The Bad News

[Brian Lawson]

Some points in disagrrement:

1) It's your opinion, not a fact - else lets all give up now and go fishing.

2) For a guitarist who only has 6 strings it takes him a minute or so to
tune, but would *everyone* easily jump to buy a cheap tuning device?

3) To learn good tuning technique is not something you learn in an
instruction manual with your etd.

4) All the mess-ups will need the profession technician called back to
straighten out.

5) All the others on list to have their say:




Brian Lawson, RPT
Johannesburg, South Africa

TEXOMA CHAPTER
http://texoma.int.chapter.tripod.com

----- Original Message -----
From: LHSBAND440@AOL.COM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2001 2:09 PM
Subject: The Bad News


In a message dated 3/16/01 11:21:08 PM Eastern Standard Time,
drose@dlcwest.com writes:



http://www.middlebury.edu/~harris/piano.html




The bad news is that this is soon to be the future of the piano tuning
industry.  With ETD's becoming more and more accurate, the common piano
player will be able to tune a piano to the same accuracy of a good piano
tuner.  The only saving grace to the piano tuner of the future is that one,
people won't have the interest to tuning their piano and two, they won't be
able to afford to purchase a tuning device.  Repair will be the area in
which
the piano technician will still be able to make consistent money.  As ETD's
develop even more and more it will also be the piano tuner who advances to
this stage that will be able to keep the profession going.  The days of the
aural tuner is and will slowly diminish.  How many remember the days when
the
private citizen wasn't able to pump his own gas.  Now, gone is the day when
the attendant comes out and pumps your gas on a regular fill-up.  This will
soon be the way of the piano tuning profession.  We will be called by those
clients that don't care to tune or those who tune their own piano but need a
repair or something that is beyond their ability to fix.  With the Reblitz
book on the market and many home correspondence courses this number or
people
who will need us to administer a repair to their piano will also be greatly
reduced to those who screw it up so bad that they need to call a
tuner-technician.  I my opinion the rebuilding and restoration area will
also
be the area that the piano tuner-technician will be able to still make
adequate money.  My suggestions to the future tuners are as follows.  Still
learn to tune aurally but only concentrate on unisons and octaves, become
very skilled in the use of an accurate ETD and work toward eye had
coordination more than ear hand.  I would say 40% ear hand and 60% eye hand.
Tune as good and professionally as possible and judge yourself not by the
letters you have after your name but the number of satisfied customers that
you retain.  Work on your bench skills for they will be your bread and
butter
for extra income and learn, learn, learn from every piano you work on
because
as the futures progresses the playing field has just been leveled for all
tuners.  It has to be said and accepted that soon will be the day if not
here
today that anyone can tune a piano and in some cases just as good as the
experienced professional.

Sincerely,
Leo Silverman