"Old School Teachings"

[Richard Moody]

----- Original Message -----
From: Farrell <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 5:18 PM
Subject: "Old School Teachings"


| What did they teach piano tuners decades ago?

I would venture that "decades ago" the best training for
tuners was in factories.
There were many more factories decades ago than today.
Next would have been dealerships.   The dealers had a senoir
technician and he hired who he needed for grunt work and
trained those who showed an interest in advancing.  This was
in the decades before the Guild.
    Next would have been the used piano dealers.   This is
where my teacher honed his craft.  Before that he took his
first lessons from a tuner who had toured with Paderewski.
He was offered to continue in an apprenticeship but the
Nazis  came to power and he was lucky to get out before the
holocost.
    In San Francisco where I appreticed, there was a tuner,
Vladimer Palm who was highly praised (including my teacher)
for his temperaments. I never met him but the legand was he
tuned for the court of the Czar.   They said he tuned ET the
best,  well one of the best.

    So I don't really understand the question about why
people in "the old school" were sub-standard.  In that
argument, the "old school" isn't defined, and one wonders
how listening to the crappiest modern piano ever built,
that any tuner can be judged, let alone how one tuner's
effort there can be extended to indicate how the "old
school" tuned.  There were "bums" back then and there are
"bums" today and  one example does not indicate the level of
expertise of the times.
    The old school was a direct passing on of skills from
master to appretice.  Unfortunatly that method doesn't seem
as common nowdays as we imagine it back then.
Which makes an hypothesis plausible---the opportunities for
acquiring and enhancing tuning skills were much more
available and of a higher standard in 1902 than in 2002.
I as a student of history, I would defend such
hypothesis,,,,especially if I could get a secretary to
present them in good gramatic and orthographic form.   ; )

                ----ric



    If legends are made they come from stories like this.
He when fifteen decided to try to tune the family piano.
Keep in mind he was on a playing level of a bit of very good
talent and branching off into organ and harpsichord.   His
mechanical aptitude led him into the tuning endeavor.  The
family tuner came around and gave a critique of his tuning
and pointers and offered him an apprenticeship in the
comming year.  Unfortunatly the Nazi's came first and he was
lucky to get out alive.  Now he said the tuner was one who
had toured with Paderweski
|
| I tuned a 1970 (or so) "Kincade" spinet today. Seemed to
be a lot like a "Grand" spinet. Nuff said. The piano was a
full half-step flat. The folks just moved here from Texas. I
asked how long had it been since the last tuning (expecting
her to say about 1971), she said about a year ago and that
she had it tuned every six months. I was dumbfounded. They
are the original owners of the piano.
|
| This piano is played by two of her daughters, one has been
taking lessons for four years, and the other for two years.
There is no rust on the strings. There are no cracks in the
plate. There is no significant defects in the plywood
soundboard (unless you want to count the whole board as a
defect). This piano should be tuned to A440. This woman was
happy as a clam to pay for two pitch raises and a tuning and
thanked my about 100 times for getting it up to pitch. The
older daughter had always complained about the piano
"sounding off".
|
| Now here is the flame Terry part. I asked her if it was an
elderly gentleman that had been tuning the piano. Of course,
she said "yes, how did you know?"
|
| My question: Why is it that many "old school" piano tuners
"tune it where it lies". I can understand the old upright
worries (although I find they are usually not justified),
but not a 30 year old piano. I don't think human
intelligence has gone up much since 50 years ago (I can
think of many examples - but this is not a political
list!) - I can only assume they were taught that way. Is
that correct?
|
| Terry Farrell
|
|