Tim Arbisi: The Piano Doctor - Reviving America's Keys One Road Trip at a Time.
Tim Arbisi, known as The Piano Doctor, is America’s go-to traveling piano tuner, crisscrossing the nation to deliver personalized service for family heirlooms, concert artists for over 20 years. Tim’s unique ability to handle coast-to-coast requests has positioned him as a rare expert in a dying craft, amid national tuner shortages. “A piano in someone’s home isn’t like a refrigerator,” Tim says. “It’s more like a puppy—it’s part of the family.”
Tim’s pull toward music began at 13, learning guitar and bass, performing on stage by 15. At 18, he served honorably in the Navy, returning at 22 with big aspirations in music. By 24, he was in a signed band, releasing records and touring the United States relentlessly for five years. Starting a family at 29 led to a career shift: working as a sales clerk in a local piano store. “The first piano I sold that week had a broken key, and we didn’t have a technician, so I fixed it myself,” Tim recalls. “The owner asked me to go through all the used pianos and fix anything wrong—this began my love of working on pianos.” Over the next five years, he self-taught repair and tuning for every style, from early 1800s antiques to brand-new concert grands. At 41, he launched The Piano Doctor, quickly becoming the top tuner in Augusta, Georgia. By 45, social media ignited his career takeoff, with daily posts of his work and recommendations flooding in. “It wasn’t overnight, but social media definitely made my career takeoff,” he says. Requests poured from churches, schools, performance halls, civic centers, and arenas nationwide. “It really was the wildest thing when it started, and I realized I was literally traveling coast-to-coast monthly and enjoying every minute.” At 50 Kelli Wren came on board as business partner and helps with all the logistics and keeps all the tours running on schedule.  Now at 53, Tim has serviced over 600 cities in the United States, with international appointments lined up next year in Luxembourg City and Paris. He gets a call and hops on a plane. “Pianos aren’t just instruments—they’re connections: to family as heirlooms, to faith in churches, or to audiences through artists.”
Tim has served as the official piano tuner for symphonies and theaters, maintained fleets at colleges, and been the go-to for festivals showcasing Juilliard performers. His expertise extends to Grammy-winning artists like Bob Dylan, LeAnn Rimes, and Wynton Marsalis, plus Chuck Leavell of the Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams, and Aaron Lewis.
Tim is based in Augusta, Georgia, but travels nationwide—flexible for interviews via Zoom, phone, or in-person. Contact him at 706-833-4164 or Info@PianoDoctorUSA.com. “I never thought tuning pianos would be my passion, but it is, and I love it,” Tim says. “They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day—and I haven’t worked in years. I just get up every day and go play with pianos. How cool is that?”