General Lesson Plan Weeks 1,2,3 Piano Nomenclature- inside and out! Piano Care and piano “shopping” How to remove case parts on both vertical and grand pianos Moving pianos Quiz #1 Readings: The Piano Book, chapters 1,2,7 Weeks 3,4,5, Tuning basics with lots of hands-on (tuning will be included throughout the semester) Voicing Basic everyday repairs (repairs will also be touched on throughout the semester) Quiz #2 Weeks 6,7,8,9 Regulation of vertical and grand action models Piano evaluation of class piano and a practice grand on third floor Class project: Improving a vertical piano in shop Basic repairs Quiz #3 Weeks 10,11,12 Regulation of grand pianos More repairs Remainder of Semester Pot-Pourri of piano “stuff” Term paper is due last day of class during dead week Final Exam; (take home) due on last day of class during dead week Jeannie, This is a very loose outline and really doesn't always follow the strictest of order. I'm actually going to dive into vertical regulation right off the bat. I think I'll hold out on tuning until later in the semester, but these have already been printed out to hand to the students today, their first day of class and I don't have time to re-organize. But...you get the idea of the course from this. Best, Paul Say Hi to the Seattle chapter from me! From: "Jeannie Grassi" <jcgrassi at earthlink.net> To: <caut at ptg.org> Date: 01/12/2010 08:40 AM Subject: Re: [CAUT] Piano Mechanics class Hi Paul, Thanks for this. The class description is general enough to add anything you want as you go along. It does not promise to offer tuning lessons, however, or even any other specific work on pianos. How many weeks are there in your semester? Do you plan on letting them “taste”: various repairs a/o maintenance tasks also? As I was reading your Course Description I put myself in the student’s position and started getting excited about learning all those things about my piano. Whenever I get the opportunity to show some of those things to musicians their enthusiasm is contagious. What fun! Thanks, jeannie From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Paul T Williams Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 6:04 AM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] Piano Mechanics class MUS 361 Spring Semester 2010 Course Description A 2-credit interactive workshop “poking around under the hood of a variety of pianos.” This hands-on course is designed for pianists, piano teachers, and those who have a great interest in pianos. This course will cover piano nomenclature, how pianos work, what to consider when buying a new or used piano, how to care for your piano, an in-depth look at the services that piano technicians provide and communicating with your piano technician. Students are expected to come to class prepared to participate from the first class. Purpose of the class 1. To provide technical information about the piano to pianists so that the pianist will understand the possibilities and constraints of the instrument, how a properly maintained piano feels and sounds, what they want in a piano and how to ask for it, how to buy and care for a piano, and how to locate and assess the skills of a piano technician. 2. Increase the comfort level and confidence that pianists have with their instruments. 3. Enhance the communication between pianists and piano technicians. Instructor Paul T. Williams RPT (Registered Piano Technician/Piano Technicians Guild-PTG) Shop phone; 472-2568 E-mail; pwilliams4 at unl.edu Office hours; Room 5, by appointment Class times Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-1:20 Texts The Piano Book: Buying and Owning a New or Used Piano Larry Fine Brookside Press (provided by instructor) Piano Tuning and Allied Arts William Braid White, MusD MT 165 W54 (Hagge Library, UNL) Various Handouts Hi Jeannie, This above info is the general idea of the class. I got quite a bit of information from Alan McCoy at WSU. My outline is very similar to his. I think Richard West's class was also very similar. Hope this helps. Paul From: "Jeannie Grassi" <jcgrassi at earthlink.net> To: <caut at ptg.org> Date: 01/11/2010 08:20 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] Piano Mechanics class Hi Paul, This sounds great. More people certainly does mean that your own attention is divided, so being organized is even that much more important. Would you (or anyone else) be willing to share your basic outline or overview with the rest of us? I can see where this would be helpful even with a private student, which I’m contemplating doing. Thanks, jeannie From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Paul T Williams Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 11:21 AM To: CAUTlist Subject: [CAUT] Piano Mechanics class Hi All, I'm wondering of your CAUTers that teach a basic piano mechanics class on how many students you usually have. This year, I have 6 signed up. The most I've ever had at once, and I'm wondering how to keep all 12 hands busy at the same time. I don't lecture in front of the classroom a lot, but rather, do a lot of hands-on teaching while explaining what I'm doing and then have them do it. Two years ago, I had 4, which was sort of chaotic for me. I really like 2 or 3, but 6!!?? The tuning basics was the hardest to monitor. I've developed a good plan of topics for them to learn and two "projects" they will be working on is a Yamaha U-1 for the first few weeks after teaching nomenclature, piano care, basic action functions and regulating on models. After the Yam, one of the grands from a practice room that's coming back with a new soundboard in a month or two. Since this class only meets for an hour twice a week, I won't be able to get really detailed on just one aspect of tuning, regulating, or repairs/rebuilding, but I want to touch on as much as I can. Am I making this too "cluttered"? I would like your input as to focusing on fewer topics, cover a spread of everything on the table, or something in between. Thanks! Paul No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.725 / Virus Database: 270.14.135/2615 - Release Date: 01/11/10 11:35:00 I am using the Free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 6 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 324 of my spam emails to date. The Professional version does not have this message. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100112/a985d082/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC