[CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?

Jeff Tanner jtanner at mozart.sc.edu
Thu Nov 1 13:35:49 MST 2007


On Nov 1, 2007, at 12:18 AM, Ron Nossaman wrote:

> No promises.
>
> When people assume I must play if I tune, I tell them I'm a  
> mechanic, not a performer, and the guy in the pits isn't the one  
> driving the race, but we in the pits make the race possible. And  
> yes, I see and classify myself as a mechanic with no more exotic or  
> self-aggrandizing a description.

Precisely.

> The techs with the degree, or even "just" those who play, largely  
> insist that a tech can't be effective unless he's them, essentially.

That's kinda what I wanted to say but chickened out.  That's tough to  
put into words without risk of offending some people.  But it is true  
of all of us.  We judge each other based on our perception of our own  
selves.

> Meanwhile, the techs who don't play and aren't possessed of the  
> academic and pianistic performance credentials and capabilities  
> generally fail to see how they're sub-standard as a technician  
> because of it.

So do I.

> As I've pointed out in probably altogether too many other  
> instances, anything this ostensibly critical ought to be obvious in  
> practice. In other words, those who have music degrees, or those  
> who play, should be producing piano work that is clearly if not  
> vastly superior to those who haven't, and/or don't. If they aren't,  
> detectably, (your call) it strikes me as a non-issue anywhere  
> beyond the realm of academic pretense/prejudice and into objective  
> real world performance requirements. We are what we can or can't  
> do, whether the bureaucratic mind can grasp it or not. This is just  
> another echo of the age old logic error implying that if there are  
> high function individuals in an organization, then everyone in the  
> organization is high function by association. It's ok to be good at  
> something. I think it's essential that we aspire to just that to  
> whatever degree we're able, but it's a personal worth thing, rather  
> than a membership association thing.
>
> I've considered lobbying for an Agnostic PTG classification, but I  
> expect it'd be in committee for a very long time without ever  
> getting to the testing criteria. Too bad. It could make a cool T  
> shirt.
> Ron N

Really good post Ron.
Jeff


Jeff Tanner, RPT
University of South Carolina



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