PTG

[ricca@nuct.udallas.edu]

Motivated by Richard West's letter, and a previous question about what the
state of pianos will be in 25 years, I feel compelled to write. I fall
in the category of those who probably will be "terminal associates" for
the simple reason that I am a piano technician very part time. My full
time job is as a physics instructor, and I do research on the acoustics
of musical instruments (mostly violins and pianos). I'm not likely to
develop the speed-accuracy combination needed to pass the tuning test
any time soon.

My experience of PTG is, however, that only very rarely has any PTG member
looked down on me for my lack of ability. In fact, the major reason I
joined PTG was because of the members' willingness to share their
expertise, experience, and other things, with almost anyone. The organization
is to be commended for that, and encouraged to continue it. (That includes
all of y'all too.) One of the things that I have learned from those who
taught me about piano technology, and from PTG'ers, is that we technicians
must speak for the piano. In light of that idea, I'd like to share some of
what I know about where the piano is headed.

As a researcher, I know that as we understand the piano better, not only
can our job as technicians become easier and more efficient, the ability
to produce good electric instruments will increase. I won't use this space
to go into all the details, but I would venture that by about the turn of
the century, electronic instruments will exist that will be indistinguishable
from pianos when used in RECORDED media. Such instruments will not need
our services. (Live pianos, because of the influence of soundboards, are
a much more difficult problem to a physicist/engineer.)

Add to this the change in mainstream music, and we find that it is unlikely
that we will come to an age where we find a piano in every home. So,
although passionate discussions about the pro's and con's of PTG are
important for PTG's growth, let us not "fiddle while Rome burns" - our
main purpose still seems (to me, at least) to speak for the piano. If
we can help make a piano better, or our repairs better, then great! If
we lose sight of this, then we will have difficulties with long term
employment, and long-term enjoyment of our jobs. Hence, I hope that this
list-server will continue to promote pianos, music, and open-ness, but
as we do so, I also hope we will keep focused on our real business.

Thanks for listening...
      Barney Ricca
      ricca@nuct.udallas.edu