Wanna be piano tuner

[Tom Cole]

Hello Melissa,

This does seem like a new question, at least on this list.

There are good and bad correspondence courses and it sounds like you had
one of the bad ones. The Arthur Reblitz book is a very good way to start
getting the basics, especially for repair and rebuilding work. Hooking
up with a mentor, someone who is working full time on pianos, would be
another positive step, particularly where tuning is concerned. Maybe
others could recommend some correspondence courses or schools.

I happen to live near you (Santa Cruz) and would be willing to talk with
you on the phone if you have questions. There are also people on this
list in the Santa Clara chapter of PTG that might be willing to help.

Good luck in your quest and I hope you realize your dream!

Tom Cole, RPT
831-459-9910

Hotsteno@cs.com wrote:
> 
> Hello!
> 
> My name is Melissa Roen.  I'm new to this list this morning.  Ordinarily I
> read a list for a while before posting, but I'm just so excited about this
> that I wanted to post now.  I went through this lists' archives and couldn't
> find a specific answer to my exact question, although I bet someone has asked
> it and I just can't find it.  Anyway, I posted a message to this effect on
> rec.music.makers.piano this morning already, but I know I'll get more and
> better responses here.
> 
> I'm a 29-year-old court reporter living in San Jose, California.  I have
> played the piano since I was four years old and have had a lot of musical
> training through private lessons and as a music major in College and at Aspen
> Music School.  Today I play mostly for my own pleasure and to relieve the
> organist at our church from time to time.  (Yes, I play the organ too, but
> that's not the point here!)
> 
> Anyway, I have arrived at a point where I have a little money and a little
> time to learn a skill I have desired since high school:  I want to learn to
> tune and repair pianos.
> 
> I took a correspondence course as a teenager, with disastrous results.  Now I
> understand I had a very poor tuning hammer provided and the information I
> received was poorly delivered and, at worst, just plain wrong.  This time I
> want to do things "right."  What I'm trying to ascertain is what is the best
> way to go about this?  My specific goal is to eventually take and pass the
> RPT exam.
> 
> All I have done so far is purchased a book, "Piano Servicing, Tuning, and
> Rebuilding," by Arthur A. Reblitz.  What I am thinking is rather than go the
> correspondence course way, I should read the book thoroughly; buy the best
> equipment I can afford -- what specifically, I'm not yet sure of, nor where
> to buy it; buy some of the other videotapes and books recommended at the back
> if the book and study them; and then hire someone who is already a RPT to
> teach me one-on-one until I get the hang of it.  I also plan to join the
> Piano Technician's
> Guild.
> 
> I would go to a school, but there are none in my area (San Jose, California).
> 
> 
> So to summarize:
> Is this the truly the best way to learn?
> What equipment do I need to buy?  Where should I get it from?
> Should I reconsider taking a correspondence course?
> Is there anything else I should know about?
> 
> Thanks for letting me pick your collective brains!
> 
> Best wishes,
> Melissa
> hotsteno@cs.com
> 
> Melissa Roen
> CSR No. 12284
> Pulone & Stromberg
> Certified Shorthand Reporters