruments. During this time, the students go through intense training which is later put to use during an advanced apprenticeship, where the graduates improve and fine-tune their skills.
Step 2
However, training schools only happen to be the starting grounds for instrument repair technicians, as it is a profession that requires constant development and learning. Since every instrument is unique and must therefore be treated in a different manner, all technicians must essentially be efficient problem-solvers who can improvise and continually re-learn the ropes of the trade. An instruments pro must therefore also be someone who is happy with working on complex problem solving that involves diagnostic and decision making skills as well as technical soundness. Technicians working in the field generally work on aligning and fitting various parts on instruments, replacing worn parts such as keys and pads, replacing and repairing broken parts, retuning instruments as well as restoring antique and damaged musical instruments. It should also be noted that this is a profession where there is always a great demand for skilled people, and an instruments pro who is an expert specializing in the repair and maintenance of a particular musical instrument has an extremely lucrative professional career.
Tips
Therefore, for people who are interested in learning how to become an instrument repair technician, it is advisable that they find out all about the professional diplomas offered by Repair Schools in their vicinity. For individuals who are interested in learning to repair a particular instrument it is also important to remember that a successful repair technician usually begins with extremely sound knowledge about playing the instruments themselves, so it is important that you are well-versed in that area.
