my convention experiences (long)

[Tvak@AOL.COM]

If anyone is interested, I thought I'd share some of my experiences at the 
convention this past week.  I have only one more class tomorrow, Bass Strings 
for the 21st Century, and I've got a little time tonight so here goes--some 
highlights and lowlights: 
    Of course the highest highlight of all was the pianotech gathering today. 
 There wasn't as much interaction as I would have liked, but with nametags I 
was able to connect names with faces.  It's surprising how much everyone 
looks exactly like I expected them to.    
    Only even more attractive and intelligent looking, of course.

    The classes were hit-or-miss and the titles often didn't help.  Like 
GETTING THERE AND STAYING THERE (Christine Lovgren).  By the title of the 
class and by the fact that it was listed under "Tuning Classes" I assumed it 
would be a discussion of tuning technique in regard to stability, a subject 
that I am interested in.  Instead it was a discussion of physical factors of 
the piano which influence instability.  Such as loose tuning pins. (!) I did 
not find this class very informative, and the title was deceiving.  
    UPRIGHT TOUCH ON THE UP AND UP  (Jack Wyatt) This was a terrific class.  
Jack is a hoot as an instructor (although he has the tendency to drift into 
side tracks) and really knows his stuff.  Although I got a lot out of this 
class, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be (again).  The class 
description in the guidebook tells us "In upright regulations there are 
always the fundamentals and then there are the 'others'. The trick is not to 
violate the fundamentals and use the 'others' to achieve the touch that you 
want."  That sounds great!  I know the fundamentals and I'd love to gain some 
finesse!  Well, this course was ALL about reducing touchweight.  Period.  We 
discussed several ways to reduce touchweight and then he gave us a great tip 
on how to achieve a 4 gram reduction in touchweight throughout the piano in 
30 minutes or less!  (Cut the balance rail felt punching so that it has a 
flat side facing the front of the key.  That's it: 4 grams off!  I'll give 
more detail on this if anyone is interested.)  That tip alone made this class 
worthwhile.
    Perhaps the most interesting class (to me) was Dan Levitan's 
INHARMONICITY.  He constructed some incredible models of the overtone series 
which he could stretch to illustrate the effects of inharmonicity on tuning 
intervals.  Very informative.  Very well structured.  Very well presented.  
And full of information.  I would recommend any class of Dan's.  Last year I 
took IN A NOO YAWK MINUTE, which was about packing your toolkit with 
everything you need and again it was well conceived, well presented, and 
extremely informative.
    Another highlight was Guy Nichols' EXTREME RESULTS.  This class concerned 
methods of servicing under-maintained grand actions.  He demonstrated speed 
methods of hammer filing, regulating let-off, regulating the capstans (hammer 
line/blow distance), tightening screws, even the application of Protek!  His 
goal is to make a HUGE difference in the piano in about 3 hours.  After 
seeing him in action I believe.  I'll be making my own versions of his 
homemade tools and this class will speed up my regulation work considerably.  
Bonus:  everyone in the class receives a piece of soapstone, which can be 
used for lubrication of knuckles and for marking various action parts (like 
chalk).
    
    My biggest complaint regarding the classes was this:  in the majority of 
my classes, the instructor timed out their presentation so poorly that they 
couldn't finish in time.  If this was due to the enormous informational 
content of their presentation I would be less dissatisfied with this 
development.  But invariably it was due to getting off the subject, telling 
too many colorful stories along the way.  The last 5 minutes were then spent 
tuning the bottom 3 octaves of the piano or discussing the last 2 sheets of 
the handout.  It must be difficult to prepare 90 minutes of material and 
present it so that it lasts 90 minutes.  (I don't mean that sarcastically.  
Most of these presentations are being performed for the 1st or 2nd time.)

    Still, I can't really say too much that was negative.  All in all it was 
worth every dollar and minute I spent.  Oh, I did spend too much in the 
exhibit hall (again).  Got a great buy on a Yamaha CF tool ($45) at the 
auction.  The biggest purchase of all was RCT Pocket Tuner, which Dean and 
Mitch installed into my PDA.  Can't wait to tune a piano with it.  
    Then again, after sitting through all the tuning classes (including one 
w/ Jim Coleman) I'm dying to get at a piano and tune it aurally.
    The bad news is: I have no tunings for this coming week.  July has always 
been the slowest month for me.  Last year I had 6 tunings in July.  
(Fortunately, October is right around the corner!)

    Tom Sivak