Welcome to the world of piano tuning meets pop culture. You are now part of a production which should not be misconstrued with any normal scheduled tuning appointment you've had in the past. This is an entirely different world so be prepared to hang on.
As someone who has participated in numerous events such as this, you'll quickly realize that you will be one of a gazillion techs ( sounds techs, backline techs, techs who blow the artist's nose on queue, etc ) who will be on site for the entire process. The bigger the pop artist, the bigger the bank account, the bigger the production of people involved on the daily schedule. The only thing the artist will be concerned with is that everything works and goes as plan he walks through the door. If, however, things start drifting and they decide to break, you'll be summoned to touch up immediately.
>From my experience, I learned to listen and watch the entire time the group was in the studio. If I heard anything remotely starting to drift, I was in there in a jiff as soon as they took their next break. Sometimes I would pass a note to the head stage production manager alerting them that this might be a good time to touch things up. If you stay 2 steps ahead of the complaints, you are looked with great favor. So keeping your eyes and ears open through the whole ordeal. It's actually a very fascinating process and there's much to learn.
Besides, use this an optimal time to really examine your tuning and voicing skills. You'll be in the main control room ( I assume) and you'll have an opportunity to hear your piano under a microscope. You'll hear things about your piano you never knew before, good and bad.
Something else to consider with events like this. If you charge too little, they sometimes look at you as someone not worthy. They are accustomed to paying top dollar for top talent.
Tom Servinsky
----- Original Message -----
From: John Formsma
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 10:36 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] on call tuning rates
On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 6:40 PM, Andrew Remillard <anrpiano at gmail.com> wrote:
I have never dealt with such a request and don't relish the idea of being on this person's beck and call for 10 whole days. Yet, if this is what they want I should charge accordingly.
What kind of multiple of your going rate would you charge to be on call for 10 days? The venue is between 35 and 60 minutes away depending on traffic.
It does seem like a strange request. Are you certain they expect you to be there all day for the entire 10 days? If so, you couldn't make your regular daily income. It would seem a reasonable fee would be what you could make in a normal working day.
The artist is currently known as Prince.
Maybe he just wants your "extra time and your ... kiss." OK, at least the extra time part. :-)
--
JF
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