Our school is noted for its percussion studio--the professor is a stickler for practice and she gets it out of the students or they don't survive. When I was on contract here at UTM,I was tuning in the band room. In walks this freshman percussion student and walks over to one set of marimbas, eyeing me all the way with a questioning look on his face. He proceeds to begin his practice completely ignoring me. I don't know how in the world he thought he could practice while I tuned the piano! Well I stop him and tell him that I am using the hall and he can come back later and practice when I'm through. He said, "Oh, O. K." and walks out. I thought, "Where did this guy come from? He was determined to get his practice in whether I was tuning a piano in there or not." Joy! Elwood Elwood Doss, Jr. M.M.E.; RPT Piano Technician/Technical Director Department of Music 145 Fine Arts Building The University of Tennessee at Martin Martin, TN 38238 731/881-1852 -----Original Message----- From: Conrad Hoffsommer [mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu] Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 8:21 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Why I'm the tuner and they aren't... Favorite things come in threes, right? 1. This morning, I tuned my favorite PSO on campus. 42" console which could be the poster child for flagpoling tuning pins. (Some bass pins are showing ¼" of thread above the plate) Driving pins not advised because then all the strings would walk up over the coils. Located in a basement coffee shop w/entertainment area (stage/dance floor). Humidity control non-existant and pitch regularly varies between 435/444... today it was 433.1 Hz. 2. Cleaning person was vacuuming when I got there. No big deal with laptop based RCT and microphone dropped down into case. When the vacuuming was finished, I was asked if I wanted all the light turned off. Hmmm, let me see... 6AM/interior basement room... "Nah, leave them on, it's a little easier to see what I'm doing. Thanks" 3. As I'm in the top octave of the fine tuning, the grill person comes in to get the place ready to open. On comes the MUZAK, right above my head(of course). Had to vent. Now, everybody back away from the water cooler, nice and slow... Conrad
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