Wind Instrument Repair

Repairing band instruments, that is, wind instruments, is something many people are interested in, but there is little written about it anywhere.  It is really frustrating to find any information about it, and few people know anything about the trade.

Below, you will find some information that you can go to in order to find out more.

From my own personal experience, none of the schools turn out a fully-trained technician.  No one is going to be able to teach you in a few months everything about musical instrument repair.  I've been at it for most of my working lifetime, and there are still things that I learn every day.

But, it is a very rewarding job, not necessarily in a monetary way, but very interesting.  I see new problems every day, I get to talk on a personal level with musicians of every level of experience, and sometimes I am so busy that the time just flies by!  I also get to see children receive their first musical instrument, which in itself is very rewarding.

My husband, Johnny Paul, and I have many times discussed how long it takes to properly train a repair technician.  We estimate 5 years for either woodwind or brass, but not both.  Then, once you have one or the other, another 2 years to add the other specialty.  Johnny has 46 years of experience in repair, and he has seen many apprentices come and go, so this is based on many years of experience.

There are a lot of really bad repair technicians out there, also.  If you are planning to be a repair technician, please don't be a bad one, there are too many already!  It is difficult to make yourself do good work when you are repairing instruments for children, but keep at it!

Our repair philosophy is that student instruments need to be repaired as well as professional instruments.  If a student's instrument is not working, they don't know how to compensate, and they don't realize that it is the instrument.  They just think it is them, that they can't do it!  

When you consider that it is your responsibility to see that this child's instrument is working perfectly so that they do not become discouraged, you will want to do everything possible to see that it is done right.

I hope you enjoy this lens, and may it bring you a more fulfilling career!