“The Piano Doctor” brings a fading art to local churches and homes

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A man known around the world as The Piano Doctor is making stops across the Southeast.

Tim Arbisi is a traveling piano tuner who has worked with legendary musicians like Bob Dylan, LeAnn Rimes, and even members of the Rolling Stones. While working at a piano shop in Augusta, a piano was sold with a broken key — and no technician was available. So, he fixed it himself and later learned how to tune pianos.

That moment sparked a career that’s now taken him across the country and around the world.

“You have baby grands, you have grand pianos, you have upright pianos — everything in between — and I take care of all of them,” said Arbisi.

A few weeks ago, he was in France. This week alone, after tuning a piano at Butler Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Arbisi headed to Hilton Head, continuing a schedule that keeps him constantly on the move.

“There are so many people who have pianos in their homes that have been sitting there for years and years, and they don’t know who to call or what to do about it. All you got to do is pick up the phone and give me a call” said Arbisi.

Arbisi calls piano tuning a “lost art,” saying as piano sales decline, fewer people are trained to fix and maintain the instruments.

“Because I’m going to places where there are no tuners, it’s a huge joy to walk in and help so many people,” said Arbisi. “It doesn’t matter if you have a million-dollar piano — there’s nobody around to help you with that. Piano is the one instrument people play that they don’t know how to tune.”

To contact Tim Arbisi, you can give him a call at 706 - 833 - 4164 or email him at Info@pianodoctorusa.com . He is based in Augusta and Chicago.