Thanks for the post-mortem Terry. It sounds like it was a wothwhile experience. Jim Radford Templeton, CA -----Original Message----- From: Farrell <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> Date: Saturday, January 27, 2001 6:24 PM Subject: 1st Concert Tuning Post-Mortem >It's over. It's done. I had fun. Now that I've had a couple beers I can >comment on my experience (Molson's, Roger & Derek! - seeing all that beer >being consumed today made me thirsty - besides my nerves were kinda shot). >It turns out the concerts were tonight (not during the day). The noon tuning >was for an afternoon sound check where the band and Richard Marx does a few >tunes while checking out equipment. Then I tuned again right after K.D. Lang >finished her sound check (her show was scheduled for 6:30 PM, and Richard >Marx for 8:00 PM). Keep in mind this is all outside at a huge festival with >400,000 people! > >The first tuning went well. Yamaha C3 (kinda rough shape - older, w/ >apparent poor upkeep) was about 5 to 10 cents flat. Pitch raise, tune, tune >again. Felt good about it. (That was after fixing the damper rod that the >movers jammed in a funky position and fixing the lyre brace). Sat back, >listened to sound check. Piano sounded great. I kept listening for Marx to >say something nasty about the piano but he just dug in and pounded away on >it. Made comments about mic levels and such, but seemed to enjoy playing the >piano! So I guess no news was good news. > >So I sat back for a few hours. Then after K.D. Lang (I talked with her a >couple minutes, she seems down-to-earth and sweet) finished her sound check, >I was told I would have from then (4:50 pm) until 6:30 to tune (when K.D. >Lang does her show). So I start pitch lowering because piano is 5 cents >sharp. Then the bagpipes start off one side of the stage. Then the accordion >starts doing polkas off the front of the stage. Then the Air Force Blue >Devils are roaring by. Then the "TEST, TEST, TEST, TESTING 1, 2, 3, TEST" >starts. I thought that was noisy. What I did not know was what was about to >start: Two local "talents" little 13 year-old girls singing and dancing >MTV-style to that %&$#ing disco-rap cr#$. ON MY STAGE. Oh! The nerve. But I >rolled with it and did the best I could. I think I actually got through it >OK. If you plaster your ear on top of the strings, it's surprising what you >can hear. Although in the hi treble, I was pounding so hard to hear (yes, >yes, I know what it likely did to my ear - I WILL be buying ear plugs SOON) >that I broke a string! Ooops! Tied off the one string, so that the one note >now has only two strings rather than three. I seriously doubt the dude will >hear it. > >My observations: I think a concert tuning for a talented professional >classical pianist in a nice hall can be analogous to a brain surgeon doing a >delicate operation at the Mayo Clinic. My outing today (outdoor - oodles of >drunk people - elevator rock band) was analogous to doing triage on the >front line. Stop the bleeding. Stabilize. Move on. The sun was blasting the >piano for the first tuning. Then at the second one, the temperature was >dropping, dropping, dropping (you shoulda seen the girls in their little >halter tops!). I checked the last two sections I tuned, and saw that they >had both gone up 5 cents in pitch since I set them 15 minutes before! YIKES! >This is not tuning. I'm not really sure what it was. But tuning it was not. >Well.......it was fun! > >I'd do it again. Next time I would charge more. For those that questioned >the double tuning fee figure: The nature of the crowded event and the tuning >schedule totally prevented me from going home (or anywhere else) between >tunings. Both tunings required pitch raises/lowerings. I left home at 9:30 >AM and got home at 7 PM. That works out to $33 per hour. I usually make >between 50% and 75% more than that when I locally tune Mrs. Jones' Acrosonic >and Mrs. Smith's 4' 9" Fisher grand. The stage manager thanked me about 18 >times and said he would call me next time they were in town. He seemed >genuinely happy that I put up with all the noise and uncertain schedule. >Hey, I figure I'm just here doing time & I'll make the best of it! > >Now the professional classical pianist tuning gig: I am smart enough to say >NO to that at this point because I know my voicing skills are not up to >snuff. And I also wonder how I would do if someone started requesting real >custom tuning specs - I don't feel qualified for that either. > >But where I was today, I think I done good - or at least as good as could be >done, under the circumstances. A good experience. A fun experience. K.D. >Lang seems nice and Richard Marx plays electric elevator music (Yuk - >boring - but I like the sound of his piano!). > >Terry Farrell >Piano Tuning & Service >Tampa, Florida >mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com >
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