Bad Student Piano Insight

[Terry]

Ahhhh Mr. Nossaman. I should have known you'd open this can of worms!   ;-)

Oh, and thanks for doing so!

My question about the teacher was really more of a statement than a true
question. In truth, in this case, I really knew the answer. Yes, I have
tuned one of the teacher's pianos (the one that needed its once-a-decade
tuning). I don't remember exactly what kind of pianos she had, but one was a
worn-out crappy micro-grand from the 1920s and the other, which I tuned, and
I think is used for most lessons, was a worn-out crappy console. I remember
telling her that we could improve that piano quite a bit with some
regulation, etc (I was surprised she was using it for teaching). She thought
it was fine - maybe later. No, in this particular case, even if the teacher
played this kids piano, she may not have mentioned anything as being amiss.

I think my statement was more along the lines of  whether a teacher might
have some sort of awareness of the instrument a child is practicing on. Does
a tennis instructor want to look at your racquet to make sure it is
adequate? Would a firearms marksman instructor want to inquire about the
type of rifle the student is using for target practice? I seems to me piano
teachers are more divorced from the instrument of the trade than these other
instructors. I wonder why. I think that is what I might have been asking.
Why is that?

Terry Farrell


> >The information I gave him about his piano was completely brand-new stuff
> >for him.
>
> As will be the revelation that piano techs aren't on salary (somewhere),
> aren't doing this as a hobby to relieve the boredom of the idle rich, and
> need to be compensated for time spent on the customers' behalf finding
> another piano, in order to eat. This all may seem incredible, but it's not
> remotely uncommon.
>
>
> >One question remains though: why hadn't her piano teacher of six years
> >said anything to the parents about the piano?
>
> Since when do piano teachers know any more about pianos than anyone else
> out there in consumerland? This could easily be brand new stuff to the
> teacher as well. I have a question. Do you tune the teacher's piano? If
> not, why doesn't the teacher's tuner tune this piano? Does the teacher
HAVE
> a piano, and if so, is it EVER tuned?
>
> Ron N