On 01/28/2011 10:29 AM, David Love wrote: > > I don’t think I’m hung up on anything other than a rejection of the > “woo woo” aspect of tuning as it has been presented. There is an art > to it, of course, but there is also a science. I don’t understand what > you don’t get as suggested by your question about my kids not learning > to write or do basic math. What I said was that they both use > computers and word processors and still learned to do the math and > writing. The tools didn’t get in the way. The suggestion has been that > the using an ETD prevents you from gaining the aural skills. I think > that’s a false supposition. While some may allow it to get in the way > that’s not the machine’s fault. > > And contrary to a popularly expressed opinion, I don’t think you need > to become a skilled and complete aural tuner (if that’s what you mean > by craftsman) before you can go out and try and make a living tuning > pianos. Moreover, I think it’s arrogant to suggest it (and some have). > While I won’t argue that having fully developed aural skills isn’t a > great benefit and that a person who doesn’t have them might not get > caught in a situation that is compromising or revealing, say the > machine breaks down or they have to make a judgment call on a poorly > scaled piano and aren’t as equipped as they should be, then they might > pay the price for that in some way. Perhaps they won’t be called upon > to tune very high end pianos belonging to demanding customers or do > concert work. But then their lack of experience and a resume even if > they did have aural skills might disqualify them in those cases > anyway. But if you can manipulate the tuning hammer and pin > effectively and can tune solid and stable unisons, then whether or not > you can set an aural temperament or aurally stretch the piano > perfectly by ear the required amount should not disqualify someone > from going out and trying to make a living. How successful they are > will ultimately depend on how they continue to develop their skills > and knowledge and how much care they put into their work, just like > the rest of us. I can recall attending a class by Jim Coleman who was > telling us about a student he was guiding who was learning to tune > using a machine. He had reached the point (after about four months) of > tuning sold unisons by ear but still relied heavily on the machine for > the rest of the tasks. He (Jim) had no problem with sending that > person out into the real world at that point and neither would I, and > neither should anyone else, in my opinion. > > David Love > > www.davidlovepianos.com > Damn, David, you hit - my - nail squarely on the head. You have completely described - me. When I trained side by side with my mentor, he showed me and told me that the ETD is just the tool to get the proper tuning. The - real - techniques are learning how to "set" the pins, make your you can get good solid unisons and, as a final check, as least check the octaves. And sense over 3/4 of my first tunings are pitch raises, he said that real technique is learn how far you need to jerk/pull up the string to get it close to the pitch without going too far then tweak the string to get the right pitch. Once - he - felt I had learned these proper techniques then he said that I'm ready to venture out on my own. Also, along side my mentor, he taught me most of the "services" - regulation, key leveling, etc. Duaine -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing & Rebuilding Reed Organ Society Member Florissant, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler at att.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home & Business user of Linux - 11 years
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