lessons learned

[Alan]

Must be a Canadian thing.

Good-naturedly, respectfully, I disagree. A very rusty old piano, as
described, I would tune flat if I thought strings were going to be
snapping left and right. (Notice I did not use the word "flat" in
describing it to the customer.) 

Unless little Debbie has perfect pitch, I don't think we will ruin her
chances of musical stardom. On the other hand, learning on a rusty old
upright just might!

What those folks need is a new piano, OR a complete rebuild from yours
truly.

Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of John Ross
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 9:15 PM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: lessons learned

I always take them up to A440, if at all possible. Mind you, not if it
is
just a little old lady, that just uses it for Hymns.
I feel if a child is taking lessons, that the ear needs to hear the
proper
pitch, for future reference.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan" <tune4u@earthlink.net>
To: "'Pianotech'" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 10:23 PM
Subject: RE: lessons learned


> Terry Farrell said: "... explaining why you want to charge them for
TWO
> pitch raises on that rusty 1915 Starr upright."
>
> To which I add: "And why we are going to tune it a little lower in
pitch
> than modern pianos. Rather than increasing the risk of breakage tuning
> this here A to 440 cycles per second (Ouch. That Hz!) we will tune it
to
> 435. When this piano was built, that was a generally accepted pitch
> standard and the piano was designed to be at that pitch, anyway."
>
> I think that I actually say this in a whole lot fewer words but,
> considering it's me, maybe not!
>
> Alan R. Barnard
> Salem, MO
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
> Behalf Of Farrell
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 7:30 PM
> To: Pianotech
> Subject: Re: lessons learned
>
> "But I think in the future I would consider explaining "a string might
> fail" BEFORE doing a large pitch raise."
>
> ABSOLUTELY! I do it before ANY pitch raise on any piano. That will go
a
> long way toward explaining why you want to charge them for TWO pitch
> raises on that rusty 1915 Starr upright that is 100 cents flat!
>
> On a newer piano and/or a small pitch raise, I will still inform them
of
> the risk of string breakage, but then also say that it is unusual for
> strings to break on a newer piano like theirs - just to put them at
ease
> (even though you have put them on notice!).
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Charles Neuman" <piano@charlesneuman.net>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 5:26 PM
> Subject: Re: lessons learned
>
>
> > Mike Kurta wrote:
> > >     Hi Charles:
> > >     No, No, No, don't say those statements, don't even think that
> way.
> > > First and foremost, protect yourself by pre-conditioning the
> customer by
> > > educating him or her...
> >
> > Thanks Mike,
> >
> > That's just the kind of thing I was looking for. Would you recommend
> > educating the customer in this way before doing just a tuning?
Suppose
> > nothing is broken (yet), and you fear that some elbows will break
> during
> > the tuning.
> >
> > I have successfully gotten through the "a string failed" speech, and
I
> > purposely gave a low price to replace it to show that I wasn't
making
> it
> > up. But I think in the future I would consider explaining "a string
> might
> > fail" BEFORE doing a large pitch raise. That way, a customer CHOOSES
> the
> > pitch raise, fully knowing all the risks. Then I would feel more
> > comfortable charging a more apropriate rate for a string
replacement.
> >
> > Thanks for the tips. This is really helpful.
> >
> > Charles Neuman
> > PTG Assoc, Long Island
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
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>


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