[CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?

[Fred S Sturm]

On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:22:03 -0600
  Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote:
> The notion that nothing can be 
>learned without someone teaching it to you is nonsense.
> Ron N

     Absolutely correct. In fact, one can say that real 
learning only happens when the person learning takes 
responsibility. And much if not most of what we learn is 
done on our own without direction from anyone else (we 
might have been given initial direction, but then we work 
it out for ourselves, in our own way. In a music lesson, 
we are given direction, then expected to "practice, 
practice" - which is where we really learn it. If we learn 
it). The best "teachers" are those who inspire their 
learners to
become self-motivated learners. The best learners are 
those who question what their "teachers" say, and try to 
come to their own understanding.
      Where does this thread have a practical application 
to the issue at hand, the potential creation of a caut 
credential? One way has to do with how piano technicians 
receive their training. A small proportion attend a 
formal, full-time training program like North Bennett. 
Most of us "pick up some here, some there," relying on 
formal or informal mentorships, factory-run intensive 
programs (usually week long), classes at regional or 
national institutes, reading the PTJ, books, listservs, 
etc. IOW, it is very difficult to measure what training 
most of us have had. Most of us probably consider 
ourselves "largely self-taught," however accurate or 
inaccurate that statement is on close examination.
     If this credential is to become a reality, we need to 
measure skill and knowledge in some way, rather than 
focusing on training. To get a handle on what we might 
want to measure, we can imagine an average piano 
technician with a background mostly in the area of home 
service, as in semi-regular tuning, a bit of regulation, 
necessary repairs for the most part. This, let us say, 
represents the level of skill and knowledge tested for in 
the RPT exams (and let's not get bogged down in examining 
those exams in detail. Too much of a distraction from the 
task at hand). Throw that person into a caut context. What 
additional chops and knowledge are needed?
      There are certainly some practical, mechanical 
skills and levels of skill that need to be addressed. 
Tuning well enough to get a check for a home tuning is 
different from tuning well enough for a professional 
musician and musical audience, and this is particularly 
noticeable in the concert situation. Especially in the 
clarity and stability of unisons. Regulating well enough 
to make the instrument work for most people is different 
from the precision and "subtlety" needed in the 
professional context. Not to mention voicing. There are a 
lot of procedures that are far more common in a caut 
context than in most others, like keybushing, tail 
scuffing, knuckle brushing, centerpinning to fine 
tolerances.
     And then there are organizational skills: "You have 
500 hours per year to take care of 50 pianos. Go do it." 
Hmmm, how to get started? How to know if 10 hours per 
piano per year is enough? Where to begin?
     It would be lovely to have an actual educational 
program for cauts, full time for at least a few months. We 
are more likely to have to rely on classes at national 
institutes (moving out as possible to regionals), and 
factory programs like the one Steinway does at Oberlin, 
for the foreseeable future. I can certainly see the value 
in working towards regular caut intensive programs, where 
we bring cauts to various universities across the country 
from year to year to do a few days of hands on. It would 
take a lot of work to organize and prepare, and costs 
would certainly be an issue. I don't think it would be 
like Ed Foote's assessment of the financial rewards of 
having attended North Bennett: a clear financial plus for 
the attendee.
      In many ways, what we have before us is "an 
impossible task." Whatever we come up with will not be 
"ideal." Still, I firmly believe that we can come up with 
something meaningful and useful.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico