<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Oct 22, 2007, at 6:52 PM, Richard Brekne wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Lets put aside the laughable bit for a post or two and get into why this is not a plus for a CAUT head tech. And thats what I am suggesting it for mind you, for a person who is to head up a serious music school, conservatory, college within a university... what have you. Why do you find this so useless ?</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I can only answer that question with the mirrored version. What about a music degree do you think prepares one for being a piano technician? Bear in mind, as you know, this work isn't all done on the concert stage. In fact, that is a very small portion of the overall job - though it is the most visible. The overwhelming majority of the work is get your hands dirty basic tuning regulation and repair, with some rebuilding work thrown in from time to time if you can work it in. Not much different than if you worked in a piano factory with absolutely no musical background. And I think 99 times out of 100, it won't require much knowledge of music to put a good solid tuning and regulation on the concert piano. Tuning stable, solid unisons, good, solid overall temperament (which to me includes from 1-88), and being able to create good touch and tone has nothing to do with the training one receives pursuing a music degree.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV>We work on machines. You don't need to understand the intricacies of Chopin to be able to adjust the machine so that someone else can recreate them. You just need to know how to adjust the machine so that it will perform as it is designed, because Chopin created those intricacies based on the design capability of the machine. Even if we become "artistic" in our manipulation of the tuning, that is still a process that has its roots in physics, not music. In fact, even for a simple basic tuning, we have to ignore what is taught in the music theory class because the piano follows none of those rules.</DIV><DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><BR></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Strikes me that a person with at least an associates degree in music has enough basic knowledge in the field to at least be able to relate to most musical situations he/she is in.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I believe that is of value, and if I was a music director and had to choose between two otherwise equal resumes I'd pick the person with the associates degree hands down.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>That would be a music director with a music degree who believed it was important because that was all the music director had to relate to. I could see why a music director might would favor a music degree. But the music director would be making that decision out of ignorance or prejudice.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I would never argue that at least some music in a technician's background wouldn't be beneficial. But how many people come into this line of work without some kind of music experience or appreciation in their background? There are too many really good piano technicians who never went to college out there doing good work in upper echelon music departments to assert that a degree in music would make a measurable difference in their performance as a tuner/technician. The tasks we perform are unrelated to what is taught to music majors.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Certainly, a music degree guarantees some level of exposure to music, but that has little to do with the tasks we carry out. And even the amount of exposure we could use does not require a degree.</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><BR></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">One other bit.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>An associates degree in music is really not hard to achieve. And I get the sense you are kind of aware of that in saying "I've been in that world for 22 plus years and I've seen what students of music are prepared for".<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>There is a lot they leave out.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Ear training for example... a shadow of what it once was.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Indeed I'd turn the whole thing around on music students as well and require they know a certain degree about tuning and instrument theory.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN></FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">I suppose it might be wise for me to mention that we have probably different ground level perspectives to begin with... which bind us to a certain necessity for disagreement on these kinds of issues.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>But our very disagreement allows for us to voice and bounce off each other our variant perspectives... and hopefully, that may help those who are struggling in committee to come up with a good direction for CAUT to go.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Whatever that turns out to be... I'll back them up in the end. A PTG/CAUT variant of my country right or wrong I guess.</FONT></P> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>I did have one music professor whose undergraduate degree was in English. He then achieved a high rank in the Army before returning to pursue a grad degree in music. He was possibly the most incredibly musical person I've ever been around. It doesn't even take a music degree to be an incredible musician.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I have always believed you cannot turn someone into a musician by having him earn a music degree. Musicians are born that way. Their musicality can be expanded on by studying at a higher level. But you cannot generate something that is not there by sending one to college.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><BR><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>