Tuning for Tomatoes

[James Radford]

Thanks for the great story.

Jim Radford
Associate
Templeton, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: LHSBAND440@AOL.COM <LHSBAND440@AOL.COM>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Thursday, September 14, 2000 6:46 PM
Subject: Tuning for Tomatoes


>Tonight I had the rare occasion to tune for a wonderfully elderly couple.
>They had a Steinway and Sons that there daughter had played for years and
>since had moved out of the house and the piano hadn't been tuned since
1984.
>Even though it was in a finished basement the instrument was only 14 cents
>flat on an average.  I spent time learning about tuning and the art of
being
>human.  As the elderly gentlemen stood over me and watched everything I
did,
>his wife continually offered me and coke and a sandwich.  I ended up
>journeying away from the piano for five minutes to look at pictures when
>their daughter won piano competitions practicing on this instrument and for
>an instant there lives were brought back to those happy days when music
>filled their house.  I was asked to do this tuning because they are selling
>the piano since their daughter has moved on and has no interest in playing
>the piano.  As I returned to the piano these two wonderful people just
>continued to live those years over again as I played the piano to check
>intervals and beat rates.  Finally, I put the magnetic pickup on the
>accu-tuner and let them talk and relive to their hearts delight.  When It
>came time for me to leave the gentlemen took back his check and then came
>back with another that was 20% more than what a normally charge.  As I took
>the check his wife came back with a bag full of tomatoes.  She said that
>these were the best from her garden and she wanted me to take them home to
my
>family since I had spent almost 3 hours with them tuning their piano rather
>than being home with my family.  As I drove home I thought that his night
was
>just the kind of night that they needed and so did I.  It had very little
to
>do with beat rates, unisons, or the SAT.  But it had everything to do with
>how music can draw people together who have never met before and who have a
>common interest, desire or just memories of times gone bye.  Now I don't
tune
>for a living but rather for the fun of it, so I can do this.  Those of you
>who tune for a living, I understand that this is probably something that
you
>can't do.  I kept the tomatoes but the check I put in an envelope and sent
it
>back with a letter saying that they were the winners of the free monthly
>tuning (which no such thing exists).  Am I richer for the evening? .......
>More than I have felt in a long time.
>
>
>Leonard (Leo) H. Silverman
>Watertown, NY