AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 49-9063.00
Will AI replace Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners?
Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners: AI can already handle 2 of 24 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 24 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Disassemble instruments and parts for repair and adjustment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair or replace musical instrument parts and components, such as strings, bridges, felts, and keys, using hand and power tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Reassemble instruments following repair, using hand tools and power tools and glue, hair, yarn, resin, or clamps, and lubricate instruments as necessary. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect instruments to locate defects, and to determine their value or the level of restoration required. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair cracks in wood or metal instruments, using pinning wire, lathes, fillers, clamps, or soldering irons. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Mix and measure glue that will be used for instrument repair. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Assemble and install new pipe organs and pianos in buildings. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Align pads and keys on reed or wind instruments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Adjust string tensions to tune instruments, using hand tools and electronic tuning devices. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Solder posts and parts to hold them in their proper places. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Compare instrument pitches with tuning tool pitches to tune instruments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove dents and burrs from metal instruments, using mallets and burnishing tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Adjust felt hammers on pianos to increase tonal mellowness or brilliance, using sanding paddles, lacquer, or needles. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove irregularities from tuning pins, strings, and hammers of pianos, using wood blocks or filing tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shape old parts and replacement parts to improve tone or intonation, using hand tools, lathes, or soldering irons. | Estimated | No tier | |
| String instruments, and adjust trusses and bridges of instruments to obtain specified string tensions and heights. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Polish instruments, using rags and polishing compounds, buffing wheels, or burnishing tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Make wood replacement parts, using woodworking machines and hand tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Refinish instruments to protect and decorate them, using hand tools, buffing tools, and varnish. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Deliver pianos to purchasers or to locations of their use. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Wash metal instruments in lacquer-stripping and cyanide solutions to remove lacquer and tarnish. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Refinish and polish piano cabinets or cases to prepare them for sale. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 24 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 24 of 24. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 39% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 39% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 61% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 5,380
- Median annual wage
- $46,420
- Middle half of earners
- $37,670 to $58,430
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.4%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Musicians and Singers 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure67
- Watch and Clock Repairers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure16
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure24
- Medical Equipment Repairers 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure27
- Bicycle Repairers 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure17
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners and AI
Will AI replace Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners?
AI already handles 2 of the 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 21 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.4% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners?
21 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 24 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 24 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Play instruments to evaluate their sound quality and to locate any defects; Strike wood, fiberglass, or metal bars of instruments, and use tuned blocks, stroboscopes, or electronic tuners to evaluate tones made by instruments. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 39% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 61% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners, and what do they earn?
5,380 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $46,420 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.4% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/musical-instrument-repairers-and-tuners
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