LIFE STORY OF A PIANO MASTER TUNER

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Coming up is a story about a piano tuner who has risen to the status of master tuner after devoting 64 years of his life to this craft in order to create perfect piano sounds.

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He hits each key countless times to find that perfect pitch. He repeats the process of tightening and loosening the strings, raising and lowering the keyboard. To date, he has done roughly 41,000 rounds of tuning. He became fascinated by piano tuning when he was fixing a church pipe organ at age 19.

[Soundbite] LEE JONG-YEOL(MASTER PIANO TUNER) : "It's a creative process of making pretty sounds. I am moved by the improved sound."

Lee has worked as a piano tuner for 64 years now. Dubbed "the companion of masters," he is praised by world-class pianists for his exceptional skill. His encounter with pianist Krystian Zimmerman is well-known. Zimmerman is so particular about his instrument that he is known to transport his own personal piano to concerts.

[Soundbite] LEE JONG-YEOL(MASTER PIANO TUNER) : "The audience was applauding for an encore when Zimmerman stopped them and thanked me for an excellent job."

To this day, however, the 81-year-old master tuner remains anxious until a concert comes to a successful finish.

[Soundbite] LEE JONG-YEOL(MASTER PIANO TUNER) : "There's no end in learning. When I have an idea, I make a note of it and make that tool and use it at work. That's how I keep evolving."

Even today, he's striving to draw out the best possible sound from an instrument so sensitive that it is easily affected even by venue temperature.