David, I don't know your age or experience but thirty years ago ETD's were not in common use and were in most circles including the PTG frowned upon. I treat artists with the respect they are due this artist was not due my respect since he could not tell time. Mike On 10/26/07, David Ilvedson <ilvey at sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > Micheal, > > We know you had a window from 12 noon to 4 pm? You said at 3 pm the > artist arrived "early". You arrived 1&1/2 hours late...your bad. You > were able to get though it twice in an 1&1/2 hours...pretty good. The > third pass was the fine tuning....I'm all for aural tuning under the right > conditions, BUT, some sort of ETD could have gotten your piano in the > ballpark well under an hour with NO stress, at which time you could proceed > through your aural tuning at your leisure and probably be finishing up as > the artist walks...just my opinion on the right tools at the right > time....;-] > > I don't tend to bark at the artist...no matter what. > > David Ilvedson, RPT > Pacifica, CA 94044 > > ----- Original message ---------------------------------------- > From: "Michael Magness" <IFixPianos at yahoo.com> > To: caut <caut at ptg.org> > Received: 10/25/2007 11:46:19 PM > Subject: [CAUT] "Introduction" & Recent Experiences in Concert Tuning > > > >I offer this as perhaps some food for thought for the committee as they > >ponder the why's and how's of the CAUT test. > >I had done some concert tuning here and there when asked to but most of > it > >had been handled by the older more established techs in the area and then > >about 35 years ago I began tuning for a school district, a rather large > >district with at the time eight grade schools feeding students into the > one > >Jr. high and High school. The high school had a 1000 seat theatre with > stage > >lighting, no fly loft but decent acoustics, the aisles were carpeted and > all > >of the seats were plushly padded. A few years after I began there they > >traded off the Steinway O and 5'11" Chickering and acquired, with the > help > >of a local philanthropic fund four new p-22's and a new Yamaha C3. Within > a > >couple of years they began the concert series, this wasn't affiliated > with > >the school but the concerts were held in the high school theatre. The > >concert association was a non-profit group of volunteers, the concerts > were > >available to ticketholders only and tickets only available by the season. > >The first 2 years they had groups that didn't use a piano. The 3rd season > >began in early November with a concert pianist, I was to tune the day of > the > >concert, I had no special instructions. I knew the grand hadn't been > tuned > >since the previous March and had intended on being there by noon. My > morning > >tuning ran long and I arrived at 1:30, I quickly pulled it to pitch, > rough > >tuned it then began to go through a second time more slowly, I finished > that > >one. It was now almost 3. I began a 3rd time through this to be the > finish > >tune, I was a half hour into it and the pianist arrived, early. He > >introduced himself, looked at the piano asked how it was going I said > fine > >and he walked away. Ten minutes later he was back, "Are you almost > >finished"? I told him no it would be a while yet. He left and 15 minutes > >later he was back again wanting to know if I was almost done, I repeated > no > >it would be a while yet. Again he left and 15 minutes later he was back > >again, was I done yet? When I tune I concentrate, I tune aurally and I > tend > >to have a unibrow which I furrow and I guess it was still furrowed when I > >turned to him, he wasn't a very tall man and I am 6'4" so we were about > the > >same height with me sitting on the bench and I said to him "Look pal, you > >can have it good or you can have it fast"! He looked at me for moment > turned > >and walked away and wouldn't come near me the rest of the time I was > >there! The association prez thought it highly amusing. I like to call > that > >my intro to concert work. Over the years I've tuned for many in that > venue, > >at other schools and the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. I was at a > >Guild meeting when my cell phone rang and it was a director from a high > >school I hadn't done any work for in years. He was in a jam, the Luther > >College band was playing at his school that evening and gosh they'd just > >realized the piano was out of tune! What were they performing? Rhapsody > in > >Blue, it was 4:30, curtain time was 7 and I was an hour away. He had > called > >everyone else in the phonebook and I was the only one who answered! So I > >beat it back, got there at 5:25, the piano was a KG-2 about 6 or 7 years > old > >that he SAID was tuned 2 weeks prior for another concert. It was a full > 25 > >to 30c flat over the entire range, I had a rider with me a guy who was > just > >getting into tuning, a real newbie, he just stood and watched me crank > >through this thing. I pulled it sharp and sharper and sharper still, all > the > >way up pounding and pounding as I went and it stayed put for the most > part, > >I went through the bass twice then went back through it checking for ones > >that hadn't held and redoing them. The audience was filtering in at 6:50 > >when I finished and I got a little round of applause, I hate when that > >happens! A few weeks later I got a call from UW-L to do the Kawai GS-60 > for > >someone, I didn't get the name, on a Sunday at 11:00AM, the artist wanted > to > >use the piano for a few hours first, untuned then she would finish at 11 > and > >I could tune. I said OK, I'll be there. He said that's all? I said yes is > >there more? he said no I just thought you might wonder why she wants to > play > >on the untuned piano. I told him I stopped asking why about 25 years ago, > I > >just ask where and when, I leave the why to the music majors, I'm a > >right-brained person working in their left-brained world. I'm a > practical, > >even-tempered, common-sense kind of guy and why she wants to spend a few > >hours playing on an untuned piano may make sense to me or it may not but > if > >she wants to it's none of my business why! I arrived about 1/2 hour early > >that Sunday and it became very apparant why. She and her 2 sisters all > >Juilliard trained from early ages when they came to this country, one on > >violin, one cello and this one on piano. The others could practice > anytime > >in their hotel rooms or a small room somewhere but this one needed a > piano, > >preferably a grand. Watching her I saw she was trying new material, > playing > >with a recorded piece, trying it several times over and over. This was > her > >practice time and the piano didn't need to be in perfect tune because she > >wasn't playing perfect pieces. Precisly at 11 she stopped and began > >gathering her music, the sound tech went up with me to introduce me and > >after we shook hands she said, "it's out of tune". I told her yes it > would > >be it hasn't been tuned since the last concert 6 weeks ago. She didn't > >respond just walked away. > >So what do these illustrate to the committee? Probably not to consider > >me<grin>. Seriously find a way to test the cool of the would-be CAUT's, I > >believe that is every bit as important as concert ability or tuning seven > >pianos the last as well as the first. Cool under pressure, some would say > I > >snapped at the man in the first story. I did nothing of the kind, he was > >interrupting my "concert" if you will and I simply let him know I didn't > >care for it and gave him a choice. Perhaps the real question would be > after > >he/she tunes that seventh if you asked her/him to adjust a pedal on your > >practice piano, would he/she smile and do so ask if it could wait until > >tomorrow or tear your head off? More importantly after tuning seven > pianos > >which would she/he be entitled to do? > > >Are Caut's second class citizens or do they have a right to say, I've > worked > >enough hours today, it can wait until tomorrow. > > >I have, when I'm tuning for a concert stopped when the stage noise got > too > >bad and asked in a VERY loud voice, "Am I bothering your conversations by > >tuning here"???? Sometimes it takes a few moments but it gets very quiet > and > >stays that way for a while and if I stop again, so does the conversation! > > >There are times when you have to get the job done quickly no muss no > fuss, > >times when you have to make your point to get your job done and times > when > >you just keep your head down, say little and get in do your job and get > out. > >Mike > >-- > >Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important > thing > >is to not stop questioning.-- Albert Einstein > > > > >Michael Magness > >Magness Piano Service > >608-786-4404 > >www.IFixPianos.com > >email mike at ifixpianos.com > -- Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.-- Albert Einstein Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20071026/bd73a878/attachment.html
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