Aural versus ETD tuning training

[Nichols]

At 11:22 AM 12/26/2002 -0800, you wrote:
>Just how do you go about following behind another technician?  Do
>you wait outside their house and follow them to their customer's
>piano, then ring the door afterwards to check out the piano?...;-]
>I'm not sure I ever have followed another piano technician close
>enough to determine how well the piano was tuned.  How long does
>that "perfect" tuning last anyway?  Couple hours?  Couple days?
>
>David I.

Hi David, Happy Holidays,

    True, what you say, but.... You follow yourself, no? Don't you notice 
the difference, right away, when you're tuning a piano that was last tuned 
by someone who, shall we say, isn't quite
plugged-in? Maybe all the tuners in you service area tune exactly the way 
you do, and don't leave service notes in the pianos. Otherwise, even after 
a year, it's possible to detect the "scheme", isn't it? Do you ever follow 
students, as in a requested critique, or anything like that? That's one of 
my favorite ways to learn!
     Anyway, David, just blabberin' and no debate or argument sought. I'm 
the first to defend the previous tuners' effort, usually. Like was once 
said, "Half an hour after the tuner leaves, it's out of his hands."

Peace,
Guy