[pianotech] RPT Credibility and "Status"

[John Formsma]

RPT is minimal competency.  If you cannot tell -- and be able to explain --
the difference in what constitutes a good tuning, then you don't deserve the
minimal competency credentials.  You wouldn't expect a bookkeeper to promote
himself "as good as a CPA" unless he had passed some sort of competency
exam, right?  Or a paralegal to offer his services as a lawyer unless he'd
been to law school and passed the bar exams, right?
Duaine, when I began tuning, I used a SAT II, and couldn't tell the
difference in much other than unisons.  Maybe if the octaves were really
bad.  But I joined PTG, got the help of an RPT mentor, and persisted.  It
was really hard for me to mentally grasp the concepts of regulation.  But I
persisted. I passed the exams.  And I'm not particularly proud of my
personal performance on the technical exams, because I know I can do better
out in the "real world."  But I persisted, and got it done.  And now, I'm
still trying to improve my skills.  I'm still persisting.

I have a magnetic sticker on my fridge with a quote by Henry Ford: "Whether
you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."  The thing that is
holding you back is you:  it is not test standards or other techs … it's
just you.  So if you want to have the RPT credentials, quit griping and
whining, and figure out how to get it done.  All the rest of us have done
it, and you can too.  But you're not going to do it if you keep saying "I
can't."

--
JF

On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 11:11 PM, Duaine & Laura Hechler <
dahechler at charter.net> wrote:

> So, what you are saying that if I can't tune aurally then I should not
> be tuning at all.
>
> If that's the case, you are about to start a major war between each
> tuner's opinion.
>
> Again, you mention peers, sure most of my peers in this area have tuned
> aurally - to pass the test - but they have all switched to tuning with
> some form of ETD.
>
> Again, you mention clients - I don't know where you are and who you tune
> for BUT none of my clients have EVER asked if I could tune aurally.
>
> This argument is getting so &*&^% old !!!!
>
> Duaine
>
> William Monroe wrote:
> > No Duaine,
> >
> > People like you should be excluded from RPT precisely because (your
> > description, mind you) you can't tune aurally and have no
> > understanding of the basic tuning concepts e.g. intervals, beats,
> > checks, etc.  RPT is a designation that is defined in part by
> > affirming to ones peers, clients, etc that one can tune aurally - at
> > least to some measured degree, even with an ETD.
> <snip>
> >
> > Good luck in your growth.
> >
> > William R. Monroe
>
>
>
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