[pianotech] The big discussion

Ben Gac ben at benspianotuning.com
Fri Jan 28 06:23:31 MST 2011


Against my better judgment, I'm finally weighing in.  There are jut a few small 
things that I want to bring to light:

1) I agree that ETDs are consistent and precise.  However, it disheartens me 
when a technician would give up striving for that level of consistency and 
perfection just because a machine can accomplish it by default.  How do you 
think that the best aural tuners, people like David Andersen, got to their level 
of aural super-skill?  They've spent their entire careers actively pursuing a 
high degree of refinement. That's my goal.  There will be some bumps along the 
way, but those will be the most educational experiences!  


2) Perceptionis everything.  I've gained client's trust and business because I'm 
a aural tuner, but also lost customers who believed the only in-tune piano can 
be produced by using a machine.  This begins to delve into the realm of 
psychoacoustics--what the ear perceives.  A tuned piano is in the ear of the 
beholder!  We can go down the pathway of confirmation bias and psychoanalysis 
but I don't have the time now (by the way--do any of you guys work?! I'm having 
a hard enough time keeping up with just reading these posts between my tunings, 
much less have a quick free moment to write this!).  The listener is human, and 
their biases and perceptions vary greatly.  


I like to challenge my ears day in an day out, and force them to force me to 
produce a better and better tuning every day.  Some of us may call that 
masochism, I call it an enjoyable career practice, and I wouldn't want it any 
other way! :)

-Ben

Ben Gac, RPT
Ben's Piano Tuning
(630) 291-5654 - cell
(708) 488-1450 - office
www.BensPianoTuning.com
Ben at BensPianoTuning.com
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