The History of Bill The Piano Tuner

Introduction

In 1971, I entered Philadelphia Community College, majoring in music. I knew I made the right choice the day I sat down in my first music class. That was thirty-seven years ago. My composition teacher, Mr. Lee Silvan, kept a close eye on me as he did all his students who had a great interest in their love for music. He suggested, somewhere in the middle of my first semester, that I visit a career counselor to take a battery of tests to see what musical career I might be suited for. After the testing, I met with the career counselor, who handed me a pamphlet on piano tuning services and said it would be a good career move for me. I can now honestly say, forty-two years later, that I have learned to love tuning as well as rebuilding and repairing pianos just as much as I loved majoring in music at the very college that set me forth on a lifelong journey. And as the old adage goes, the rest is history.

My Beginnings

For many who do not know, all music majors, regardless of the college you choose to study at, need to learn the piano. The reason is that the piano is the only instrument that allows you to visually see music theory. Therefore, I needed a piano in my home for my personal studies while I was in school.

Unfortunately, money was very tight, and since I was putting myself through school, I didn’t have much of it. Before I knew what to look for in a decent playing piano, I thought I had landed a good deal and purchased a Story & Clark Upright for a mere three hundred dollars, which back in 1971 was a significant amount of money for someone trying to manage an education while self-supporting. Unfortunately, the piano turned out to have dry rot, and breaking keys became a regular dilemma I sadly got used to soon after purchase. My piano tuner at the time, Mr. Roland Albert, came to my home so often for the problems I was having that we soon became good friends. Every time he came over to fix the piano, I watched him closely as he repaired and tuned it. Eventually, I couldn’t afford to have him over due to my financial situation. Therefore, with no experience apart from my observations with Roland, one day I opened the piano myself and began to do my own repair work. It’s amusing how fate has a way of rearing its head. Since Roland and I had become dear friends, he eventually found out through our phone conversations that I had been doing my own repairs.

One day, Roland came to my home to tune my piano. Once he was done, he suggested that since I had been repairing my piano myself, I should also learn how to tune it. Thus, in early 1975, Roland taught me the basics of tuning a piano and sold me my first set of tools. Later that year, he suggested I visit Mr. Victor Benvinuto, a well-respected piano rebuilder in the community, to see if he needed an apprentice. So, on July 16th, 1976, I began as an apprentice in piano rebuilding and learned the technical art that I have been practicing for over forty-two years.

There’s No Better School than Hands-on Experience

On June 16th, 1976, I started my first day as an apprentice in piano rebuilding. My first job under Victor Benvinuto was restringing a baby grand piano. This is a job that most people in my profession rarely get the chance to do in their entire career; however, I had the honor of doing it on my very first day. The best part of working in Victor’s shop was that he was one of only two rebuilders in the entire Delaware Valley who manufactured and installed new soundboards. Therefore, I learned every aspect of piano rebuilding from scratch. Most of the pianos we rebuilt were Steinway Grands; however, we also worked on various Chickering & Sons and Mason & Hamlin Grands. I learned to restore, rebuild, and tune rare pianos that required only the finest hands and ears to bring them back to their priceless condition. I worked hard under Victor for over three years as his apprentice, transitioning from novice to master of my trade, learning every facet that made the piano the most beautiful instrument in the world to me. During those three years, I also attended a course Victor taught at night at Bucks County Community College. Upon completing that course, I received a certificate of achievement in Piano Technology. Now I felt ready to enter the trade of piano tuning and rebuilding independently.

Tuning & Rebuilding Independently

After receiving my certificate, I began offering piano tuning services to many places you may know, such as The Piano Shoppe, Taylor Music, Cunningham Piano Company, Jacob Music, and Rich Cheirubini’s Center Stage Pianos. I also built my own clientele base, many of whom I have been tuning for as long as I have been working independently. In 1980, I received a phone call from my first musical composition teacher, Mr. Lee Silvan, who asked me if I would like to tune all twenty-six pianos at the very community college that set me forth on the journey of my life. For eleven years straight, every month on the same date, I tuned all twenty-six pianos at the college that initially suggested I would make a great piano tuner many years prior. For over forty-two years, I have tuned, repaired, and restored pianos in every kind of venue you can imagine—from homes and storefront churches to concert tuning at The Robin Hood Dell. I not only enjoy the work I do, but I also consider it an essential part of who I am and how I wish to be remembered. Maybe someday I’ll have the pleasure of tuning for you!

Musically Yours,

Bill The Piano Tuner