<html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> I sent this off in a bit of a hurry and wanted to add that playing can actually hurt you as a technician—especially if you don’t really play that well.  I’ve heard many technicians who can supposedly play but have a limited repertoire and one which they struggle to get through.  One problem when you are struggling to play something is that you often don’t really hear it that well, you are too consumed with getting the notes under your fingers to pay close attention to what you are hearing.  That can be a distraction.  A non player who plays a few notes at a time listening carefully for tone, can test repetition with a two handed stroke, and who can assess balance by comparing in a simple way various sections of the piano may be better off than one who puts the piano to the test by a poorly played Chopin Polonaise.    <div> David Love davidlovepianos@comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com </div> -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 5:40 PM To: 'College and University Technicians' Subject: Re: [CAUT] CAUT credential vs. academic program?   While knowing how to play the piano certainly can’t hurt a piano technician, it’s not clear that it necessarily helps.  Certainly being a pianist doesn’t make you a piano technician: how many pianists can’t tell you the difference between a hammer and a damper?  Piano technicians will have different skill sets and levels of understanding the mechanics of a piano and you will find just as often excellent piano technicians who don’t play as you will piano technicians who play who aren’t very skilled technicians.  The same is true for communicating.  A skilled technician is in part, by my definition, one who is able to communicate effectively with the pianist whether it is about the difficulties of executing a rapid passage, the subtleties of voicing, or the quality of tone.  Where a piano technician who doesn’t play is at somewhat of a disadvantage is that they can’t necessarily test out the performance aspect themselves.  But how many piano technicians, even those who do play, really can push the piano to its limit.  Playing the piano and working on the piano are not always the most compatible, especially in terms of the stresses put on the hands.    <div> David Love davidlovepianos@comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com </div>   </div> </body> </html>