[pianotech] Simon and Garfunkel

[William Truitt]

Dear Brian:

I have re-read Jude Reveley's post after reading your reply below.  As best
I can gather from this distance, you seem to be a first rate and well
qualified concert technician.  But I think you are being hypersensitive and
reading things into Jude's comments that are simply not there and are not
even implied. 

While Jude's use of language could perhaps have been more precisely framed,
I don't think he was trying to insult you or make an aspersion as to the
level of your abilities.  When he speaks of "your expected scope", I think
he means "your" in the plural sense, as including all piano technicians
(including you), who find themselves on a concert stage with a lot to do and
not enough time - and not you in the specific sense. I have the pleasure of
knowing Jude personally and, if he has a mean bone in his body, I haven't
seen it.  It's just not in his character to deliberately insult others in a
public forum. So I was surprised by the depth of your reaction. 

If you continue to participate in the forum (and I hope you will), you will
find that what started out as one topic can evolve and mutate into another
as the thread proceeds, and that this happens regularly. So Ron is hardly
the only one amongst us who leads or follows the thread down another path.
Most of us are guilty of that sin at one time or another. And none of us are
talking about Simon and Garfunkel either, are we?  :-) 

It is your policy to "not bag a piano over a chat page".  Fair enough.  And
you believe that others should likewise restrain themselves.  Also, fair
enough.  But, alas, I don't think it is quite that simple.  It is certainly
appropriate to comment on the condition of a piano, we do it all the time on
this forum.  When does a comment become a complaint?  Should we never
complain about the condition of a piano, or are there times when it is
appropriately topical on a technical forum such as this?   

I don't think that you "don't know shit from clay", and I have trouble
thinking of anyone on this forum who does think that.

I also think it is important for each of us to separate challenges in the
arena of ideas from attacks on persons.  This forum works best when we
confine our debate to the merits of ideas and avoid giving offense to the
other person.  That involves all of us endeavoring to craft intelligent and
diplomatic responses.  And it involves careful reading (and rereading) by
the receiver of such comments, so as to not reply in haste and
misunderstanding.  Sometimes we take offense where none was given.  

So I say, lighten up, Brian.  It's not that bad, really.

Respectfully yours, 

Will Truitt   







-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Brian Wilson
Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 12:30 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Simon and Garfunkel

  
Jude
Well you have caught me out. Yes, I am only a part time technician who needs
more training to understand the basics of piano technology. I thought
levelling keys had nothing to do with scaling of a piano. Now where do I
find the book that tells me where to rescale a B model whilst discussing key
levelling. 
The regulation and hammer hanging being out of my expected scope. Thank you
for lowering yourself to an insult over your opinion of my work. 
I am in a minority group as I believe that it is not proper to bag a piano
over a chat page. This list would be huge if we all complained about
instruments we see every day. Well every few days for me. I hope that if
this piano was another brand it too would be bagged in an open forum.
As I said, the promoters of the concert would not be happy with the
comments. I was asked by a technician what the best piano in the world. I
tried to give an intelligent and diplomatic answer. He said the best piano
was the one you are working on right now.
I attach a photo of a piano in which I have little support in my comments of
this repair. I said it was a disgrace. So according to others like yourself
who tell me that I don't know sh_t from clay, that this standard of work is
ok.
Thank you but I like to be in the minority.
Now to email other technicians and manufacturers around the world that they
better close up and do something else than piano work.
But wait, there are more photos.....
Regards
Brian