Alex, I read your message with great joy. You put your finger precisely on the underlying principle of what it means to be a professional. I suspect that you will be a credit to our profession - hey, with your message you already are. Good luck with your professional studies, I am sure that - with your attitude - you will achieve great success. Israel Stein Sat, 4 Apr 2009 19:20:50 -0500 Alexander Lass <lasspiano at gmail.com> wrote: > As a relatively new (and student) technician, my thoughts on this > subject may not merit as much attention as those with more experience > who have contributed. Still, I think it’s important to show that not > all associates see the aurally correct temperament requirement as a > necessary “evil” to becoming an RPT. It may seem easy for those who > have long since passed the exam to belabor its benefits, but I am > really very happy that the PTG continues to uphold the tradition. > > > > I’m as tired as anyone of reading the comparisons of a piano > technician to a surgeon or car mechanic, but let’s not forget they all > have something in common: each is a professional who provides a > service to the community. They market themselves as having enough > knowledge, training, and experience to perform certain tasks with > certain fundamental and facile abilities that the public can be > reasonably well assured that the job will be done correctly. I know > that before my doctor could diagnose a torn ACL, she was probably able > to name all the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Before that, > I suspect that she learned the concept of the scientific method: these > are fundamental to the study of medicine. The car mechanic can hook > my car up to a machine that tells him the timing is off, and my > understanding is that today’s computers will even tell him what parts > need to be adjusted to compensate for this. When he’s done making > these adjustments, though, I know he takes the car for a test drive to > make sure everything feels right and that the car can perform certain > function as it was designed. > > > > If Pythagoras hadn’t discovered that a bunch of fifths didn’t quite > equal up to several octaves we might not have a job; pretty much > anyone can tune a bunch of pure intervals (though, admittedly, > stability would still be a challenge for most). Maybe I’m way off, > but I see setting a solid temperament as about the most fundamental > task a piano tuner can perform. Understanding the interval > relationships and how to listen and test for the subtle differences is > – in my opinion – the core of what we do. > > > > There is a real misunderstanding in all of this debate, that the aural > temperament requirement of the PTG exam is in some way the > organization’s public condemnation of the ETD. I think that today’s > ETD’s are fine instruments; just like today’s medical technology and > car diagnostics are wonderful tools. But there is a lot to be said > about having a solid foundation in one’s profession. > > > > That’s all. Thanks to any who read this. > > > > Alex > > Aspiring RPT > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090404/daf2f112/attachment.html>
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