In need of some encouragement - proof

[Avery]

Jim DOES usually seem to know what he's talking about, doesn't he? :-D

How's he doing, BTW.

Avery

At 03:17 PM 9/10/2006, you wrote:
>We spent six weeks one summer, studying with Jim Coleman at ASU in 
>Tempe, AZ.  Our friend, Antonio, who WAS ALREADY an RPT, went with us.
>
>After the third week of daily unison tuning, Antonio started 
>lamenting "I'm afraid I've made a terrible mistake.  My business, 
>wife and son are languishing at home in California, while I am here 
>tuning unisons!  I want to learn how to do a better 
>temperament!"  That week Jim switched him to tuning ocatves.
>
>In the middle of the fifth week, Antonio started lamenting, "my 
>wife! my son! my business! and I'm only tuning octaves!"
>
>On Friday, Jim sent him up to the Steinway D with a printed out 
>temperament sequence.  When Antonio came downstairs, Jim went 
>upstairs together with him and with the Phoenix chapter master 
>tuning exam and scored his temperament on what turned out to be the exam piano.
>
>Antonio achieved a CTE score!  He went home the next day.
>
>In subsequent years he became the tuner for the Sacramento Symphony.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Diane Hofstetter
>
>
>
>
>----Original Message Follows----
>From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>
>Reply-To: ilvey at sbcglobal.net, Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>Subject: Re: In need of some encouragement - another possibility
>Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 11:18:15 -0700
>
>That's we did for the first 3 months at Western Iowa Tech...1 hour a 
>day of unison tuning...
>
>David Ilvedson, RPT
>Pacifica, CA  94044
>
>
>----- Original message ----------------------------------------
>From: Avery <avery1 at houston.rr.com>
>To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
>Received: 9/9/2006 11:50:48 PM
>Subject: Re: In need of some encouragement - another possibility
>
>
> >Hi Israel,
>
> >When I had my first "trainee" a few years ago, I had no real clue
> >about how to do it. I asked Jim Coleman, Sr.
> >for some suggestions and the main one he mentioned was to make them
> >tune unisons until they could do it as well
> >as I can. THEN start teaching them to tune a temperament! It worked
> >pretty well, even though they didn't really
> >"enjoy" it! :-D But it paid off!
>
> >Avery
>
>
> >>Another feature of our training was extensive practice tuning
> >>unisons and octaves for a long time, before attempting temperaments.
> >>This developed both our sensitivity to beats and our "aural
> >>endurance" so that by the time we were working on temperaments, we
> >>could actually maintain our acute hearing ability long enough to
> >>tune a rudimentary temperament. It takes beginners a long time to
> >>tune a temperament - speed comes with practice. If your ear "shuts
> >>down" before you can complete your temperament - you suddenly stop
> >>hearing those fifths and fourths beats that were so clear before...
> >>I suspect that many self-taught beginner tuners can avoid a lot of
> >>frustration with temperament tuning if they have the patience to do
> >>sufficient unison and octave practice before attempting
> >>temperaments. And with ETDs supplying an adequate temperament on
> >>which to base octaves, this should be fairly easy.