"should I stay or should I go?"

[David Skolnik]

Kent -
I don't mean to single you out, as I know there have been many others who 
have responded similarly to this thread, BUT, having previously indicated 
my own awareness of the need for flexibility, I am, nevertheless, 
disappointed by a general willingness to adopt a passive approach, even 
when it would seem clear that the situation cries out for the 
pro-active.  Case in point.  Yesterday, after reading and responding to the 
initial post by Quentin Coderville, I had a call for an emergency tuning 
(they said "touch up", but it was a tuning) for a Tony Bennett performance, 
in a venue at which I had no previous experience.  I went in after the 
dress rehearsal.  While I had spoken with the production manager before 
hand, I hadn't thought to ask him to make sure everyone knew to either 
leave or be quiet, so, as I began, a few clusters of stage hands and others 
continued to converse, with clearly no intention of leaving (sitting 
comfortably in the front row) or with any awareness that they were, in any 
way, interfering.  Had it, in fact, been only a touch-up, I might have 
elected to tune through the noise, but the piano was clearly in need, and I 
had less than an hour to tune and correct some mechanical problems.  There 
was no reason I had to accept added obstacles, and so, feeling freshly 
empowered by this discussion, I, politely, humorously, but firmly, 
indicated that I needed quiet.  They apologized and departed.  A few 
remained at the back of the theatre, thinking that their conversation could 
not be heard, so I had to repeat my request in a more projective voice, 
while trying to maintained the afore mentioned mix of civility and 
resolve.  This too worked.  It was only when the ushers began to come in, 
10 minutes earlier than I expected, that I knew I was up against a much 
greater learning curve.   The point is, SOMEONE has to teach these 
people.  If I (or you) don't tell them, why SHOULD they know better?   Yes, 
it makes us appear as prima donnas, but for a critical use situation 
(concert, recording) I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect the same 
conditions for tuning as for performance.  Again, the point is to know when 
that reasonable expectation cannot reasonably be fulfilled.


David Skolnik





At 03:46 PM 11/11/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>My blood boils when I must tune in a noisy environment, but I do it, 
>almost always without complaint.
>
>I remember hearing Ron Nossaman say years ago that in designing a 
>procedure he would prefer to work for 10 minutes rather than to have to 
>wait for 5 minutes at any point in the middle.
>
>My attitude towards noisy tuning environments is an extension of this 
>attitude, I think. The time spent not tuning and instead upon getting 
>things quieted down might be worthwhile, but might not work at all, might 
>cause hard feelings, and after which you still have the tuning to start up 
>again where you left off. I'd much rather just keep tuning without pause. 
>Usually, I outlast the noisemakers and have quiet time at the end to make 
>sure the tuning is good.
>
>I finish all tunings that I start. Period. Well, unless the piano breaks.   :)
>
>Kent Swafford
>
>
>
>On Nov 11, 2004, at 3:12 PM, baoli liu wrote:
>
>>It is always easy to tune pianos in a nice and quite
>>place.But being a technician,especially a concert
>>technician,I think it is a "must" skill/ability to
>>tune pianos with noisy background.
>
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