Tuning the upper treble

[Ted Simmons]

Thanks, Ron.  I'm now primed to advise the piano customer long before the
tuning appointment.  But you know as well as I do that I'll still be faced
with an impossible situation. I can only try to ask them to clear the top
of the piano.
Is the 3" and 4" tuning tip really a threat to bending the tuning pins?
I'm not sure but it feels strange when using them. I like the feel of a
tuning pin moving in the hole.  I don't feel like that is happening with a
longer tuning tip.

>>when I arrive to tune a grand during the Christmas season, I find that
>>the top >>of the grand is covered with Christmas decorations of such a
>>nature that it >>would be very inconvenient to remove them and raise the
>>lid.  I carry a 3" and >>4" tuning tip for such occasions. I don't know a
>>solution to this.  Does >>anyone?
>
>Trying to work around seasonal trappings like that is a lot like
>asking your dentist to clean and put filling in your teeth while you
>chew tobacco .... get the point?  Besides, you don't get paid to do
>that kind of work.  What happens if/when you happen to break an
>heirloom that was charmingly displayed atop the piano?  I've never
>had a customer refuse to remove things from the piano.  They're
>always happy to oblige my request.  For future reference, you might
>make it a point in your appointment set-up procedure to remind your
>customers to clear the top of the piano before you arrive.  If they
>happen to forget, oh well!  Make pleasant chit-chat (seated, of
>course) while they do the hauling.
>
>Happy Holidays!
>
>Murphy's Law for Piano Tuners:  The odds that a string will break on a
>grand piano during a tuning are directly proportional to the size and
>number of books, pictures, stereos, and flower vases perched atop the
>instrument.
>Ron Torrella, RPT
>Editor, Detroit-Windsor Chapter Newsletter