Brent, First, let me just say that I love the Emerson quote! One of my favorite writers! BTW, it¹s Ralph, not Frank. And he was actually encouraging risk-taking, not discouraging it. ;) Thank you very much for expressing your concerns about my reputation, etc. I¹ll offer some perspective. Yes, I¹ve gone way out on a limb here. I¹m the new tech (18 months now) at this school, and, in all modesty, have already made a HUGE difference in this small department (150 majors) -- but only by taking lots of large risks. Within 3 months of joining the department, I moved more than 20 grand pianos, and completely reallocated an inventory of 80 pianos. They had fallen into a pit, and I knew climbing out was not going to be easy. They knew it, too. Hence the support I received from chair and faculty. There were no performance pianos. They were short on any kind of grand acceptable for piano studios. There was no piano shop. Disrepair was everywhere. Of the 3 grands in practice rooms, none were playable because all three pedal lyres had separated and were on the ground; hence, no pedals! Loose tuning pins abound, thanks to unregulated or dysfunctional HVAC systems of varying kinds and ages in a 50-year-old building. There were only 3 piano majors, because in spite of a couple great piano faculty, there were no instruments for them to perform or practice on. In one year, I have removed 50-yr-old grands from most non-piano teaching studios and placed them in practice rooms where I can get to them for extended repairs. We now have 15 grands in practice rooms. We obtained 4 grand and 5 upright loaners from the Yamaha dealer for studios. All major case repairs have been completed, including installing lids with new hinges (having repaired cases), fallboards repaired and off the floor, all lyres rebuilt, casters purchased and installed, damper pedals that were completely worn through replaced, all music desks and benches repaired, all spinet and beat-up console pianos taken out of service and placed in storage, etc. You get the idea. I asked for and was given a practice room for a piano shop, along with funds for proper shelving, etc. I can efficiently process 2 grand actions at a time in there. I¹ve installed 10 Life Saver systems on critical pianos, and treated the 15-yr-old Yamaha C5 that was on the recital hall stage like it was at the Kennedy Center. Needless to say, the faculty AND students have been nothing short of amazed. When the chair (new 4 months before I was hired) saw what I was doing, he purchased cardkey locks for all 20+ practice room doors and programmed them for specific use, hired a fulltime security guard for the practice area, and instigated a department-wide physical plant renovation of classrooms, studios and practice rooms that included electrical upgrades, soundproofing, carpets, painting, etc. It¹s like a new place, and a joy to be in! Morale is very high now. My most recent dramatic achievement was to get this Steinway D that was bequeathed to the department by a former piano chair, moved from the Chapel to our 110-seat Recital Hall this past May. It had been completely abandoned by the department well over a decade ago as unplayable. Literally no one even knew it was the music department¹s piano anymore. I found a small brass plaque on it stating it was a gift to the department. I thought that was a shame, and said so, particularly since it was the only potentially concert-level instrument they owned. I felt they should at least claim ownership, and put it aside for future rebuilding. It took a year, including going through university lawyers, to establish departmental ownership. The 3 piano faculty were so excited, as was the chair, that they insisted on attempting to resurrect it and put it into use again, honoring and preserving the legacy of the longtime faculty member who donated it. I accepted the challenge, warning of course that while I would do my best, I could not guarantee that I could bring it up to recital level without a full rebuild. And so, that¹s how we¹ve gotten to where we are now, and how I¹ve gotten into the work I¹m into. This whole position as a CAUT was totally unexpected for me, but perfect timing and I find myself wonderfully happy here. I¹m learning a lot, and making things a whole lot better for a whole lot of people. It¹s all about context. Our situation here is very different from a school that¹s historically had lots of money and knowledge, and knew what to do with them. We do not have several, or many, Steinways, etc. sitting in studios and practice rooms. But things are improving dramatically now with an enlightened dean and departmental chair. I can only hope it will continue. New student enrollment in the department this year is up almost triple what it has been the past decade or so, and student retention this year is also up. Never think one man can¹t make a difference! That¹s my motto. Obviously, I don¹t worry too much about what people think. Too old for that. I do what I believe is right. But thanks again for your concern about my reputation. :) -- Paul Milesi, RPT Staff Piano Technician Howard University Department of Music Washington, DC From: Brent Fischer <brent.fischer at yahoo.com> Reply-To: <caut at ptg.org> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:25:42 -0700 (PDT) To: <caut at ptg.org> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Down Weight Too High With New Hammers Paul- What is the outcome expectation of this instrument? I may have missed a message or two on this but budget rebuilding on a performance piano sets you up for challenging comments. You want your reputation to grow as a discerning tech with high standards. Compromising to fit a budget, not good. If this is a practice studio, fine. If it is not the primary of a professors studio, fine. Recital instruments are the fundamental baseline for your reputation. I urge you to tread carefully on the results perception and if necessary get a loaner from the Steinway dealer until you can do a comprehensive restoration. "Do not be too timid or squeamish about your actions" Frank Waldo Emerson Brent Fischer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100824/2eb226c9/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC