tough enough

[Don]

Hi Israel,

With respect, while I agree that "passing the exam" is a jumping off point
for becoming a good tuner I do not believe that the standards should be
tightened.

My first attempt at passing the exam was also my very first attempt at
aural tuning--I received 79%. Four years later, with no competant tuner
within 450 miles to help me learn, I did my tuning exam in Canada where
more narrow tolerances were a requirement for membership in CAPT. I did
quite well (or perhaps just had a "good day").

I continue to refine my tuning skills by attending conventions--and always
take in at least one tuning class. That's what we should be
encouraging--not making the exam tolerances narrower.

Most beginners are terrified of the exam. It would be an asset to have an
"exam" class at conventions so that those who are considering taking it
could loose some of their angst.

I also do not understand why the exam is not offerred on nicely scaled
large upright pianos. Doing it on a grand may require some adjustments in
tuning lever technique and few beginners have much experience with grands.

So here is what the exam is right now. A challenge for a beginner, who is
placed in a room which he has never seen before, where he *knows* that the
other folks are "better" tuners that he is, that he likely has not met
before, on a piano of a type he may not be very familiar with, with a clock
ticking off the minutes, and a very *oddly* out of tune piano (I do
appreciate why it is sharp/flat/sharp/flat, but it is still not usual to
find a piano "out of tune" that way in the "real world").

I know that through better training and better preparation more folks *are*
passing on their first attempt at the exam. But I also remember that Newton
Hunt failed on his first attempt, too. It's hard enough--leave it alone!

At 06:59 PM 8/10/2007 -0700, you wrote:
>At 06:11 PM 8/10/2007, Don <pianotuna at accesscomm.ca>
>  wrote:
>
>>Hi Chuck,
>>
>>It is my understanding that no one has yet received a perfect score on the
>>tuning exam. Imho that makes it "tough enough".
>
>Don Tuna,
>
>You don't judge an exam by how hard it is to achieve perfection. You 
>judge it by how easy it is to pass. And an 80% tuning isn't anything 
>to crow about. Neither are unisons which are off by the maximum 
>tolerance that still gets you the point. People with a pair of 
>functioning ears in their heads who learned how to use them wouldn't 
>be happy with either. Which is why many tuners feel that the exam is 
>not " tough enough".
>
>Israel Stein
Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T.
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat

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