"Tuning by the Pound" by Jack Springreamer

[Larry Fisher]

Yo all,

As some of you can tell by the tardiness of my post, I've had a wonderfully
relaxing day getting caught up with stuff.

RE: Pounding the hell out of pianos when tuning

There's a limit to everything  ........  pounding excessively to the point
where strings break, keys break, hammers break, etc., THAT'S EXCESSIVE!!!
It takes talent to get volume out of a piano with out breaking anything.  It
takes experience to find where that point is that you can strike the note to
create a solid lasting relationship with all the points of contact with the
string.  That's all a part of technique along with wielding the tuning lever
with a very patient shoulder and upper arm.  Now would be a good place to
put in some words of body position also.  Don't wear the piano.  Feel it,
don't lay on it.  I find my knee pressing under the keybed to help feel
where the tuning is.  Getting all the imput I can helps me decide what to do
and where.  Uh, I don't use electronic gizmos ......  I'm an organic tuner.
I've had quite a few dealers tell me that I'm a loud and noisey tuner.  This
I've been told when I thought I was just being ho-hum at the time.  I have
traumatized finger tips on my left hand .....  namely the tip of the ring
finger.  It's sensitive to cold (poor circulation) leaving me with the
sensation of occational pain or ache, and when that finger is ever so
slightly exposed to the chill of the morning for instance, and then the
finger nail is accidently and gently bumped as my hand moves past something
for instance, ......... well, there's been times when I've just about had to
pull over, stop the car and hold my hand under my opposite armpit to heat it
up and wait until the pain subsides.  (the armpit sounds crude I know, but I
do shower weekly .... uh usually, that's when the stream ain't all froze up)
I've resorted to wearing finger cups .....  finger tip caps .......  finger
condoms if you prefer.  I wear them on the last three digits of my left hand
most of the time.  When I'm not, I find that hand in my pocket a lot.  I've
learned to tune with them on, and play the piano after the tuning with them
on.  With them on, I find I'm compelled to use other fingers to strike the
notes with ......  namely the index finger along with the ever popular, rush
hour traffic, shopping mall parking lot basic communications device, third
finger.  I take them off for eating, washing and working with glue and small
parts, uh ...... and typing or playing computer games and such.  I first
started wearing them a few years ago.  I haven't noticed any improvement in
my predicament, but then I haven't noticed any progression either.  This
message serves as a means of notification.  Be kind to your fingers.  You
were born with spares, but compromising one, puts the others at risk.
Practice safe fingering.  This is the 90's after all.

And now friends, the subject of my friend Jack Springreamer.  He's got a
nasty bite.  My first encounter with him involved a small ranch near
Pavilion, Wyoming that welded the handle back on as it came loose after a
few short minutes of use. A few short minutes later, I was dealing with a
raw and screaming finger tip and matching thumb tip, and I still had better
than half of the action to go.  I still have that same tool and have
resharpened it with great patience and a small grinder disk mounted in a
Dremel Moto-Tool.  (no, no, no, the tip of the tool, not the handle)  I've
worn adhesive tape to protect my pinkies from Jack Springreamer's handle in
the past but the tape manages to work loose and become a bother.  Me thinks
I'll be using the aforementioned finger protectors in the future.  They may
get chewed up in the process, but they come 12 to a box and are cheaper and
quicker to replace than my finger tips.

Finger caps come in various sizes and are available in office supply joints.
If you can't find any where you live (like in Daniel, Wyoming), for a rather
healthy increase to my bank account, I'll send you some.  Just give me cash
up front and your finger size, pard!!  (anyone know any "pull my finger"
jokes??)  Hey, for those of you with lots of cash and no brains, I'm taking
orders for Jacque Springreamer carrying cases ......  rosewood, hand carved
by computer laser, lined with that red felt that comes in the packing of
Baldwin grands, with room for an ample supply of finger caps stored on a
maple post for every size you might need.  ONLY $2795.99 post paid.
Supplies are limited.  Batteries not included. Special prices considered for
service reps of Geneva International.

Lar

......  as he fingers off into the sunset on a sage brush filled landscape
with a mountainous backdrop ..  I think I hear a banjo, no a guitar,
........  ugh a piano!!  ISH!!

                                    Larry Fisher RPT
   specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
      phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
         http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96)
           Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water