My name is Calvin Hill, and I live in Bedford, IN. Since childhood, I have always loved playing the acoustic piano. There is something about feeling the vibrations of an acoustic instrument that, to me, makes them so fascinating and intriguing.

I recall we had a piano tuner look at an old piano of ours when I was about 15. He looked over the piano thoroughly, as I watched what he was doing with as much attention. He explained to me that the pinblock was split, and that the piano was unfortunately not worthy of such a costly repair. It was how I was introduced into the world of piano technology, and I started tinkering on our own pianos.

I bought my first tuning lever while in college sometime around 2016 to learn to tune our home piano, slowly improving my skills ever since. In 2025, I decided I wanted to make a move toward piano technology as a career, so I dedicated all my free time to the trade. I picked up the worst condition piano I could find on Facebook Marketplace in order to hone my skills. It was an old Kimball from an abandoned house. The piano had two mice nests in it, hammer felts falling off, broken strings, moth-eaten dampers, you name it. From hammer shaping, to jack alignment, to polishing balance rail pins, every part of that action was inspected, addressed, and now plays better than ever.

I have fully disassembled, repaired, and regulated the actions of multiple pianos since then. I now use my experience and knowledge of piano technology to keep pianos sounding and playing beautifully for anyone who wants to keep their instrument in its best playing condition. I continue to learn more about best practices and techniques, as there will always be more to learn.

I am currently preparing for the rigorous RPT exams that are administered by the Piano Technicians Guild. My goal is to have purchased, taken, and passed all three exams by the end of 2026.