When a musical instrument gets dented, squashed or mangled, it takes skill to repair the damage.
Instrument repair technician Courtney Sands has seen her fair share of busted equipment. The Nanaimo resident owns Fine Tuning Musical Instrument
Repair.
Recently she repaired musician Matt Carter’s baritone saxophone that fell off the stage during a wedding performance.
“It was pretty squashed,” said Sands.
To repair the instrument, she had to take the whole saxophone apart, because every piece is interconnected in some way.
“Everything has to be in perfect alignment,” said Sands. “You have to break it down into sections.”
Repairing the saxophone took about 10 hours.
“It’s one of the bigger projects that I’ve done,” she said.
Why do people go to great lengths to have their musical instruments repaired?
“The sentimental value of the instrument can far surpass its brand, make or model,” said Sands. “Musicians have such an intimate relationship with
their instrument.”
This sentimental value can be because the instrument has been passed down through the family or it’s how people make their living, said Sands. She said the world is becoming
disposable, and if something breaks, people just buy a new one.
“We’re starting to live in a push-button world where people expect results right away,” she said.
Playing a musical instrument takes “time and practice” she said, which adds to attachment.
Sands attended Keyano College in Fort McMurray for musical instrument repair training. Sands said the programs has since closed and to pursue training the only option now is to attend a post secondary school in the United States.
When she graduated, she worked in Winnipeg, but wanted to move back closer to her parents who live in Nanaimo.
She started talking to John Vossos, who worked repairing instruments in Nanaimo for 20 years, and eventually bought his business from him.
At the time, it was called Westwind Music, but Sands renamed it.
In the musical instrument repair business having a mentor is important. To gain more knowledge she joined the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians. She’s been a member since 2005.
Sands said individuals can specialize in repairing instruments or specific instrument parts. Sands works as a general practitioner.
While her business is largely musical instrument repairs she also gets other requests.
She was recently asked to do repair work on a Hudson motorcar. It was built before there were electric lights. The car has glass lanterns. The owner wanted Sands to remove them and fix some dent work with her tool, an old English wheel.
She has also worked on family treasures such as silver tea sets and other metal objects.
For more information about Fine Tuning Musical Instrument Repair, please go to www.finetuning
nanaimo.ca or e-mail tech@finetuningnanaimo.ca.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com