About Musgrave Piano Tuning & Repairs

Thank you for choosing me as your piano technician. Here is a brief history on my professional piano tuning career.

I started considering going into piano tuning as a profession while I was attending California State University, Northridge (commonly known as CSUN). I had learned about piano tuning while assisting my dad with some piano repairs. In the 1940s, my dad had learned to tune and service pianos, while attending the well-known Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. My dad started tuning pianos in Pennsylvania and became very well-known because of his tuning skills. Later, our family decided to move to the San Fernando Valley here in California.

When I got older, I was often able to help my dad when he brought piano "actions" home for repairs. My dad was able to share with me the many repair techniques he had learned and developed in his profession. My dad was able to impress upon me the satisfaction of always having the proper skills to do the best work possible.

Before graduating from CSUN, I learned that every time I worked on pianos, I wanted to learn more about repairing pianos! When I graduated from CSUN, I was happy to have more time to work on pianos full time!

Another of my famous tuning customers was the award-winning screenplay/writer Sidney Sheldon, heralded by the Guinness Book of World records as “the most translated writer in the world” and the author of sixteen number one bestselling novels. In addition to his television shows such as “ I Dream of Jeanie,” Sidney Sheldon had been calling me since 1987 to service his “antique” piano when he was still living! 

Even the singer Melissa Manchester has called me to tune her two pianos because she "really likes my work" and "my tuning techniques seemed to last longer than most other tuners"! Many tuners have called me for my advice or to even complete a certain repair job on a piano they couldn’t solve themselves!

Of the many pianos I have serviced, most have been for individuals, families, playhouses, theatres, churches, hotels, schools, dance studios, recitals, weddings, birthdays, retirement homes etc.

Now I am doing the type of piano work I really enjoy! I have been working on pianos for over 40 years and always taken pride in giving “expert work at the best price.” Thank you again for allowing me to service your piano!

First, I worked at Jensen Piano Co. in Van Nuys. There I had a full-time job tuning Wurlitzer showroom pianos and often tuning and repairing older pianos. I feel that is where I got a lot of my skills for working on “antique” pianos. I have always had a lot of books about old and new pianos to study from: where, I have been able to learn a wide variety of piano repair skills and techniques. In addition, I learned from my dad who was a master piano technician.

When I got married, I moved to Sherman Oaks and worked at Jerry Finn Music Emporium on Ventura Blvd., who also sold new and old pianos. Jerry Finn was able to get me piano work with Warner Bros and Universal Studios. At that time, I tuned Barbara Streisand's piano at First Artists Studios.

Andy Griffith always had me tune his antique “square grand” piano for over 20 years until he passed away.