[CAUT] CAUT Endorsement (was Re: Job Opening, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

[Jeff Tanner]

On Oct 22, 2007, at 6:52 PM, Richard Brekne wrote:

> Lets put aside the laughable bit for a post or two and get into why  
> this is not a plus for a CAUT head tech.  And thats what I am  
> suggesting it for mind you, for a person who is to head up a  
> serious music school, conservatory, college within a university...  
> what have you. Why do you find this so useless ?

I can only answer that question with the mirrored version.  What  
about a music degree do you think prepares one for being a piano  
technician?  Bear in mind, as you know, this work isn't all done on  
the concert stage.  In fact, that is a very small portion of the  
overall job - though it is the most visible.  The overwhelming  
majority of the work is get your hands dirty basic tuning regulation  
and repair, with some rebuilding work thrown in from time to time if  
you can work it in.  Not much different than if you worked in a piano  
factory with absolutely no musical background.  And I think 99 times  
out of 100, it won't require much knowledge of music to put a good  
solid tuning and regulation on the concert piano.  Tuning stable,  
solid unisons, good, solid overall temperament (which to me includes  
from 1-88), and being able to create good touch and tone has nothing  
to do with the training one receives pursuing a music degree.

We work on machines.  You don't need to understand the intricacies of  
Chopin to be able to adjust the machine so that someone else can  
recreate them.  You just need to know how to adjust the machine so  
that it will perform as it is designed, because Chopin created those  
intricacies based on the design capability of the machine.  Even if  
we become "artistic" in our manipulation of the tuning, that is still  
a process that has its roots in physics, not music.  In fact, even  
for a simple basic tuning, we have to ignore what is taught in the  
music theory class because the piano follows none of those rules.

>
> Strikes me that a person with at least an associates degree in  
> music has enough basic knowledge in the field to at least be able  
> to relate to most musical situations he/she is in.  I believe that  
> is of value, and if I was a music director and had to choose  
> between two otherwise equal resumes I'd pick the person with the  
> associates degree hands down.

That would be a music director with a music degree who believed it  
was important because that was all the music director had to relate  
to.  I could see why a music director might would favor a music  
degree.  But the music director would be making that decision out of  
ignorance or prejudice.

I would never argue that at least some music in a technician's  
background wouldn't be beneficial.  But how many people come into  
this line of work without some kind of music experience or  
appreciation in their background?  There are too many really good  
piano technicians who never went to college out there doing good work  
in upper echelon music departments to assert that a degree in music  
would make a measurable difference in their performance as a tuner/ 
technician.  The tasks we perform are unrelated to what is taught to  
music majors.

Certainly, a music degree guarantees some level of exposure to music,  
but that has little to do with the tasks we carry out.  And even the  
amount of exposure we could use does not require a degree.

>
> One other bit.  An associates degree in music is really not hard to  
> achieve. And I get the sense you are kind of aware of that in  
> saying "I've been in that world for 22 plus years and I've seen  
> what students of music are prepared for".  There is a lot they  
> leave out.  Ear training for example... a shadow of what it once  
> was.  Indeed I'd turn the whole thing around on music students as  
> well and require they know a certain degree about tuning and  
> instrument theory.
> I suppose it might be wise for me to mention that we have probably  
> different ground level perspectives to begin with... which bind us  
> to a certain necessity for disagreement on these kinds of issues.   
> But our very disagreement allows for us to voice and bounce off  
> each other our variant perspectives... and hopefully, that may help  
> those who are struggling in committee to come up with a good  
> direction for CAUT to go.  Whatever that turns out to be... I'll  
> back them up in the end. A PTG/CAUT variant of my country right or  
> wrong I guess.

I did have one music professor whose undergraduate degree was in  
English.  He then achieved a high rank in the Army before returning  
to pursue a grad degree in music.  He was possibly the most  
incredibly musical person I've ever been around.  It doesn't even  
take a music degree to be an incredible musician.

I have always believed you cannot turn someone into a musician by  
having him earn a music degree.  Musicians are born that way.  Their  
musicality can be expanded on by studying at a higher level.  But you  
cannot generate something that is not there by sending one to college.

Jeff


Jeff Tanner, RPT
University of South Carolina



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20071024/1635202f/attachment.html