FIRST INTERNATIONAL EXAMS SUCCESS HERALDS NEW & EXCITING ERA FOR PIANO TUNERS IN THE UK
In late September examiners from The Piano Technicians Guild held both The “Registered Piano Technician “ technical and tuning exams for the very first time in the UK. The exams took place at Northamptonshire Music and performing Arts trust and were organised by The Piano Technology School.
Not only is this a first for the UK, it also marks the first time the exams have been taken outside of the USA. Both the tuning and technical exams can only be taken after success in the theory test, which is done securely online in exam conditions.
It is not uncommon for tuners working towards RPT, to take the other two practical exams at different times- some taking years to become an RPT.
All of which makes the success of Jordan Matthews and Aaron Webster even more impressive and important, as they took and passed both exams with exceptional results and are now both rightly proud to be able to call themselves RPTs - Registered Piano Technicians”. Another two students passed their technical exams and plan to take their tuning exams early next year.
This takes the new number of RPT’s in the UK to 3. Steve Droy RPT, piano technology trainer and founder of The Piano Technology School, passed all three of his RPT exams in 2023 and since then he has started mentoring and encouraging others to do the same. He has been running training sessions for those former students or any tuner who would like to get themselves an internationally recognised certification.
“To be able to do the exams here in the UK and having this success means more is now possible for the future.” says Steve “ The success of these young people means all the more to me, because we are celebrating 10 years of our training school this September and I could not be prouder of what they are achieving, The only thing I ever asked was to be judged on our outcomes and they have been consistently good. These RPT successes cement that because these exams are rigorous and cannot be fudged”
Examiner and internationally respected piano technician, Dean Reyburn was impressed with the standard the
Why this marks an important opportunity.
Membership of the Piano Technicians Guild alongside training at the Piano Technology School provides the trainee with support from a professional body from the start. This means that along side the training course they attend, they have access to fantastic resources and experts. They can also choose how to progress with their training.
The PTG is run in a legally rigourous compliant and transparent way, It has clear and robust policies and has training as part of it’s mission.
With the demise of the 3 year model of training and a lack of productive collaborative working within the UK piano trade, it is an attractive proposition to anyone one wanting to get into piano tuning & repair.
Discussions around training and standards have been divisive, misleading often misunderstood and in some cases damaging to the trade and prospective students. Whilest the trade remains a non regulated one, The RPT pathway offers the individual tuner, the public, The piano retailer, employer and the industry as a whole an international recognisable valued benchmark.
There are over 100 Members of the Piano Technicians Guild outside of the USA. 10 of them are here in the UK. There are several in Ireland, including 3 RPT’s.
The Piano Technology School is committed to raising and maintain standards of piano technology Training. The future for piano technicians is an exceptionally good one. As older tuners retire, a new breed of often musically talented, music graduates are choosing this as their chosen career and life long learning journey. The arrival of these exams in the UK is to be celebrated.
Any piano tuner who is interested in pursuing their own professional development or anyone thinking about a training to be a piano tuner can contact admin@thepianotechnologyschool.com
