[CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?

[David Love]

I sent this off in a bit of a hurry and wanted to add that playing can
actually hurt you as a technician-especially if you don't really play that
well.  I've heard many technicians who can supposedly play but have a
limited repertoire and one which they struggle to get through.  One problem
when you are struggling to play something is that you often don't really
hear it that well, you are too consumed with getting the notes under your
fingers to pay close attention to what you are hearing.  That can be a
distraction.  A non player who plays a few notes at a time listening
carefully for tone, can test repetition with a two handed stroke, and who
can assess balance by comparing in a simple way various sections of the
piano may be better off than one who puts the piano to the test by a poorly
played Chopin Polonaise.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David
Love
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 5:40 PM
To: 'College and University Technicians'
Subject: Re: [CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?

 

While knowing how to play the piano certainly can't hurt a piano technician,
it's not clear that it necessarily helps.  Certainly being a pianist doesn't
make you a piano technician: how many pianists can't tell you the difference
between a hammer and a damper?  Piano technicians will have different skill
sets and levels of understanding the mechanics of a piano and you will find
just as often excellent piano technicians who don't play as you will piano
technicians who play who aren't very skilled technicians.  The same is true
for communicating.  A skilled technician is in part, by my definition, one
who is able to communicate effectively with the pianist whether it is about
the difficulties of executing a rapid passage, the subtleties of voicing, or
the quality of tone.  Where a piano technician who doesn't play is at
somewhat of a disadvantage is that they can't necessarily test out the
performance aspect themselves.  But how many piano technicians, even those
who do play, really can push the piano to its limit.  Playing the piano and
working on the piano are not always the most compatible, especially in terms
of the stresses put on the hands.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 

 

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