Hi Greg,
After sixteen years as a full time university tech with 107 pianos and having
read the responses so far, here is what I would do if you want to be successful in
it. Here is some of what I have learned, I'll spill guts.
1. Never get involved in politics, there is no need to. Never listen to gossip,
gripes, or complaints about anyone, especially faculty, always politely avoid it.
Your the lowest wolf in the pack so don't start any fights, you'll lose. But you are
part of the pack, so enjoy it, and eat well!!
2. Tune three pianos a day, every day, with significant breaks in between. On the
first tuning round spend two hours on each one to voice it, clean it, fix all of the
broken stuff, and the squeaky pedal. On the second round, your tuning time will
decline to about 1 1/2 hours per piano or less.
3. Do not waste time right away on any computer database building. They will be
looking for a difference right away, so simply write down the tuning date, serial
numbers, and locations for later entry into a database. You should have a computer
for that and you can create it over time during your breaks between pianos. Tune the
piano faculty pianos first, then do the classrooms and any other pianos where the
faculty member is a good pianist or uses the piano alot.
4. Work 7:30am to 4:00 pm with a half hour lunch for the first six months. Don't do
any private work for a month to allow yourself to adjust to the new routine. You
will need to start early to get in to everyplace.
5. After six months consider changing to 6:30am to 3:00pm so you can be home at five
after doing an outside tuning. Invest all of the money you make outside, you
shouldn't have to work more than eight hours just to survive and live decently. I
have invested all outside money, and now have a 30 foot sailboat, a nice ranch home
on 10 acres with a thousand feet of river frontage, two years salary in CDs, zero
debt, and two cars, two grand pianos, and kids in a private school. When I started
the job, I had $600. That almost ran out because I didn't get a paycheck for a whole
month after I started. My current goal is to never spend a cent of my paycheck
again, and live off tunings. Didn't do it last year, but so far this year I haven't
spent a cent of it. Forget the concept that there is "security" in the university.
A big lie, There never is, and never was. God, your wife, your private business,
abilities, and assets are your security.
6. NEVER tune more than six hours a day or three pianos in a day. That's all they
pay for. There should never be any emergencies requiring more than that. With 80
pianos, that tunes them all once every six weeks. Your inventory will always be in
near perfect tune and your faculty will love you for it. Always wear ear plugs. If
a faculty member mentions it, i.e. (alluding or insinuating that you might be
providing second rate work because of ear plug use), turn their gossip into
complaints about the loud acoustics which is destroying every ones hearing. Or tell
'em it's to cut out the noise of that musician next door cause there's no
soundproofing so you CAN hear. In other words you must learn to manipulate the
wolves to be your assets rather than enemies. Every department has them. For that
type of person who is always policing others, or looking for some other persons
fault, always be ready to divert them to some another area. Be ready in case
complaints about the concert piano start. Get a sling psychrometer, test the
humidity, keep a record of it and use it for all defense and your protection if
needed. You can't replace soundboards with the time you have, so remember what the
lack of humidity control has done to those pianos for all those years. New hammers
and shanks aren't going to do it. Manipulating wolves is how you get new pianos and
humidity control. Don't you be a "complainer", the department wolves will do it for
you. Never mention anything that really is wrong with a piano if no one has
complained about it. Know when to shut up and what to say when gripes arise. Be "on
the side" of all piano faculty, know their frustrations, make them sense you are
their advocate. Really be their advocate! Don't let things be your fault, there
not!, but boy there are always wolves who will make it your fault if they can. Be
ready, one step ahead of the game. Some faculty well test you. Don't hate them for
it, for once you prove yourself, they will be your biggest supporters. Laugh it off,
you know more than they do.
7. Newton is right, you cannot do everything that needs to be done when there is
less than one tech for 60 pianos. BUT, IT IS WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO THAT WILL MAKE
THE DIFFERENCE. Being a CAUT is like being an army doctor. You work in the
trenches, must be fast, efficient and do what counts, and take your rest.
8. Never get bogged down in what doesn't count much. Don't bother fixing ten swing
hammer shanks on practice pianos or most studios, unless they clack. Forget
perfection and concentrate on what makes the greatest improvements.
9. Always look like your working. Computers, databases, the list, the journal all
help. Physically, eight hours of condensed piano work is too much, day after day
after day. When bored, experiment with voicing techniques, goof around with new
techniques or new things you haven't done before. The university loves all types of
development and education. If not a pianist, learn on school time. If you are,
simply play the piano for fifteen or thirty minutes after each tuning. You'll get
good. Be careful who you play for though. If anyone asks, your testing carefully
before choosing which advanced voicing methods to use. Then talk their ear off as
your rest.
10. Attend all piano faculty concerts.
11. When questioned about your work or ability to tune by some overly confident
pompous PHD wolf, dazzle them by explaining temperament, and inharmonicity. Take the
time to explain it, consider it a break, draw a picture of a vibrating string, tell
em the inharmonicity formula and talk about its' merits, demonstrate some different
sizes of octaves, show them false strings, stack up three pure major thirds, talk
their ear off for half an hour, and enjoy it---all part of school time. Soon you'll
be lecturing for their theory class. After the first months, such persons will never
bother you again. Never fear, have fun, you know more than they do. Chances are
99% they never heard of any of that stuff.
12. Don't attend many all concerts, just the solo piano ones. Let it be known to all
that you work 6:30 to 3:00 to get in to all rooms and it simply is not physically
possible to be at concerts until 10:00 PM.
Say to the wolf, "They oughta quit over scheduling the place you know." The wolves
will jump right in on your side and start complaining for you.
13. Eight hours a day is hard, tiring, and boring. Now that I have done this for
16 years, I'm not sorry, but MAN was it hard. I think being a good tuner in
Cleveland might be a better deal. Of course with property values there, I couldn't
have my home.
14. Don't waste time getting to know the custodians, students, or spend time
listening to gripes from any workers. Mind your own business. Be friends with
faculty and administrators.
15. Wear a tie, dress pants, and decent shoes. Do not wear jeans or overalls. Your
one of them, the faculty, just be one.
16. Agree with the university on all social issues, or at least shut up if you
don't.
17. Avoid tuning three of the same type of piano in one day. i.e. do some uprights
and grands as this avoids fatigue. After the first round, you will know the hateful
pianos, and can avoid selecting three hateful ones in the same day. Never bring your
work home
18. They should buy all tools. If you use your own, some jerk might think you are
stealing them when you leave to tune your private pianos. REMEMBER THAT THE
APPEARANCE OR WRONG DOING IS JUST AS DANGEROUS AS THE WRONG DOING, At least in the
university.
19. Don't make them buy them all right away. Get them gradually, and use your own,
but making sure that they know it.
20. You must be smart. Give them what they think they need, not what they really
need. All the truth of the PTG and perfectionism of the list is good to know and
understand and use, but be realistic. Your job is to please the faculty, any way
possible. You must please the piano faculty if you are to survive, so you do what
you have to. Not hard really.
21. Keep a record of all tunings. The concert piano is 'sposed to be tuned "before
each concert" NONSENSE!! Yeah, go over it and check the unisons, fix a few here and
there, and record it tuned. You do this 100 times a year. If you really tuned it
that much, the hammers would be worn out in one year----trouble you don't need.
Whenever it gets off pitch is when to tune it. Those tuning records prove your
worth, in case some hatchet minded administrator starts looking around for somebody
to cut. These always originate from higher up than in music. Chances are music
really struggled to "get that position" and there are folks up high who wish it
weren't.
22. Fix every request within a day. and always tune to A440.
23. Always make every faculty member feel really important.
24. You remove the mountain of stuff stored on the piano. Lay it down in perfect
order so it all goes back in perfect order. When the faculty member apologizes,
say, "no trouble at all, one of my goals is to make it as easy for you as
possible" The truth is that unloading pianos of junk is easier than tuning them,
It's all part of the job. Be a slave and accept it or don't take the job. Puff up
the pride of faculty whenever possible, It'll do you good.
You got the brains the knowledge to do great, Its' just a big question whether it's
worth it. I'm not sure after sixteen years, but, hey I got three beautiful kid and
still got my wife. We were just a young couple when I started. I would encourage
your wife to also develop a career because these university jobs are dead ends and
really not that secure. They just don't lead anywhere. As time goes on, needs
increase, and one just wants to do better in life.
I'll bet you have more than 80 pianos. After your there a while you'll find
more, in closets, in pits, lost about on the rest of the campus. Likely they don't
know how many they really have. When I took the job they said I had 84. When I told
Van Grimley, my predecessor, he laughed, and laughed, and then said " I think you
got more like about 135!" A good man he was, and he was right on the nose. Since
then we got rid of some worthless ones.
-Mike
----So that's the way it is-----, my guts spilled.
Greg Newell wrote:
> Ron and list,
> All kidding aside you bring up something here that is now, whether I like it
> or not, part of a decision I have to make in my life. I have the opportunity to
> become the piano tuner/ technician for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I
> just spent the last 3 days there and part of my concern is a possible racial
> component. I spent the last month before I went asking friends, customers, family
> and others what they thought about Alabama or if they knew anything at all about
> the state. I personally found the people to be friendly and the area MUCH in need
> of an experienced technician. I just don't know if it feels like home or not. I
> really don't have to move for any reason but the offer would add security to a
> sometimes fragile balance of budgets.
> Currently I'm doing my own thing in the Cleveland, Ohio area which is not at a
> loss for piano techs form the sheer number of us. Not all are top notch but in an
> increasingly tight economy ... well, people do stray. I haven't seen the numbers
> yet for the salary they will be offering but I believe it's roughly national
> average. (Can anyone confirm what that is?) I would have 80-85 pianos, 3
> harpsichords and one fortepiano and would have my own rebuilding room/office which
> would eventually be supplied with a full compliment of tools and supplies. I would
> be creating a new position which was never really fully defined or fully utilized.
> The pianos need a fair amount of work and accreditation happens early next year.
> It is a priority to have the pianos up to snuff. The usual bennies are available
> like Blue Cross and Blue Shield, retirement, sick days, vacation days, help for
> the conventions may be possible, flexible schedule ..... well you know, the usual.
>
> I wish that the choice were obvious. Either this was just too good to pass up
> and my own business were failing or, the opposite but that just isn't the case.
> Wife and girls are willing if not pushing me into it. I'm just not sure. I would
> be, according to the head of the college of music, the local hero based upon the
> tunings he heard from me and the evaluations and quick repairs on some ongoing
> troubles they had when I got there. I would automatically be the tuner for the
> local Orchestra and the jazz ensemble and any artist booked there. All calls for a
> tuner (he says daily (?) ) would come to me and there is plenty of outside work to
> be had if I want it in my flexible schedule. Almost sounds too good to be true,
> no? I've no doubt that I could make a good living even with the local price of a
> tuning being only $50. The cost of living is much lower.
> I need a sign! Send me a sign! :>) I just can't seem to make up my mind. I'm
> not usually the type for relocating and I never really went looking for this but
> ........ it's here now and I have to decide. Any thoughts?
>
> Ron Nossaman wrote:
>
> > >
> > > To the PTG it is not the final
> > > result but more or less beloning to the brotherhood.
> >
> > Hey, aren't you supposed to get a hat or hood or something, possibly with eye
> > holes, when you join a Brotherhood? Nobody mentioned a hat when I joined the
> > PTG. I think I was robbed! Bunch of cheapskates, wouldn't even spring for a
> > cool hat. There's probably a secret handshake and password they didn't tell me
> > about too. And the ring! What about the RING?
> >
> > Ron N
>
> --
> Greg Newell
> Greg's Piano Forté
> 12970 Harlon Ave.
> Lakewood, Ohio 44107
> 216-226-3791
> mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
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