Music Instrument Maintenance and Repair Technician

Music Instrument Maintenance and Repair Technicians work for organisations which sell, hire-out and repair musical instruments to schools, community projects, learners, professional musicians and members of the public. They predominantly undertake their activities in a workshop environment but may work on tour, on employer sites, in retail outlets, at concerts, theatres, recording studios or in schools to undertake repairs. Organisations vary in size ranging from large multi-site to those with one small outlet. They may work for local authorities, music services or private employers.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to triage a range of instruments to identify repair, maintenance and adaptation requirements and undertake the maintenance, repair and adaptation including set-up, of them in order that they can be effectively used or used again.

Maintenance is required on a regular basis to maximise the lifespan of the instruments providing it is economically viable to make the repair. On some occasions repairing the instrument is not viable and the Technician would discuss other options with customers and other stakeholders.

Repairs, when required, can be identified during maintenance processes or as a result of accidental damage and need timely attention. Some players require adaptations to instruments to accommodate physical limitations. These can range from simple adaptations to more bespoke changes depending on the individual and scenario and would be undertaken by the Technician.

Musical Instrument Maintenance and Repair Technicians know and understand the type of instruments they work on for example brass, wind, strings, percussion and electronic instruments, although initially they will work across a range of instruments within and across these instrument types. They will work within their personal knowledge and skills, using internal and external specialists, where required to support their activities. They assess, identify and make decisions about what actions are required based on their knowledge of typical problems with instrument types and undertaking visual checks.

Once the set-up, repair, maintenance or adaptation is complete, they test the instrument to make sure it is in a usable state and issue invoices for completed work. They plan their work schedule in accordance with agreed timescales and to ensure that annual peaks and troughs in requirements can be delivered by undertaking audits to ensure an adequate stock of prepared instruments is available.

They choose and use tools, equipment and a range of materials to undertake their activities meeting health, safety and environmental requirements at all times. They identify materials required to undertake their activities for example cleaning materials, spare parts, chemicals to ensure appropriate stock levels are available and maintained. They may also source materials from suppliers, placing orders to keep adequate stock levels available. They may be involved in seeking new or replacement instruments, receipt, cataloguing, inventory identification and disposal or donation of instruments in accordance with company policies and processes.

Depending on their work environment, they may be subject to DBS checks and a driving licence may be required for business journeys to deliver and collect instruments. They will have to work flexibly and may have to work outside normal working hours to achieve agreed timescales, peaks in workload and heavy lifting may be involved.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with their line manager to agree work schedules and discuss issues or seek clarification. They need to be aware of the impact their activities have on others in the organisation and work with them to achieve organisational goals i.e. seeing the bigger picture. They communicate with customers and other stakeholders to organise maintenance and repair plans, discuss broken instruments, understand adaptations required and respond to requests for advice regarding instruments which may include advice regarding purchasing new instruments. They may also find, liaise and build relationships with suppliers of materials.

An employee in this occupation will generally work autonomously, managing their own time, within a workshop environment and occasionally with others, reporting progress and issues to and seeking support, when required, from their line manager. Usually, they will be expected to create and agree detailed work plans to achieve maintenance and repair specifications, deadlines, and the supply of instruments to meet and balance demands taking into account peaks and troughs of work. They are responsible for meeting quality requirements and working in accordance with health, safety and environmental, safeguarding, company policies and procedures and other legislation e.g. Equality Act 2010. They may need to manage resources such as consumables, tools and equipment as well as budget considerations for their activities.