never say never..kinda long

[Carl Meyer]

Well David, your kinda wrong again.  I'm a folk that can't use a tuning
folk.  On the farm,  I used pitch folks, manure folks, ensilage folks and I
graduated from using a kitchen knife to eat peas to using a folk.  If there
is a tine missing tho, the dumb peas fall thru.

I don't however make a living using an etd.
Not that I couldn't if I was bent that way, but I choose to concentrate on
other things

After having a lot of my earnings confiscated by our socialistic government,
if I behave myself, they give some of it back to me in the form of
antisocial insecurity.

I've been a member since before the sight-o-tuner came out.  I remember the
strobotuner.  I can still hear and see the kicking and screaming when etd's
got started.  I still hear muffled grunts, groans and sighs, but they are
slowly diminishing.  No one likes a change except a wet baby.
There will always be those that think rules are more important than results.

I rented my 7 ft Hardman a couple of weeks ago and I tuned it for a concert.
Does that make me a concert tuner?  I used the accutuner.  No complaints.

One thing I hope everyone has noticed.  I never speak disparagingly about
those among us who are fine tuners but have to think twice before using a
screwdriver to decide which end to use.  I do question their title of
technician rather than tooner.  You see, I have nothing but admiration for
anyone that can do a good job of tuning, listening to beats for 40 years and
not ending up at the funny farm.

Don't get me wrong.  My anger long ago turned to amusement.  I kinda enjoy
my status as the Rodney Dangerfield of the PTG.

Now, I think I'll have a bottle of imported beer.  Cheers!!!!

Carl Meyer











----- Original Message -----
From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey@jps.net>
To: "pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2001 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: never say never..kinda long


> Go Phil!  I've been kinda wrong before...;-]  Of course we won't be
hearing
> from all the folks who can't tune with a tuning fork and make a living
> tuning with a ETD will we...
>
> David I.
>
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 3/25/01 at 8:56 AM Phil Bondi wrote:
>
> >David Ilvedson wrote:
> >>
> >  If you get the ETD first you will never learn to tune without it no
> >> matter what people say about EDTs being great teaching devices.
> >
> >..I'm late on this thread, but this comment caught my eye..
> >
> >David...you're kinda wrong..and hopefully, _I_ will prove you wrong this
> >Summer when I take the Tuning Exam in Reno.
> >
> >breif history about myself:
> >
> >started working with a dealership in 1997 after 1.5 years of
bi-monthly(?)
> >trips to Atlanta to work and study with Larry Crabb. In Feb. of '97,
Larry
> >thought I was 'ready' to start earning money in the field..I inquired to
a
> >local dealership about doing some work for them, and it just so happens
> >that
> >they were looking for a new tech..I was hired on the spot and given a
> bunch
> >of work right away, both on the floor and in customer's homes.
> >
> >Baptism Under Fire.
> >
> >..and I felt that my aural skills were no where ready to be
'scrutinized'.
> >Of course my feelings were correct, so I purchased a SATll to make my
work
> >more 'credible'. It was a great purchase at the time. Some customers had
> >seen this device before and were not satisfied with the results. I
assured
> >them that this is a great tool to do our job, and would welcome any
> >criticism once I was finished tuning...never had one complaint.
> >
> >..in the meantime, working for this dealership, I would practice my aural
> >skills while doing floor tunings. The SAT was my tutor, since my visits
to
> >Atlanta were coming to a halt, not because of my wealth of knowledge, but
> >because my business was starting to take off and I felt I needed to be
> here
> >to answer the phone.
> >
> >As I was getting more confidence in hearing those s l o w beating 5ths, I
> >was starting to tune aurally on selected pianos out in the field..ones
> that
> >I felt I could hear what I needed to hear and not feel scrutinized by the
> >customer. Spinets were a welcome sight, since most of my customers that
> >have
> >spinets are not going to be critical of my work..more like grateful that
> it
> >sounds better!..but..spinets were harder for this green roo(k) to hear
> >those
> >5ths and 4ths than some of the Grands that I chose to tune aurally....i
> was
> >feeling some frustration because i felt I had hit a wall in my learning
> >process..i probably did..
> >
> >and then one day..while tuning on the dealer floor, i nailed a
temperament
> >on the 1st try...this was a big confidence boost..i listened and played
> and
> >re-played those 4ths, 5ths, 3rd's and 6th's till it was ad nauseum..but I
> >needed to implant that sound in my remaining brain cell to be able to
> >confidently open a spinet or lift the lid on a 9'er to tune aurally.
> >
> >The SATll sits in my tool box and is removed now for pitch raises, noisy
> >enviroments, and unfamiliar Concert Venues (that doesn't happen too
> often).
> >
> >Am I the exception rather than the rule?..probably..I've been accused of
> >worse.
> >
> >David, if you're in Reno this summer, hopefully I will be able to say to
> >you
> >that 'never' is not a good word to use. Let me say this publicly..I am
> >finally prepared to 'fail' the test..which means that if I had taken the
> >tuning test 2 years ago in Providence, I would have failed miserably
> >because
> >I would have been unprepared to fail..I would have been clinging to the
> SAT
> >for alot longer than I have if I had taken that test back then..my
> >confidence in my aural tunings has improved immeasurably since then. I
> have
> >learned how to let the piano tell me how it wants to sound..still
learning
> >'how', but I think I can tune aurally fairly well, with an accurate
> stretch
> >both ways, and have the instrument be musical to the player..and I do
mean
> >'player'.
> >
> >Confident, never cocky,
> >roo(k)
>
>
>
>