Piano Technician Training

[Mike and Jane Spalding]

HI Doug,

Welcome to the list, and to the craft of piano technology.  Is this a first career, or a career change?  Where are you coming from?

A couple years ago, I went through all that you are contemplating, as a mid-life career changer.  Here are some of my observations.  Some of the list members have seen this from the point of view of established technicians watching new folks come into the craft - it would be interesting to hear what they think.

1.  I did the Randy Potter course.  Selected it based on the Piano Today article, on the recommendations of other techs, and on having previewed a copy at the UW library.  It's not perfect, but it provided everything that I needed in order to begin working with confidence and (adequate entry-level) competence, and to pass the PTG RPT exams.  Note that Randy offers a less costly version of the course without the action model or tools, but unless you are already well outfitted, you're money ahead getting the complete course with tools and model included.  I could go on about how home-study, or embarking on a new career, requires initiative, hard work, long hours, self-discipline yada yada, but I hope you've already confronted that need and decided you can do it. 

2.  The course is important, but networking with other techs is equally valuable.  Join the PTG, and attend every local chapter meeting.  In my neighborhood, the Guild members do not appear to be overly protective of their territory, or hoarding a limited marketplace of customers.  They do seem genuinely concerned about the quality of service that they and their colleagues are providing.  I found them very willing to share their knowledge at our monthly chapter meetings.  Folks who are interested in learning, and improving the quality of their work, are encouraged, regardless of their current skill level.  I did not find any apprenticeship opportunities as a beginner.  Once you have some skills, and have demonstrated that you are serious about this craft, the opportunities will come.

hope this helps,

Mike Spalding, RPT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Doug Jones <limax@plover.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 1:52 PM
Subject: Piano Technician Training


> Greetings,
> I just joined the mailing list a couple of days ago and have been
> enjoying the amount of email sent to me by this mailing list.  It's nice
> to see a very active list.
> 
> I do have a question about training to become a piano technician
> (as I'm sure you have been asked numerous times).  How did you get your
> training?  Currently, I'm looking into both the Randy Potter and the
> Americal School correspondence courses, but I'm not sure if either is
> better or if I should try to find a technician who is willing to take on
> an apprentice.
> 
> I have issues with how both schools present themselves as being
> the "better" school.  In the case of Randy Potter, he includes a
> 12-year-old article from Keyboard Magazine saying that his school is the
> best.  (Written by Larry Fine, no less)  I'm not sure how much relavance
> an article of that age has on training today.  In the case of the American
> School, there are email testimonials included, but none of the
> testimonials are from members of the PTG.  They say that they just haven't
> bothered.  Cost, of course, is an issue, since the Randy Potter course
> costs twice as much as the American School course.
> 
> Which brings me to the other option.  From what I've read on the
> list and the archives, it seems to me that most piano technicians would
> not be willing to take on an apprentice since they fear that this will
> take business away from them.  How can that be approached?  Yes, I'd be
> willing to pay a technician for training if they would offer it to me.
> I have been in touch with the PTG about membership and stating that I'm
> looking to maybe apprentice to someone.  I'm currently living in the SF
> Bay Area, just to give you a geographical reference.
> 
> Any help/suggestions/comments would be very welcome.  You are welcome to
> contact me off-list if you feel that this is not worthy of the bandwidth
> on the list.
> 
> Thank you very much.
> Sincerely,
> Doug Jones
> 
>