If you’ve ever cracked the yellow pages or surfed the web in search of a piano tuner, you’ve probably found yourself wondering, “Which one should I choose?”

What sort of criteria should you consider when looking for a piano tuner? Should you choose the person with the largest ad or the biggest website? Should you go with the person whose phone number or address indicates that they are closest to you? Should you go with the least expensive tuner? Or perhaps the most expensive? How about the person with the most experience? Is there some sort of credential that you should be checking for?

How can you be sure that the piano tuner you hire to service your piano is a competent tuner-technician, someone who really knows what he or she is doing and who isn’t going to scam you into throwing money down a rabbit hole?

One of the first things you need to understand about the piano tuning trade is that it is entirely unregulated. Unlike the plumber or building contractor that you may have hired in the past, piano tuners are not licensed. There is no education requirement. No exam that they have to pass. Nothing. Literally anyone can advertise in the phone book or on the internet, claiming to be a piano tuner or piano technician.

Given this environment, it should be obvious that the size of someone’s print ad or the prominence of their website tells you absolutely nothing about the quality of their work. In fact, it is often the case that the best piano tuner-technicians spend little or no money on advertising. They don’t have to. The bulk of their business comes through client referrals.

Obviously, picking the piano tuner who is closest to you is no guarantee of competence either. And even experience is of little value if “25 years of experience” really means one year of experience repeated 25 times over.

It may come as a surprise, but how much a piano tuner-technician charges can actually tell you something about his or her competence and skill level. Put simply, there is a maximum that people are willing to pay within a specific market area for any given service, and this includes piano tuning. The higher a piano technician’s skill level, the higher the perceived value that his or her clients receive, and consequently the closer his or her fees can approach the maximum. A less skilled piano tuner would not be able to stay in business for very long charging these higher rates.

This is one of those areas where cheaper is not necessarily better. When it comes to hiring a piano tuner-technician, it really is true: You get what you pay for. Cheap rates usually mean low quality work performed by someone whose competence is questionable. Higher rates are an indication of high quality work performed by someone with a reputation for competence and quality.

But what about credentials? Is there some sort of credential or certification that you can look for in a piano tuner-technician? Actually, there is.

This credential is an indispensable and often overlooked criterion when choosing a piano technician – probably because many are not even aware of its existence.

But before I tell you what this credential is, I need to emphasize that there are many highly competent piano technicians who have no credentials. Just because someone lacks a particular credential or certification does not automatically make them an incompetent hack.

When it comes to piano tuner-technicians, there is only one credential or certification that means anything. There are a few other so-called certifications that you may come across. But only one is worth paying any attention to. And that is the credential of Registered Piano Technician, or RPT. It is conferred by the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG), a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of highly skilled, competent piano technicians.

I can tell you from personal experience that becoming a Registered Piano Technician is not easy! In order to become a Registered Piano Technician (RPT), one must pass a series of three examinations administered by the Piano Technicians Guild, demonstrating competence in the tuning, repair, regulation, and general service of pianos. When you hire a Registered Piano Technician, you can be assured that you are hiring a competent craftsman or craftswoman who is equipped to offer you the highest possible level of piano service.

Another important consideration is the fact that a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) is bound by a Code of Ethics, which ensures integrity and professionalism in all that we do.

So how can you find a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) in your area? The fastest and easiest way is to go to the Piano Technicians Guild website, www.ptg.org, and click the rectangular box at the top of the page, the one that says “Click Here to Find a Registered Piano Technician.” After you enter your zip code and define the radius of your search, you will be given a list of Registered Piano Technicians in your area, along with their current contact information.

If you are ever in the market for a piano tuner-technician, I hope that this information helps you find someone who will give you competent, high quality, professional service. And if you are in the Inland Empire area of Southern California and are looking for a piano technician, I would love to hear from you!