Bad Student Piano Insight

[Vinny Samarco]

this is Crazy Terry,
But it's probably a sign of the times.  When I took a course and majored in
piano teaching (piano pedagogy, if you please) we were instructed to find
out whatever we could about the student's piano.

Vinny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry" <terry@farrellpiano.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 25, 2004 6:13 AM
Subject: Re: Bad Student Piano Insight


> Ahhhh Mr. Nossaman. I should have known you'd open this can of worms!
;-)
>
> Oh, and thanks for doing so!
>
> My question about the teacher was really more of a statement than a true
> question. In truth, in this case, I really knew the answer. Yes, I have
> tuned one of the teacher's pianos (the one that needed its once-a-decade
> tuning). I don't remember exactly what kind of pianos she had, but one was
a
> worn-out crappy micro-grand from the 1920s and the other, which I tuned,
and
> I think is used for most lessons, was a worn-out crappy console. I
remember
> telling her that we could improve that piano quite a bit with some
> regulation, etc (I was surprised she was using it for teaching). She
thought
> it was fine - maybe later. No, in this particular case, even if the
teacher
> played this kids piano, she may not have mentioned anything as being
amiss.
>
> I think my statement was more along the lines of  whether a teacher might
> have some sort of awareness of the instrument a child is practicing on.
Does
> a tennis instructor want to look at your racquet to make sure it is
> adequate? Would a firearms marksman instructor want to inquire about the
> type of rifle the student is using for target practice? I seems to me
piano
> teachers are more divorced from the instrument of the trade than these
other
> instructors. I wonder why. I think that is what I might have been asking.
> Why is that?
>
> Terry Farrell
>
>
> > >The information I gave him about his piano was completely brand-new
stuff
> > >for him.
> >
> > As will be the revelation that piano techs aren't on salary (somewhere),
> > aren't doing this as a hobby to relieve the boredom of the idle rich,
and
> > need to be compensated for time spent on the customers' behalf finding
> > another piano, in order to eat. This all may seem incredible, but it's
not
> > remotely uncommon.
> >
> >
> > >One question remains though: why hadn't her piano teacher of six years
> > >said anything to the parents about the piano?
> >
> > Since when do piano teachers know any more about pianos than anyone else
> > out there in consumerland? This could easily be brand new stuff to the
> > teacher as well. I have a question. Do you tune the teacher's piano? If
> > not, why doesn't the teacher's tuner tune this piano? Does the teacher
> HAVE
> > a piano, and if so, is it EVER tuned?
> >
> > Ron N
>
>
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