Gratuities & concert tuning

[Joel Jones]

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On 3/2/04 9:24 AM, "Avery Todd" <atodd@UH.EDU> wrote:
Jeff and Avery,=20
Since I have retired from University service I am smiling as I read your
scheduling problems and the last minute requests.  Finger pointing was
always fun to watch.  Sometimes you gain some insight into faculty and
student personalities by this exchange.
   =20
For 30 years I scheduled the concert hall pianos to be tuned on Friday
morning.  I referred to it as a sacred occurrence.  No requests were
approved for last minute rehearsals, visiting school children, etc.
Everyone knew I was in the hall and could stop by for a quick consultation
about problems with the pianos.  Otherwise, the pianos were NOT tuned
specifically for a concert during the week.  My director who started this
schedule announced to the faculty that I had a life too and if they choose
to perform on Sunday the piano would still only be tuned on Friday.

The software also gave me the list of rooms and performances, which I looke=
d
over to see if there were any concerts I wanted to hear.  I learned and
heard many problems before they became serious by listening to my work.
There were a few times that I was asked to tune for a visiting artist, and =
I
was always responsive to broken strings, etc.

I highly recommend this weekly tuning  schedule of concert pianos.
Humidity changes can be anticipated as American and German pianos don=B9t
respond the with same pitch change.  Voicing and regulation can be tweeked
in  a few minutes.   Dings in the corners can be touched and the case
cleaned.  In Army jargon  -  the pianos were standing tall.

Joel

--=20
Joel A. Jones  RPT
Piano Technicians Guild
Assistant Institute Director
June 29 - July 3, Nashville, TN
http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm
jajones2@facstaff.wisc.edu
608/833-1488


> Jeff,=20
>=20
> Thankfully, our computer scheduling software has ALL rooms listed which b=
e
> scheduled for any particular event. So, scholarship auditions, competitio=
ns,
> etc. have to be scheduled when they're arranged/booked. And since that ty=
pe
> of thing is usually booked way in advance, I rarely get caught "with my
> pants down", so to speak. :-)
>=20
> Granted, most of the time, no one contacts me about them but with me bein=
g
> able to check the schedule here in my shop, and also book myself into any
> room on the schedule, I'm usually aware of any extra events being schedul=
ed
> and then if I do have any questions, I can contact whoever is in charge.
>=20
> Avery=20
>=20
> At 10:00 AM 3/2/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>> On Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at 09:44 AM, Avery Todd wrote:
>>>=20
>>> With the exception of the harpsichords, I usually don't have a problem =
in
>>> that
>>> realm. All concerts & recitals are on a computer schedule, to which I h=
ave
>>> access,
>>> so I keep a pretty close watch on what's happening. Both major halls ha=
ve
>>> two 'D's in them, so piano availability is not a problem. The only prob=
lem
>>> I've had is that the student is supposed to indicate which piano is to =
be
>>> used but they rarely do. So, with the exception of the pianists (who us=
ually
>>> do indicate), I've gotten to the point where I just tune whichever one =
I
>>> think would be best for that particular recital. I have better things t=
o do
>>> than to track down a student or accompanist to ask which piano as I did=
 when
>>> I first came here.
>>>=20
>>> Avery
>>=20
>> For the most part, that is an exact description of the way things happen
>> here.  However, since we currently have only one recital hall, on rare
>> occasion a recital might be scheduled in a different room, such as our c=
hoir
>> room, which is equipped with recording facilities and utilized as a reci=
tal
>> overflow venue.  Or there might be some other piano involving event held=
 in
>> there.  The events which are scheduled in that room do not show up on th=
e
>> main events (recital hall) calendar, which is separate still, from the
>> recital calendar.  That is just one example.  We also periodically host
>> competitions and auditions for outside organizations and can involve any
>> number of pianos. About 25% of the time someone will contact me ahead of=
 time
>> to set up logistics.
>> The rest of the time, it is apparently assumed that someone else will le=
t me
>> know what is going on, or that I have ESP.
> Jeff
>=20
>=20


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