[pianotech] Choice

[David Love]

I think there's another way to look at this.  Clearly we all have choices
about how to tune.  But consider the person reading this who has not yet
reached the point of confidence about tuning a piano aurally.  Maybe they've
gotten to the point where they can tune solid unisons and can employ some
checks but to tune an entire piano takes them 4+ hours and they're not
confident about the end product, not yet.  However, using an ETD they can
produce a solid tuning in 1.5 hours and feel fairly confident that the
quality is good.  They are ready to go out into the world and ply their
trade yet by the standards that several people have suggested during this
discussion they have not yet achieved the level of "craftsman".  What would
you tell them?  I know what I would tell them.  And that is go for it.  Pay
attention and continue to refine their skills.  That's what every one of us
did after all.   Looking back on it, in fact, I think I personally would
have been better off doing it that way.  I stuck to the aural mantra from
the start and I have no doubt that the tunings I did early on were probably
not that good compared to what I do now and I'm sure I lost some customers
for it.  Would I have been better off recognizing my limitations and using
the available technology (even though there wasn't much compared to what
there is now some 35 years ago) to insure that I delivered a better product
while I was refining my craft?  I think so and that's what I would advise.
If everyone reading this list waited until they achieved a "craftsman" level
of skill before they billed for their work we'd have to add half of us to
the unemployment rolls.  Even a surgeon does something for the first time on
a real patient and I think some of you would be surprised at how early in
the game that first time comes.  

 

David Love

www.davidlovepianos.com

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Ryan Sowers
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 12:53 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Choice

 

Another realization that I had while driving to my first appointment this
morning is about choice. 

If you've learned to do a high-level tuning aurally, and then learn to use
the ETD, you can make a choice about what is best for you. If you can't tune
aurally and are dependent on the machine, then you never really get the
choice. The same holds true for aural tuners who haven't explored ETDs. 
-- 
Ryan Sowers, RPT
Puget Sound Chapter
Olympia, WA
www.pianova.net

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