I think you must be contagious, David! Ry On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:35 PM, David Andersen < david at davidandersenpianos.com> wrote: > Wow. I didn't realize you wrote and thunk this good, bubba. Great post. > DA > > > > On Jan 27, 2011, at 7:29 PM, Ryan Sowers wrote: > > OK. First of all let's get things straight. There is no such thing as > "aural tuning" really. Tuning is mainly a mental activity. *We tune with > our minds.* And the mind is by far the most sophisticated tool we own. And > for our minds to stay keen, they need to be exercised, stretched, and given > time and space to explore. > > *Aural tuning is one way I choose to keep my mind active while I work.*When I tune, I'm navigating through a landscape of complex sound and > harmonic interactions. In the course of a tuning, I'm making a thousand or > more quick judgments and decisions. Every note is where it is because of a > decision I have made, a decision reached by simply listening, thinking, > feeling. > > *I'll say it again - the VAST majority of tuners on this planet don't know > what an in-tune piano really is.* Without their crutch they can't walk. My > experience mainly comes from the PTG tuning exam. I have seen time and time > again, professional tuners come to the exam and perform very well during the > parts where the machine is allowed. But when it comes to just tuning two > octaves in the middle of the piano to a **minimal standard* * they have no > idea what they are doing. > > *The ETD users who contribute to this list are an elite group.* Some of > them tuned many thousands of pianos over a period of decades before they > became ETD users. They have earned the right to argue for the use of the > machine, and I won't deny that some of them can probably tune circles around > me. The reason they know that the machines are good is they know when a > tuning is good! They use the machine to get the result they desire. > > *Aural tuning is a really challenging skill to acquire! I* remember > agonizing over an old piano for hours and hours and it still wasn't a great > tuning. It was hard work! Exhausting and tedious. But eventually things > began to fall into place. The four-hour tuning became the 3-hour tuning > became the 2-hour tuning. 10 years ago I never believed that I would be able > to accomplish a solid tuning in an hour. > > *The new folks need all the encouragement they can get to persevere > through the tough learning curve!* They need to be mentored, nurtured, and > praised for taking this challenge on. The ETD is a tempting short cut for > the modern tuning student. I think we owe it to our craft to keep some of > the traditions alive. > * > Since we have calculators should our kids not have to learn their times > tables and other basic math skills?* Since we have computers should we not > learn how to write with pen and paper? Why do we learn to play piano, when > we can pop in a CD and listen to a world class performance at the touch of a > button? > > I''ll admit that I've been contaminated by a Liberal Arts education. I > think as professionals we should also know something of the history of our > craft too. The piano is an amazing intersection of > culture/history/science/philosophy/art. The more I learn about it, the more > of a kick I get out of this business. Learning to tune "by ear" the old > fashioned way is a great way increase our appreciation. > * > Have you ever met anyone who regretted learning to tune a piano aurally?*I don't think one exists. But I know many technicians who wish they had > taken the time to learn it, and regret that they didn't. If its not the > foundation of your studies, it is easy to put it off indefinitely. > * > So I submit that we have a responsibility to promote aural tuning skills*. > Otherwise we risk becoming a tool of the machine instead of the other way > around. A craftsman implies something more than "just getting the job done". > It denotes a depth of understanding and skill that is beyond the generic and > superficial. In this mass production, throw away culture that is being flung > at as us from every direction, I have hope that those activities that > celebrate the richness of what we are will prevail. > > Ryan Sowers > > > -- Ryan Sowers, RPT Puget Sound Chapter Olympia, WA www.pianova.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110127/82565241/attachment-0001.htm>
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