Crisis in craft: Piano Technician training at risk
May 12, 2025 - Rudolf Zoltner
📷 The page for the piano making courses on the Lincoln College ‘School of Musical Instrument Crafts’ website have been taken down.
In a decision that has sent shockwaves through the instrument-making community, Lincoln College (UK) has announced it will no longer accept new students into its highly respected Musical Instrument Craft degree programs - including piano tuning and repair - starting from the 2025–26 academic year. This move affects all four specialized disciplines taught at the Newark School of Musical Instrument Crafts: piano, violin, guitar, and woodwind. The reason cited: low application numbers.
While current students will be able to complete their studies, foundation-year students and new applicants have been notified that the courses will not run next year. Many fear this could be the beginning of the end for a globally respected institution with more than 50 years of tradition in training expert luthiers and piano technicians.
The response from Lincoln College? They say they’re exploring alternative ways to continue the courses - but so far, no concrete plans have emerged.
A Warning Sign the Industry Cannot Ignore
Although the number of training programs has been declining for years, the situation now appears to have worsened significantly. But if we stop training piano technicians, the consequences are obvious: no matter how many acoustic pianos are built, restored, without professionals to care for them, they become obsolete. And if pianos can’t be maintained, why would people buy them?
This very question was at the heart of a global survey conducted four years ago by the Online Piano Atlas. Piano technicians, retailers, and - most importantly - piano owners from multiple countries were asked a simple question:
What is the number one reason people are buying fewer acoustic pianos and switching to digital ones?
There were many possible answers - cost, convenience, volume control - but one reason stood out clearly across all countries: “Because it’s hard to find someone who can maintain them.”
📷 The Newark School of Violin Making’s current home at 38 Kirk Gate, Newark-on-Trent
A Global Shortage, Aging Workforce
Today, approximately 57.25% of the global population lives in urban areas, while 42.75% live in rural areas. In rural regions, piano technicians are almost impossible to find. But even in urban centers, there are vast "white zones" with no available professionals.
The average age of piano tuners is around 55, and over 67% are older than 50. This signals a looming crisis: as this aging workforce nears retirement, the shortage will only grow. Meanwhile, attracting younger people to the profession remains a challenge - piano technology is too often seen as a niche or undervalued career path.
The Solution Requires Unity
The industry must wake up to a hard truth: we are in the final phase, and only a united effort can reverse the decline.
- It’s not enough for manufacturers to build pianos.
- It’s not enough for retailers to sell them.
- It's not enough for piano technicians to simply do their own work.
We need a coordinated international strategy. We can’t approach these issues based solely on the fact that things might currently look better in our own country or region - it's only a matter of time before the situation changes, even in places that seem less affected today. First and foremost, we must ensure that owning a piano is not seen as a burden or difficulty, but rather as an investment that brings joy and value for decades — and this must hold true not just in one country or region, but across the entire world.
We've already begun implementing a strategy (which we’ll publish soon) with the resources we have - but we can’t do it alone. We need you. This must be a collaborative effort across all corners of the piano industry. Many in this profession see the piano as a business — few see what keeps it alive!
The future of the acoustic piano - and the art form it supports - depends on it!
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