Part of Del Fandrich's post:>....I didn't start replacing soundboards because I didn't have anything better to do with my time. It was because I was becoming >increasingly dissatisfied with the results of rebuilding pianos with the >old boards still in them... Dear List, I have been following this thread and now find myself in a position where I feel I can comment in a constructive and well meaning fashion. In these two sentences Del states what I perceive to be the heart of the matter in any field of endeavor. One does what one must when the current circumstances of a situation are no longer satisfactory. That is, effect a change when what exists no longer produces a desired effect for those involved. As to what actually is the soul of a piano: what an interesting call. I have pondered this with others and am unable to specifically say that it is this part of the piano or that part. At this point, after carefully reading the most recent dialogue, and after searching within myself for longer than I can recall, I have decided that the soul of a piano is what others put into it, that is to say, the love from every individual whoever had anything with its creation and its continuance. Sort of a "laying of hands" on it that carries down through all time. If, later on in its life, parts of it are repaired or replaced with that same love from within the individuals involved, the piano will continue to have "soul". If not, then bit by bit, its soul gradually diminishes, with each tuning, each repair, each move, each replacement, each owner, each player, etc. There are some pianos that soar with this love, there are some that seem completely void of this love, and the others that exist, they fall somewhere in between. Such is our profession. Sincerely, Keith A. McGavern kam544@ionet.net Registered Piano Technician Oklahoma Chapter 731 Piano Technicians Guild USA
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