Hello list, John Formsa wrote: (in regard to diagnosing a damper noise) "Hard to say exactly without being able to probe around in it. :-) I don't consider myself to be all that great at diagnosing problems. But I find that if I stare at it long enough, and check everything methodically, the solution eventually appears. Don't give up!" John, I'll bet you're just really modest, or short-selling yourself. I'd bet you're really a great diagnostician because your way is a VERY good way to get to the root of things. List: if you've never read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", you really should AT LEAST read the part from which the book gets its title. The author tells of a motorcycle shop unable to fix the ROOT CAUSE of a recurring problem with his motorcycle. Taking matters into his own hands, the author contemplates the problem deeply, twiddles and fiddles, stares at it long enough, and the solution appears. The author describes the shop environment as being at fault by being distracting -- with radios, girlie posters, chit-chat, snacks and what-all keeping the mechanic from being able to focus solely on the job at hand. I think about this sometimes when I'm doing something repetitive but demanding, like shaping hammers. Sometimes I wish I had a radio, but that might distract me from doing this otherwise kind of "menial" job well enough. Sometimes I find that if I just look and touch and observe with a mind empty of preconceptions the answers to the diagnostic riddles seem to appear on their own. How do others on the list feel about these things? Distraction versus focus. The Zen of Piano Repair. John Dorr Helena, MT
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