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<DIV>Fifty years ago I worked closely with a piano duo. They eventually signed
with Colombia Artists and toured, giving Community Concert performances. They
told me they were lucky to have good tunings more than once in four
times. This is no longer true; one rarely hears poor tuning on the radio,
and standards are far higher now. If one reads old Journals from those days, the
articles are far less sophisticated than today. This is indeed a career which
has pulled itself up by its own efforts and can largely be credited to PTG. Even
those good technicians who choose not to join have benefitted, if they are
honest enough to admit it, as equipment , sevices, resources of many kinds,
which would never have developed without PTG, have filtered out into the
field. The RPT exam represents a goal, and without goals there is no progress.
It may not be perfect, but improvement is attained by building on what went
before, not by discarding the past. It is true that having a qualification is no
garauntee that someone is performing at a high leve, which might be more due to
a character flaw; (there is a saying that "a turkey with a PhD is
still a turkey"). but it is a step on the way and a prime motivator.
It doens't matter how experienced or capable one is, one should never rest on
their laurels. Lifetime learning is truly one of the joys. As many of you know,
I taught the Piano Technician Program at George Brown College in Toronto. All
new instructors were required to take teacher training, at the end of
which each person had to give a videotaped teaching practicum, which was
then givien a very humbling critique. I learned at least a few pratical teaching
techniques which could probably be formed into a pamphlet or booklet for
prospective instructors at Convention classes. Teaching in school is not quite
the same, but there is a lot of common ground. My teaching style was much like
that which Cy described of Dave Betts, that is, to expose students to as wide a
range of methods as possible. But one has to make a decision on what is to be
taught, and how. For instance, there are so many ways of tuning the temperament,
all valid, so the choice of what to teach comes down to one which meets the
criterion of proven methodology. Students learn at a different pace, and it is
vertually impossible to keep them all in lockstep too. I found teaching took an
enormous amount of energy, but very rewarding. Some of my graduates told me
later that even more than the technology they learned was the attitude they
gained. Methodology changes, good attitudes are constant.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ted Sambell</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=dporritt@mail.smu.edu href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">Porritt,
David</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 24, 2007 10:44
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] CAUT
Endorsement</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">Eric:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">I agree with about all that
you’ve said below. I’m just not sure how a test can be created that will
truly test the skills that a successful CAUT will need. This is
especially true since so many jobs are so varied. I wish you success in
your efforts to create a test. Perhaps I’m just not creative enough to
see how it’s going to happen. I can envision a test for minimum skills –
i.e. a person who can’t pass this test has no chance at a successful CAUT
career. But moving to the other end of the success ladder is far more
difficult.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">In many cases the high school
football coach might have the exact same training and background (played
college/pro ball etc.) as the successful NFL coach but the differences are
un-testable, un-quantifiable personal qualities. The qualities that make
the successful CAUT are difficult to even describe let alone test.
Possibly the first step should be to describe in words what makes a successful
CAUT then try to determine how to test for those skills and qualities. I
don’t know. I do know that you have been given a really tough job to
come up with a test that will actually do what you want it to
do!!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">dave<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">David
M. Porritt, RPT<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><A
href="dporritt@smu.edu"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">dporritt@smu.edu</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">
caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:56
AM<BR><B>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[CAUT] CAUT Endorsement<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">Dave,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">I guess I’ll be the “angel’s
advocate” here and change the scenario a bit. Say you had two candidates with
fairly equal qualifications, experience, references, etc., but one had taken
the time and effort to be an active member of the PTG and had passed the “CAUT
test” (whatever form that may take), which one would you choose? Showing a
commitment towards gaining and improving skills is a definite plus in my book
and would tip the scales for me, credit history and personal grooming issues
aside. (Do they really check credit history when reviewing a job applicant’s
application?) There will also be quite a bit of material specific to CAUT work
included in the curriculum which will help a CAUT- trained candidate be
prepared to suggest possible improvements to the institution’s piano
maintenance program in an interview situation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">It sounds like you have an
excellent relationship with your faculty which tells me you are doing a great
job at SMU and a candidate for your position would probably be able to slip
in, “get with the program” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">and continue your good work. Your
21 years experience has a lot to do with that. There are many programs out
there however which are in desperate need of somebody either with a whole lot
of experience in an institutional setting or some good training. This is the
issue we are trying to address with the CAUT curriculum and the CAUT
endorsement.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">Eric<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P><SPAN style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Informal Roman'">Eric Wolfley,
RPT</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> <BR></SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Informal Roman'">Director of Piano
Services</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> <BR></SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Informal Roman'">Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: navy">
<BR></SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: 'Informal Roman'">University
of Cincinnati</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in">
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>
<HR align=center width="100%" SIZE=2>
</DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">
caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Porritt, David<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 24, 2007 7:51
AM<BR><B>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[CAUT] CAUT Endorsement</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">Of
course all of our experience comes from a fairly small segment of the
world. Even if one has had a job a 2 or 3 music schools, that’s not
universal knowledge of academia. My experience in that regard is pretty
limited. Here our head of the Keyboard Studies area is a quite knowledgeable
pianist whose father was a piano technician. The other three of the
piano faculty have had or still have their performing careers and have worked
with piano technicians a lot to get what they each want in a piano. I
really think they could work together to find a replacement for me. I’d
love to think that they did that job well 21 years ago but having read the
interesting article on incompetence I’m reluctant to say anything!
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d">In
other words, the committee has to find a warm body that seems to have the
qualifications, references, documented education and character to do the
job. Even if a test were conceived that actually could measure a
person’s aptitude for this work, how much weight should it have in the hiring
decision? Candidate A has passed the CAUT test but has a poor credit
history. Candidate B has a good work record and good references (happy
musician customers) but never bothered to take the CAUT test. I’d bet
credit history would trump CAUT test.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d">dave<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">David
M. Porritt, RPT<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><A
href="dporritt@smu.edu">dporritt@smu.edu</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">
caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Fred
Sturm<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, October 23, 2007 7:50 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
caut<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] CAUT
Endorsement<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">On 10/23/07 3:12 PM, "David M.
Porritt" <dporritt@smu.edu> wrote:</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: blue">I
think college administrators have to interview, check backgrounds, do their
do-diligence but I really have my doubts that any testing PTG could do would
do as well as a good college football scout can do and they miss a lot.
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'"><BR></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Hi
David,<BR> The problem is that there is no animal in
the music department who is the equivalent of the college football scout. Who
in your music department do you think qualifies as a good scout for piano
technicians? And even if they actually know what to look for, where is the
opportunity for them to witness a game or two in a real life analogy? (Okay,
the candidate can come and do a tuning or something, but that doesn't say a
lot, even if the “scout” can evaluate it reasonably well). Not to say that the
administrator doesn’t need to do the normal due diligence in any case,
checking recommendations, etc. But one of the problems we face is that the
person usually doing the hiring has no concept of the skills needed, and has
to rely almost entirely on a best guess of what references and experience set
might mean. Probably doesn’t really even know what questions to
ask.<BR>Regards,<BR>Fred Sturm<BR>University of New Mexico
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>