Saxophone Repair Courses

Embark on a transformative journey with our Saxophone Repair Training courses .

Learn the intricate art of saxophone maintenance and repair, honing your skills under the guidance of experienced master technicians.

Discover the importance of proper assembly, disassembly techniques, key adjustments, and more, as you elevate your craft to new heights.

Unleash your potential and unlock exciting career opportunities in the world of music repair. Join us today and start building your music career with confidence and expertise.

Repair Level 1:

3-Month Course with 4 Live Classes, 2 Private Lessons and 4 Work Alongs

Designed for private lesson teachers, musicians who want to learn more about the care and maintenance of their instruments, and for those exploring if becoming a master repair technician is a career option. All our classes include 3 components typically. Live class time, private lessons and what we call work along so students can work alongside a tech online. Sign up times for all class, private lessons, and your work along for Level 1 can be selected once you enroll, allowing you to find the best time for you to participate based on teacher’s availability. Level 1 is a 3-month course; however we allow you up to 6 months to complete it. It is expected that you will submit homework via video upload in our forum area and will ask questions. It is extremely difficult to find dedicated master repair technicians willing to teach others everything they know and it is expected you will honor the opportunity with an appropriate level of effort to ensure you receive a lifetime of benefit for your investment.

Level 1 Topics:

• Replacing pads
• Pad removal/cleaning pad cups
• Closed keys
• Open keys
• Replacing pads using leather pads
• Octave key adjustment
• Other adjustments
• With/without adjustment screws
• Right-hand keys
• Left-hand keys
• Bell keys
• Adjusting pads when not replacing a pad

Learning Outcomes:

Following successful completion of Level 1 Saxophone Repair, participants will be able to:

• Describe the basic construction and terminology of instruments in the saxophone family
• Select and use appropriate tools and materials for repairing saxophones
• Diagnose and troubleshoot repair needs of saxophones using evaluation practices
• Disassemble and reassemble saxophone keywork
• Replace saxophone pads using leather pads
• Apply best practices for cleaning the saxophone body and keys
• Develop accuracy and skill in working on saxophones
• Gain awareness of common problems in saxophones, and troubleshoot repairs

Repair Level 2:

6-Month Course with 8 Live Classes, 4 Private Lessons and 4 Work Alongs

Pre-requisite: Level 1 Our Level 2 Repair course is designed for those who seek to refine their skills from level 1 to build speed and earn income from repair. Level 2 is a six-month course, which you can take up to 9 months to complete.

Level 2 Topics:

• Playing Condition versus minor repair
• Building speed
• Pricing Your work
  • Overhauls
  • Playing Condition
  • Minor Repair

Learning Outcomes:

Following successful completion of Level 2 Saxophone Repair, participants will be able to:

• Learn to assess repair needs of saxophone instruments
• Differentiate between overhaul, playing condition, and minor repair
• Continue to improve work with different materials in the top and lower joint
• Build speed while delivering clean work
• Price your work fairly, while considering materials and labor

3 Day Intensive In-Person Training:

Pre-requisites: Completion of Level 1 or Preferably Level 2

Becoming a master technician requires developing your hand-eye coordination as quickly as possible both for the benefit of learning and to build speed. An immersive in person experience will take you 50-70% of the way the being able to learn online at a more rapid rate, while also building speed. If you are serious about making rapid progress as a master technician in training, in-person training will help tremendously. While in-person training is not required to complete Level 2, completing our 3-Day Intensive in Person Training is a pre-requisite for continuing your skills in the Master Level 3 & 4 Repair Technician course. Before our 3-day immersive, we will set up a consultation to determine personalized learning objectives, which are based on your prior successes and challenges in the course. Our 3 Day In-Person Intensive is presently offered in a variety of different locations with different instructors and partners. To inquire about becoming a partner reach out to hello@windrepairtrainingacademy.com

Repair Levels 3 and 4:

Each course is a four-month class: 16 weekly 45-minute one-on-one sessions

At this stage in your development as a master clarinet repair technician, you need to continue to increase your speed and begin to routinely be paid for completed work. Our goal in both Level 3 and Level 4, is to place you with an existing master repair technician, close to where you live, if possible, who can spot check your work while you continue to learn from us. In order to accomplish this you may need to pay a bench fee to be able to work inside their shop, which could be as much as an additional $100-500 USD per month. The entire problem with learning mastery level repair skills is that those technicians who are proficient are too busy doing paid work to spend the time necessary to help you perfect your craft. However, we have found if a busy master tech knows he or she is not responsible for all your development as a technician, but instead can just comment on your work or suggest where you need to improve, they are far more willing to participate and engage with you. This is why we advocate for students paying for a bench in a shop to review/observe their work but not be responsible for teaching you. We have found many eventually will hire you under this arrangement or recommend you eventually. When combined with our one-on-one sessions and monthly group learning, you will continue to advance rapidly as a master technician. After the completion of Level 3 and 4, as an independent repair technician you will be able to charge between $60-80+ per hour ( in the US), perhaps less outside of the US, for your work because of the advanced techniques you will learn. If you work for a shop as an employee, you are more likely to earn $30-35 per hour in the US, and it could be less outside of the US.