[pianotech] RPT Credibility and "Status"

[Pianoman]

Duane is the web master for the St. Louis Chapter as I understand it.  .  He 
does lots of work for the chapter and I believe a member of the PTG but not 
an RPT.  As I understand it you can advertise membership in the PTG as long 
as you do not say you are an RPT.  Duane does mostly player rebuilding.I was 
a RPT from 1972 to 2000 and dropped out and if people ask me I say I am a 
former PTG member without saying RPT.
James Grebe
Since 1962
Piano Tuning & Repair
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Products(
314) 608-4137   1526 Raspberry Lane   Arnold, MO 63010
Researcher of St. Louis Theatre History
BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE!
www.grebepiano.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andersen" <david at davidandersenpianos.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:24 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] RPT Credibility and "Status"


Wow, JF. Nice rant. Really. Sounds like me. <g> 100% correct. Duaine,
Duaine, Duaine. You are revealing everything in your posts, and in
what Ed Sutton discovered. I suggest you put quotation marks around
the word "tune" or "tuning" whenever you reference your own work.
You are not a piano tuner in any world I recognize. You are a wrench
turner; a dial-looker, brother...not a tuner. I'm proud to be a piano
tuner. It's a lovely, challenging, difficult skill. It's worth a life
of effort. If you don't know why I certainly cannot tell you why, but
I'll give you a hint:
"Character is destiny."
Heraclitus

Rock on....
DA


On Dec 18, 2008, at 4:58 AM, John Formsma wrote:

> RPT is minimal competency.  If you cannot tell -- and be able to
> explain -- the difference in what constitutes a good tuning, then
> you don't deserve the minimal competency credentials.  You wouldn't
> expect a bookkeeper to promote himself "as good as a CPA" unless he
> had passed some sort of competency exam, right?  Or a paralegal to
> offer his services as a lawyer unless he'd been to law school and
> passed the bar exams, right?
>
> Duaine, when I began tuning, I used a SAT II, and couldn't tell the
> difference in much other than unisons.  Maybe if the octaves were
> really bad.  But I joined PTG, got the help of an RPT mentor, and
> persisted.  It was really hard for me to mentally grasp the concepts
> of regulation.  But I persisted. I passed the exams.  And I'm not
> particularly proud of my personal performance on the technical
> exams, because I know I can do better out in the "real world."  But
> I persisted, and got it done.  And now, I'm still trying to improve
> my skills.  I'm still persisting.
>
> I have a magnetic sticker on my fridge with a quote by Henry Ford:
> "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."  The
> thing that is holding you back is you:  it is not test standards or
> other techs … it's just you.  So if you want to have the RPT
> credentials, quit griping and whining, and figure out how to get it
> done.  All the rest of us have done it, and you can too.  But you're
> not going to do it if you keep saying "I can't."
>
> --
> JF
>
> On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 11:11 PM, Duaine & Laura Hechler 
> <dahechler at charter.net
> > wrote:
> So, what you are saying that if I can't tune aurally then I should not
> be tuning at all.
>
> If that's the case, you are about to start a major war between each
> tuner's opinion.
>
> Again, you mention peers, sure most of my peers in this area have
> tuned
> aurally - to pass the test - but they have all switched to tuning with
> some form of ETD.
>
> Again, you mention clients - I don't know where you are and who you
> tune
> for BUT none of my clients have EVER asked if I could tune aurally.
>
> This argument is getting so &*&^% old !!!!
>
> Duaine
>
> William Monroe wrote:
> > No Duaine,
> >
> > People like you should be excluded from RPT precisely because (your
> > description, mind you) you can't tune aurally and have no
> > understanding of the basic tuning concepts e.g. intervals, beats,
> > checks, etc.  RPT is a designation that is defined in part by
> > affirming to ones peers, clients, etc that one can tune aurally - at
> > least to some measured degree, even with an ETD.
> <snip>
> >
> > Good luck in your growth.
> >
> > William R. Monroe
>
>
>