Aaaargh was and partly still is Piano History question

[Ron Nossaman]

>    All we had in our college was a tuner who didn't care much about the 
> practice pianos, and didn't listen to the students when he was told how 
> badly out of tune or regulation the instruments were.
> Vinny Samarco

I wouldn't be so quick to put that attitude on the tuner. I've 
tuned for a number of colleges through the years, and NONE of 
them had a budget allowing necessary maintenance on the pianos 
- NONE, except for the usual three or more replacement strings 
on the old Mason&Hamlin BB twice a year with it's scheduled 
tuning (just before the major seasonal changes) in one place. 
After a round of the usual (only) tunings at this same 
college, the newly hired fresh-out-of-school piano prof 
presented me with a detailed list of regulation and voicing 
concerns, wild strings, dead basses, noisy pedals, wobbly 
benches, etc, for the old practice room Gulbransen studios. I 
tallied up a quick likely total for the first two pianos on 
her list, and extended that to the rest. Pointing out that 
they already griped about the cost of semi-annual tuning, I 
then offered to get started on this and any other needed 
repair and rebuilding work, just as soon as she came up with 
someone who would pay for it. Paying for it was something she 
apparently hadn't considered. How much do you suppose got done 
after she looked into the financing? I no longer tune for this 
institution, as they found someone $10 per piano cheaper, who 
would drive in for one at a time. If he also threw in free 
regulation and repair work, the pianos might be in better 
shape than when I last saw them. Somehow, I doubt it.
Ron N