Piano Tuning and Aviaiton

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi Joel,

Dangerous stuff! It's a bit like asking your doctor if he knows what he's=
 doing, or just faking it. Personally, I think they're (doctors) faking it.=
 <G> It's becoming increasingly more difficult for a purist to justify his=
 position on ANY issue. Those with the extra aids (sorry, tools) look at the=
 purist as a sort of quaint archaic throwback. It disturbs me greatly that=
 too many kids who grew up with pocket calculators can't figure change to=
 the next dollar without them. On the other hand, I carry one with me every=
 day. Does that make me a hypocrite, or a pragmatist? Probably both. The=
 point is that standards for EVERYTHING are determined by circumstance and=
 shift with societal attitudes. Basic skills are continually redefined=
 within a moving framework. Yesterday, a machine tuner was considered a=
 hack. Today, the machines are better and tunings produced using them are as=
 good as those done by aural tuning purists. Tomorrow... Who knows? I'm an=
 aural tuning fork basher and I agree with your attitude that a tuner should=
 be able to do it with a fork (sounds like a T shirt) and ears. That doesn't=
 mean I'm against ETDs, I really don't care what another tuner uses if=
 he/she can do decent work. I've just never been comfortable being dependent=
 on a piece of machinery. I'll use all the power tools (aids) I can get, but=
 I *try* to retain fall back capabilities if the tool fails. The argument=
 that it doesn't matter because ETD breakdown isn't a life and death=
 situation doesn't wash. All piano service, no matter on what exalted plane=
 it's practiced, by what means, and with what equipment, is a luxury=
 business. What we do is "nice", but not necessary. We are in the same=
 category as the mylar balloon manufacturers in that we are superfluous=
 fluff from a survival perspective. We are a dispensable item, not on=
 society's list of essentials. Are you cheered up yet?=20

In the interest of maintaining perspective, consider that the above comes=
 from someone who's hobbies have ranged from computer programming to flint=
 knapping. Grain of salt, and all that.

Ron Nossaman   =20






<snip>
>I am trying to invesitgate standards for "competency,"
>not necessarily how much backup hardware we may have. =20
<snip>
>My view is that no matter how many
>other possibilites there may be for that tuner you portray, I still
>question whether a person can be called a piano tuner without being able
>to tune a piano with basic tools. Would you be suggesting that an
>electronic tuning device (EDT) is a basic tool?  What do others think?=20
>Maybe I'm not expressing myself well, so keep those ideas coming.
>

>----Joel
>
>

 Ron Nossaman