techicians or tooners

[Annie Grieshop]

Yep, that was my exact response:  You mean there are more than THREE?

He said Dichter used the Russian Pedaling Method (my paraphrase, as always,
and my capitalization)... and I have not done any research to find out
whether it's true.  Doug's not on the list, as far as I know, and he doesn't
strike me as a leg-puller (not when it comes to music, at least).  His
former students from the piano technology program at Western Iowa Tech might
be able to fill us in on that....

Hey, Ed (et al.), did Doug ever mention this to y'all?

I'm going to go see what I can find out, right now.  And if all else fail's,
I'll call Doug and ask him.

Annie

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Owen Greyling [mailto:greyco at kingston.net]
> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 6:20 PM
> To: annie at allthingspiano.com; 'Pianotech List'
> Subject: RE: techicians or tooners
>
>
> I can think of three, on the strings, half pedaling, and off the strings.
> Perhaps Doug was pulling your leg?
> I'd love to hear more. Is Doug on the list?
> This is a serious inquiry, by the way...
> Always more to learn....
> Owen
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
> [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
> Of Annie Grieshop
> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 5:41 PM
> To: l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net; 'Pianotech List'
> Subject: RE: techicians or tooners
>
> Les, this is an Introduction to Talking With Pianists (and Why)!
> Thanks so
> much.  I hadn't thought about it from the perspective of the non-player
> technician, but after reading the kinds of questions you ask, I
> suspect you
> notice things I wouldn't, because you've had some great teachers (not to
> mention your own talent, skill, and expertise <g>).
>
> As an example:  Doug Neal recently told me about Mischa Dichter's
> requirement that dampers work at NINE different levels of engagement (and
> forgive me if I'm paraphrasing that badly).  Doug undoubtedly
> knows a whole
> universe about dampers that I can't even imagine, even though he doesn't
> play.  Unless I happened to talk to just the right player (or
> technician), I
> would never know that such thing was possible.
>
> So, thanks, Les (and Doug), for educating me!
>
> Sometimes, I find that my playing experience gets in the way of helping
> customers because I can't duplicate the ways their hands (brain/arms/feet)
> work.  So, many of the pianos I work on just tend to perform better for me
> than for their owners.  That's where John's info card would be
> particularly
> useful for me.
>
> Annie Grieshop
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Leslie Bartlett [mailto:l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net]
> > Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 4:10 PM
> > To: annie at allthingspiano.com; 'Pianotech List'
> > Subject: RE: techicians or tooners
> >
> >
> > I am certainly limited in my keyboard skills. I have a couple "pay me"
> > things I play when I'm finished. But I talk a great deal with people who
> > play, ask them to describe how their action feels to them, tell
> > them I need
> > to learn to speak a foreign language (as in "the bass is wonkie").  But
> > after a few thousand tunings on pianos of every ilk, there does
> come some
> > understanding of what is going on, and my final judge is the
> customer.  I
> > will often ask if such-and-such concerns the owner. If it does,
> we explore
> > the issues involved, and what can be done. If it does not, then
> I say, "if
> > it doesn't bother you there's nothing to mess with. If it does become of
> > interest or concern, then we can talk some more about it."   I use the
> > expertise of excellent pianists in their craft by spending a lot of time
> > questioning how they define different aspects of touch,
> > responsiveness, how
> > they feel about their ability to draw music out of the piano.  I
> > am quick to
> > say they have expertise I don't and I am using them to become
> > more sensitive
> > to their needs.  I have done action work for a few major
> players, and have
> > always gotten highly favorable responses.  I attribute that to never
> > assuming anything until I have asked a question several different
> > ways, then
> > mirroring back what I think I have heard, then making very conservative
> > changes on a few keys, and asking the pianist to play and respond as to
> > whether changes positively reflect my interpretation of their
> > descriptions.
> > Thus I can use their knowledge to help me help them.
> > les bartlett
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
> > [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
> > Of Annie Grieshop
> > Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 12:50 PM
> > To: Pianotech
> > Subject: techicians or tooners
> >
> > When I received Michael Spreeman's email, I was just about to
> sit down and
> > write an addendum to my previous posting because I never meant to
> > imply that
> > non-playing technicians are inferior (and I was pretty sure somebody was
> > going to take it that way).  Obviously, I should've been more clear the
> > first time around. <g>
> >
> > My question referred to the recognition of non-tuning issues by
> those who
> > don't play the piano.  I know wonderful technicians who have a
> > very limited
> > repertoire on the piano, so I certainly know it's possible.  Observant,
> > careful, and conscientious craftspeople can diagnose and
> correct problems
> > without being pianists (sort of like male gynecologists <g>).
> >
> > And what I meant was that the difference between a piano
> technician and a
> > piano tooner is exactly that ability to reach beyond personal
> > experience and
> > do extra-ordinatry work.
> >
> > I do wonder what it's like to work on an instrument you don't play.  I
> > wonder how that changes the relationship.  Guess I should try
> > repairing some
> > band instruments, as the whole blow-air-to-play-tunes thing
> > (without reeds)
> > just bamboozles me.
> >
> > Annie Grieshop
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
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> 06/01/2007
> > 11:22 AM
> >
> >
> >
>
>