This post from Mike really is quite brilliant. For one thing it provides a sort of benchmark against which other CAUT's can compare their various situations. The details will differ for each institution, and as Ron N points out, politics cannot really be avoided. The dynamics can be quite different, I suspect, for a CAUT where there is more than one tech at the institution, and/or where the performance levels required of many pianos makes it impossible to tune 3 a day due to the tech work needed, or... [a million other factors]. Concerning coming into a studio with a piano that is loaded down with music, TV/VCR, stereo, accumulated student files, campus mail, printed out e-mails, a potted plant, and the remains of yesterday's lunch, I have found that more grands than you might expect can actually be tuned quite easily with the lid down -- takes a short tuning hammer in addition to your normal one and a suspension of the rules against placing the tuning hammer on the pins perpendicular to strings - and some practice. Don't tell people you didn't clear off the piano; let 'em think you got things back perfectly! Kent Swafford (Wear a tie? Gonna have to think about _that_ one.) On 3/26/01 3:20 AM, "Michael Jorgensen" <Michael.Jorgensen@cmich.edu> wrote: > 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.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC