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RPT Registered Piano Technician

A Registered Piano Technician (RPT) is a member of The Piano Technicians Guild who has demonstrated competence by passing a series of three rigorous examinations on the maintenance, repair and tuning of pianos.

The Road to RPT

It takes hard work and study to develop the skills to pass the PTG exams. Usually three years (maybe more) of working full-time as a piano tuner/technician gives you the needed knowledge and ability if you apply yourself and do a lot of reading. Having a tutor is a great benefit. An apprenticeship in ideal.

Exam 1

Is a timed written test on general knowledge of piano design, construction, maintenance, tuning and repair

Exam 2

A timed technical in 3 parts:

  1. Several repairs are done.
  2. A grand action model is assembled from parts and regulated (adjusted.)
  3. A vertical action model is assembled from parts and regulated (adjusted.)

Exam 2

A timed tuning exam. The examinee must tune the Middle three octaves to A440 pitch by ear. Next the whole piano is tuned by ear or machine. Then unisons (all 3 wires for each note) are tuned on the middle three octaves. The work is checked for accuracy and stability.
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When the technician passes all three exams he becomes a Registered Piano Technician and is allowed to use the two PTG logos with REGISTERED PIANO TECHNICIAN below, or the round logo to the left. It should always be accompanied by the members name.
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                Daniel Berg
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Piano Action


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grand piano action removed for adjustment

When someone has their piano tuned, only half of the piano is being serviced. The assembly of moving parts in the piano is called the action. There are several adjustments to each of the 88 keys that affect how it plays and feels. As the piano is played, the various parts wear, compress and are stressed to a point where they need to be adjusted to make the action work it's best. These adjustments are called regulation. Regulation should be done on a regular basis to ensure proper function. It's like a car needing to be serviced for adjustment of the valves, brakes, and other moving parts so it will run and drive well.

After RPT Is Attained

Woman plays piano

Once someone has attained RPT status, it is up to them to progress in knowledge and experience. Some technicians concentrate on one maybe two areas. For example: One technician may spend most of his time tuning pianos and do some repairs or parts replacement from time to time while another may spend most of his time rebuilding older pianos and do some tuning from time to time. Many technicians do an equal amount of tuning and rebuilding. There are RPT's that work for colleges, universities or piano manufacturers on a full-time basis. A few RPT's have designed tools, piano parts and other services and spend most of their time in design, manufacturing and sales. If you find an RPT that rebuilds pianos to resell you have probably found a good source for buying a used piano. Several RPT's also hold college degrees in other fields of life such as engineering, science, art, music, etc.