Aural versus ETD tuning training

[A440A@aol.com]

 Richard writes:

<< Arguments like the "obscurity of our work" or that "nobody can tell the
difference anyways" dont hold any water at all in my book. These are
excuses at best and just plain wrong at worst. 

      Gee, Richard,  plain wrong I have been, so that doesn't chagrin me 
much, but  I hate to be seen as making excuses!
  My phrase "Obscure occupations such as ours" was used as descriptive of 
fields where there is thinly possessed knowledge.  How can it be "wrong" or 
an excuse?  Our trade IS obscure.  Outside of the PTG, technical info is a 
lot more scarce.    Start asking a glass blower about his technique and he 
may get "secretive" in a hurry.  Same goes for ceramicists with their glazes. 
 Racing engineers are legendary for this.   
     The Guild is different, people go looking to tell others how they do it. 
 We are a small group, our conventions may have 2,000 people at them.  The 
last time I went, I noticed there was another convention, it was for 
"Hospitality Hosts", ever hear of them or what they do?  The convention was 
7,500 and was not the biggest of the year!  We are a small niche and much of 
the public sees us in about the same light as a trumpet repairman, organ 
tuner, or shoe repairman, (there are less of them than us).   


    "Nobody can tell the difference, anyways" sounds like an excuse, but that 
is not exactly what I said, ie,   "the improvement I can make by ear to most 
of my machine tunings is not noticeable to anyone else, so what, me worry?"  
If I am the only person that can tell the difference, what I am spending time 
on it for,  my own entertainment? I can't afford that.  A good tuning is one 
with little wasted time in it. I recognize a tolerance, and when within it, 
it is a moot activity to go further.  I can't afford much more moot! 
   Ulitimately, our reputation, and ability to charge, will depend on the 
cumulative effect of all those millions of decisions we make as our career 
takes shape.  Learning where not to spend time is important when learning and 
also when established.  I would like to be an idealist every time, but there 
is a point of diminishing returns for each of us.  Tuning primarily for 
professional musicians tends to keep one on their toes, but I  know better 
than to think each tuning will be museum quality.  Broadcast or recording 
quality is "good enough".  
    Like Kelly Ward said, "A tuner makes more moral decisions in a day than a 
preacher does, all month" 
 
Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html