Barrie's Piano Tuning and Repairing in Lancashire, Qualified Piano Tuner Technician

I recondition, repair, and tune pianos in the Lancashire area of England. I cover the Lancashire area, North Manchester, parts of Merseyside and South Cumbria. Why do I cover such a large area? I provide services that other tuners do not, so manufacturers and retailers in the UK use my skills.

Environment:

We travel around in a Nissan EV200 All electric van, keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible.

I have been vetted by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and, therefore, approved to work with vulnerable adults and children. (Previously known as CRB checks).

Background:

Tuning at the BBC Manchester

I was trained as a piano tuner technician at RNCB Hereford back in the 70s where I received a diploma in piano tuning and repair. I also obtained my City and Guilds String Instrument Design, String Instrument Repair, and String Instrument Tuning and Toning, parts one and two, in all three City and Guilds. I also completed Action Finishing and Regulating Part One. As part of my training in 1978, I spent six weeks at Bentley Piano Factory on tuning and toning. Also, one day a week out of the six in the action finishing and regulating department. During that same year, I was awarded the Clothworkers' Prize for the highest exam pass for Cities and Guilds in the UK. In 1979, I spent time at Kemble-Yamaha Piano Factory on voicing and toning. In 1979, I received the Layton prize for the best piano repairer, and that prize was awarded to me byHRH the Prince of Wales.

In 1980, I started to work for Hunt's Pianos in Darwen, the largest restoration/wholesaler in the UK with over 2,000 pianos in stock at any one time. The following year, I was promoted to head technician among five technicians and two apprentices. In November 1986 I set up my workshop and piano tuning round; since then, I have attended technical refresher courses with Bluthner, Yamaha-Kemble, Kawai Pianos, Renner (UK,) Konig (UK), and in 2017, spent two days at the Steingraeber Piano Factory in Germany observing their ways of working on pianos.

Barrie Heaton , Dip. AEWVH, FABPT, FIMIT, CGLI (hon.), MMPTA (usa).