to master or not to master

[Susan Kline]

At 09:46 AM 5/21/98 EDT, you wrote:
>Dear Joe & Penny:
>
>If your work doesn't ad value to the piano what is then the $ & cents
value of
>your work?
>My original letter was posted to indicate that if we lower our standards to
>the point that any repair method (not excluded the manufacturers methods) is
>legitimate it doesn't matter what you put behind your name.  When the hammers
>are completely worn you could recover them with Band-Aids.  It ads no value
>and maybe it works.  You help the customer and make some money in the
process?
>If standards are lowered to the point that anybody can perform the task why
>bother hiring a piano technician.  Send your horse to the body shop and they
>will teach it to play harp.
>
>Cyrillus Aerts IPT (Independent Piano Technician)
>University of North Texas
>

Cyrillus, List --

I see this discussion as exploring a difference between European and
American attitudes. Europeans favor traditional methods and careful
training in them, while Americans prefer innovation. Of course, we both
need both. Without innovation, there'd by nothing for the Europeans to hand
down. Without tradition and careful training, we'd all have to reinvent the
wheel every time we did any work, and (being human) we'd get it wrong a
fair amount of the time. 

Since I'm American, I like innovation. Since I try not to be stupid (most
of the time) I also want to learn all I can about accepted ways of doing
repairs, and especially I would like to learn about older, half-forgotten
ways of doing things, which may still be valuable, or can be adapted to be
valuable again.

As to whether unconventional repairs add value to a piano: Cyrillus says,
"It adds no value and maybe it works. You help the customer and maybe make
some money in the process?"

_If_ the piano is totally unusable before you arrive, and _if_ it is not
the kind of piano that makes the "right" repair economically feasible (new
pinblock in an Aeolian spinet??) and _if_ the unconventional repair makes
the piano useful again, without breaking the customer's financial back,
and, especially, _if_ the repair will last well and not lead to any bad
results later, _then_ I will certainly say that the unconventional repair
added value. In fact, it is probably the only way to add value to such a
piano in most circumstances.

Cyrillus says, 
>If standards are lowered to the point that anybody can perform the task why
>bother hiring a piano technician. 

I don't think of it as lowering standards. It is using appropriate
standards for the task in question. Also, just because it can be done
economically, it doesn't automatically follow that just anyone can do it!
Some of these repairs require real skill and the use of all our wits in
devising them and looking for potential drawbacks.

Finally, if just anyone _can_ do it, I'm all in favor of letting them. If
my customer wants to do an easy repair, and can do it just as well as I
can, I'll show them how (for a minor dose of cash) and let them do it.
There are plenty of things for me to fill my day with which they can't do:
why should I waste my time on drudgery, if they would rather do it instead?

Just my 2 cents value added, I hope. 

Susan

P.S. I'd love to visit the horse-tutoring body shop! Those guys must be
BRIGHT!!

Susan Kline
P.O. Box 1651
Philomath, OR 97370
skline@proaxis.com

"I march to a different drummer, whose location, identity, and musical
training haven't yet been established."
			-- Ashleigh Brilliant