CAUT in KC, long

[Donald R McKechnie]

List,

On 11/19 Scott Thile wrote:

>I think we need to keep the technical presentations either nuts and
bolts
>technical, or some type of presentation on relevant research. I see
>discussing the guidelines as more of a work session, and the technical
>sessions as being more inspirational.

I am inclined to agree with Scott on the technical period of the forum.
Of course we need to find that inspirational session. Any suggestions or
volunteers? E-mail Paul or me privately if you wish.

The idea of a work session on the Guidelines is a good one. I do not see
us hammering out something conclusive by Kansas City but much can be
done in preparation. Perhaps a sub-committee can be appointed to make
things official. Of course the Guidelines could be part of the Q&A panel
discussion.

On 11/20 David Vanderhoofen wrote:

> I recently had a chance to hear Gary Green of Steinway present a
program on >Steinway's new "Guidelines for Institutional Piano
Service"..............
>You input the number of pianos you have of each type (Concert,
>Teaching, Classroom, and Practice pianos), how much they are used, and
the program >will calculate how many technicians are needed to take care
of that number of pianos.

I will contact Gary. It would be interesting to see this presentation
but I am not sure it would work for the CAUT program in KC. Anyone know
how his formula compares to the Guidelines formula?

On 11/20 Craig Waldrop wrote:

>Here is a suggestion for a possible subject; might
>come under the general heading of "inventory control".
>I would like to hear a discussion of effective ways to track piano
inventory and >document service records. Further, I have often wondered
exactly how to establish a >"minimum and maximum" level of maintenance
for any given instrument. Often we are >asked to repair/service a piano
to compensate for overuse or misuse of it. It would be >helpful to have
an established guideline for particular settings/ useages of a piano and
>the service it receives or warrants.

Inventory control is always a good topic. A good discussion would
develop from your questions in the Q&A period.

Avery’s question about databases fits in here as well. We did the
database demo at Dearborn so I am not  sure we should do it again.
Perhaps a gathering of those interested in databases could be arraigned.
Heck, I volunteer my room if all else fails. I will bring along the
latest on what I have developed using FileMaker. It is not much
different from what I showed in Dearborn.


On 11/20 Ed Foote wrote:

>It would be useful to hear from the techs whose schools are using the
>factory loan/sale programs.  It is looking like that is going to be on
the
>table  for some of us, and I for one, would like to hear the pros and
cons
>from a pro.

Again, a useful question in the Q&A session. Much has been discussed
about  this topic on Pianotech not long ago. An archive search might
prove helpful. Did anyone save responses to that thread? One can also
find some information on this topic at the CAUT page.

http://www.mursuky.edu/caut.php/newsindex.htm

On 11/20 Avery Todd wrote:

>Another thought is a session on Piano Technology courses for the piano
>students. Several, including me, have asked about that over the last
year
>or two. Since I haven't been able to go to a National in a long time,
maybe
>this has already been done, but, if not.............

I am not aware of any formal discussion on this at the annual in recent
years. Charles Ball did a query recently on this subject. I do not know
how many responses he received but I believe the number of courses being
taught is relatively small. If you are listening in Charles; how many
responses so far? I wonder how many of those teaching are on this list?
The CAUT committee tried to gather information some years ago but it did
not meet with much success. This certainly is a topic of interest to me
since I have been teaching for a number of years and I am always seeking
new approaches. Again, a good Q&A topic.

If we cannot come up with a good technical session perhaps the Q&A
session could be expanded upon in the second period. All the topics
mentioned above could send us well into overtime. We could go into
separate discussion groups as was done a few years ago at one of the
annuals. Food for thought. Please visit the CAUT page mentioned above to
review topics of interest. I gathered the list about two years ago but
most are still relevant today. I’m sure we can find something to
interest everyone.

Regards,
Don McKechnie
Ithaca College
dmckech@ithaca.edu