Tuning forks (and ETD's)

[Avery Todd]

Hi Charles,

    Our posts crossed "in the mail" but I'm glad to read someone else 
supporting
what I said in mine. Even though you _did_ say it much better. :-)

Avery

At 02:26 PM 10/29/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear Brian,
>
>When I read your comments upon ETD's I find myself bushing with shame, 
>recalling the days when I made similar dismissive comments to my friends 
>and colleagues who used ETD's, having never really explored or utilized 
>one in my life. I expressed many of the same concerns and objections, i.e. 
>that my clientele would lose confidence in my abilities, I would no longer 
>be a worthy concert tuner, my aural abilities would atrophy, etc.
>
>Brian, I have been tuning pianos for 34 years, aurally for the first 30, 
>and do mostly concert and professional work. Currently I have served as 
>the head piano technician for the School of Music of the University of 
>Texas at Austin, one of the top schools in the country, for 20 years, in 
>which capacity I also provide concert tuning for the Austin Symphony 
>Orchestra and other major local arts organizations. In addition I maintain 
>the concert instruments and prepare them for the Van Cliburn Concert 
>Series in Fort Worth. I serve as the C&A tech for the Austin Steinway 
>dealer. Thus, since we live in the same city, I am puzzled by your 
>statement that most of the major artists performing in local venues 
>request aural tuners. Neither I nor my colleagues here at the School of 
>Music recall ever having an artist or any other client request an aural 
>tuner or question our use of an ETD.
>
>Brian, I purchased my SAT II for a special occasion where I had to keep 
>two fortepianos tuned together in an historical temperament for 
>professional recording sessions in a venue where the AC had to be turned 
>off for takes. Afterward I stuck it in a drawer, having experienced 
>difficulties in mastering the learning curve, much of which was due to my 
>stubbornness and preconceptions. Eventually I took the time to master the 
>machine and then I realized just how mistaken I had been all along, and my 
>tuning and tuning practice was transformed.
>
>You point out some of the advantageous situations for an ETD, i.e. 
>situations where the noise level may preclude doing a fine aural tuning, 
>shop work, pitch raises, and hearing loss. To that list I would add 
>instruments that present special challenges in inharmonicity and scaling, 
>time limitations, and the general physical condition of the tuner. By the 
>latter I am referring to the fatigue one might experience at any time or 
>after having already tuned several pianos in one day, illness, mental 
>stress or distractions, etc. How many of us can truly say that we are at 
>our peak at all times, especially when it is crucial?
>And how often do you work when none of the above limitations are not a 
>factor? The ETD does not have bad days, suffer hearing loss, or become 
>ill, nor is it as distracted by background noise and activity as we are.
>
>But the crucial point that my colleagues tried to make to me during my 
>days as a uninformed detractor was that I had nothing to lose from using 
>the machine (except for the cost) and everything to gain. The machine did 
>not replace or cripple my ears, but supports them. With my SAT III, I will 
>assert to you in all sincerity that I can now do a more accurate concert 
>tuning in less time, with considerably less effort, and reproduce it time 
>and again with extraordinary precision. And I have never stopped using my 
>ears, which often refine the judgments of the machine.
>
>Brian, perhaps you do not realize that some of the most accomplished, 
>gifted and skilled technicians in our profession (and in PTG) use ETD's. 
>It was this realization, in part, that lead me to question my previous 
>stand. I think that I persisted in my delusion for so long because I felt 
>that I was a bit superior relative to my ETD using colleagues with my 
>presumed superior aural concert tuning skills; now I realize that I was 
>probably the only one who thought I was superior--everyone else must have 
>thought I was uninformed and perverse.
>
>Brian, my best and most friendly advice to you would be to try an ETD for 
>yourself (long enough to master the learning curve). At the least, you 
>could offer your criticisms and comments from an informed perspective. 
>And, who knows, you might just discover that you done something wonderful 
>for yourself...
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Charles
>
>
>
>Jim,
>
>"Sounds" like you have the right attitude.  I agree that a SAT can help
>refine a technicians knowledge when used to check aural tuning.  I just
>don't want to become a technician who relies so heavily on a machine that
>I'm not continuing to refine my skills.
>
>I've seen some technicians really benifit from a SAT, especially when older
>age compremises his or her upper frequency hearing.  I've  also believed
>that ETD's are perfect for quick shop work.  They even do a good job, if not
>better job than aural, when hearing is compremised by background noise.  I
>think that one of the strongest benefits in owning an ETD for a shop is that
>it would allow an apprentice-type to do "grunt" tuning with a high degree of
>confidence,  i.e. chip-tuning.
>
>However, concert tuning is another matter.  I don't think that it is an
>accident that most serious artists that perform at our local performance
>venues specifically request aural concert tuning.  I've never had someone
>call and request an ETD tuning, but I've seen numerous times that I was
>called specifically because I won't use an ETD.
>
>Yes, ETD's can and often do a good job, even for concert work.  But no one
>is going to convince me that as long as I have good ears, that I should let
>a machine do all of the "thinking."  Just my $.02 worth.
>
>Cheers,
>Brian Henselman
>
>Charles Ball, RPT
>School of Music
>University of Texas at Austin
>ckball@mail.utexas.edu