back from K.C., too

[Mark Purney]

This was my first convention. I was impressed by how well organized 
everything was. They converted a hotel into a temporary college campus 
for just a few days, moved in tons of pianos, and sorted out class 
schedules and rooms so everything worked efficiently and everyone could 
find where they were going. All of this was done on top of organizing a 
"trade show" for the vendors, and setting up and organizing all the 
concerts and events that went on in the evenings and between classes.

All of the classes I attended were excellent and well-taught. But like a 
few other people, I would have made some different choices if more 
detailed or accurate information was available about the class. I'd go 
so far as to say I wasted one of my class periods because I learned 
absolutely nothing. It's not that it wasn't a great class, but the 
subject wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, and it was one 
of the few areas that I have an advanced knowledge in already (because 
of my other profession). If we could have access to a rough outline for 
each class, I think it would help people plan and choose their classes 
ahead of time.



Mike Spalding wrote:
> Tom,
>
> Sorry to hear your experience was not up to expectations.  Yes, it can 
> be a crap shoot.  When you find yourself in an inappropriate class, I 
> guess you've got to decide whether to a) get up and leave and look for 
> something better, or b)stay and learn how the other half lives, even 
> if you don't ever expect to live that way yourself.  There are things 
> you can do to improve your odds.  Ask about the instructors, find out 
> their background and what kind of business they have.  Knowing that 
> David Snyder is a 2nd generation rebuilder / shop rat would tell you 
> his veneer repair class might not be about in-home finish touch-up.  
> After the first day or so, find someone who has taken the class you're 
> considering and find out what they thought of it.  Or search out the 
> instructor yourself and ask what the emphasis is going to be.  There 
> are some instructors whose classes I will always attend, regardless of 
> topic, because they are such good instructors.    One last thought:  
> Did you attend David Andersen's class?  If it had focused narrowly on 
> the published topic "whole tone open string tuning" it would have been 
> a disappointment.  Mr. Andersen is all about gratitude for life, love 
> of friends and family, and a quest for excellence, and his class was 
> truly inspiring (even for machine tuners).  Thank you David, and thank 
> you to ALL the instructors who give so much of themselves to this 
> enterprise.
>
> just my 2c
>
> Mike


-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.