Do you know this Man ???????

[Mark Story]

I draw the line when someone sets themselves up as an authority by
publishing a book or other media intended for the uninitiated.  If one does
this without legitimate qualifications as a recognized authority and with
great care to teach reliable methods, they are open to scrutiny.

My first experience with Stevens' book was when I discovered that he
advocates _bending_ the pin when tuning to _save_ the pinblock from wear.
Years ago, I got into a brief online  debate over this with part-time tooner
that was presenting himself in the forum/newsgroup  as an authority.  He
cited Stevens' book as his authority.  I was certain that he had misread or
misinterpreted the book until I had checked it out and found otherwise.
This illustrates what kind of damage and confusion can be caused by
self-appointed experts that are out of touch with the field they are
claiming to represent.  For this reason I think we have the right and duty
to be critical of these books and those who publish them.

Mark Story, RPT
Eastern Washington University
mstory@ewu.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert B Edwardsen <edwardsn@mail.rpa.net>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Saturday, October 25, 1997 4:16 AM
Subject: Re: Do you know this Man ???????


>In a message dated 97-10-24 20:20:24 EDT, Les Smith wrote:
>
><< Anyway, at the risk of offending any of "Dr." Stevens friends and col-
> leagues who may be on this list, I'll simply point out that as Will Rogers
> once said, sometimes P.H.D. stands for "piled higher and deeper". >>

I pulled out my copy of "Piano Tuning Repair & Rebuilding" and found that
Stevens PHD is from is from the Free Protestant University, St. Andrews
College, Great Britain.  I must admit his book was the first complete text I
read on piano technology and although he did have some bad ideas (putting
mirrors on old uprights, using a hot glue gun to install keytops) it was a
good general introduction to the profession at that time.  After all, whom
among us does not have repair skeletons in out closets?

Rob Edwardsen, RPT
21 Courtenay Circle
Pittsford, NY 14534-2101
716-586-1360
edwardsn@rpa.net