Tuneoff

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi to Ric Moody:

Thanks for accepting the challenge. As I mentioned in the proposal, I 
would wear earplugs and  ear muffs, so , yes, it really would be machine 
against the ear which was my main point in the first place. If you have 
any suggestions as to what would define the experiment any further, 
please feel free to add any other qualifications. The procedures which I 
mentioned in the original post were a result of having done this before 
and are an attempt to make the deal as objective as possible.

I don't agree with Richard Breckne about having Professors do the 
judging. 
We have piano technicians who play every bit as well as many professors 
of piano. I believe piano technicians are more able to know what an intune 
piano should sound like, and I am equally sure that many piano teachers 
do not (since often they do not have their own pianos tuned as often as 
they should). When I worked at the University, the piano professors 
wanted their pianos tuned every month in their studios, but their home 
pianos were tuned only once a year (maybe it's just the money).

The weeks of voicing recommended by R. Breckne should not be necessary 
since, if we trade pianos on the second heat, any differences in tone 
quality would be negated. I do like his idea of doing this in Bergen, 
however, because I have never been able to enjoy the scenery there except 
through the National Geographic Magazine. Hey Ric, all we need now are 
sponsors to get us over there and back. I could use the vacation, I had 
to do 3 separate Church concert tunings yesterday from my wheelchair (in 
one of them I had to crawl up ten steps to get to the piano. It was 
worth it though, because it was an SD10 rebuilt by Rick Baldassin and 
Michael Spreeman - ask for details if interested).

I guess the next step is to see if the new Institute Committee would be 
interested in having this on the docket for Chicago next Summer. 

The first time in Chicago, Virgil and I had the choice of two fairly well
matched pianos (except one had a high polish finish and the other didn't).
In the first heat, it didn't make any difference because we had tuned the 
pianos before the audience arrived just before noon. They didn't know who 
had tuned which piano. During the second heat, we each tuned the opposite 
piano before the audience for educational purposes. This time in the 
judging, the audience knew who had tuned which piano because of the 
different appearance of the two pianos. We can rule out this possibility 
of favoritism this time if the pianos are visually equivalent.

Another thing we learned from the first Tuneoff was that the position of 
the pianos on stage made a difference as to which one sounded better, so 
we exchanged the piano positions halfway through the listening time to 
help balance out any advantage of position on stage.

I know Richard B.was giving us some "tongue-in-cheek" treatment when he 
suggested that detuning would take so much time. In the PTG Exam rooms 
we take about 10 minutes for this, not an exact science, but effective.

We probably should have some acceptable alternates ready to carry on for 
us if either of us should become ill. This only seems reasonable when you 
consider all of the logistics involved in providing the pianos, setting 
the schedule, moving the pianos before and during the contest, etc. I 
have one or two people who may willing to wear the earplugs if it became 
necessary, and I'm sure you could find many "dyed-in-the-wool" aural 
tuners who would jump at the chance to "defend the faith" if you should 
become incapacitated. (Tom Servinsly has already volunteered, and if he 
is related to the Tony Servinsky I knew, he's got to be exceptionally 
good).

Where would professional sports be today if they only played between 
their first and second teams and only at home. Competition has driven the 
sports to greater heights of achievement. Could this happen in piano 
tuning? Could such an event stir up national interest and national media 
coverage? Would piano owners become more critical in their selection of 
pianos and piano tuners? Could we achieve such an interest in fine piano 
sounds that it would once again be fun to make music rather than play 
nintendo (I took seriously the remarks of Brian Chung at our opening 
assembly at Reno this summer). I think playing the piano IS fun, I think 
that tuning a piano IS fun. I also think it is fun to tune aurally as 
well as with ETDs (did you ever catch my class on "Strictly Aural 
Tuning?).

Well, here I've gone to dreaming again.

What are your thoughts?

Jim Coleman, Sr.

PS It was good to see you and Ric B in Reno.