[pianotech] Prepared frickin'piano and damaged bass strings (going OT)

[Ed Foote]

-----Original Message-----
From: Terry Beckingham


>>What if that instrument is the only performance piano available at 
the venue or institution? It is now out of service until repairs can be 
made.<<

    Yep, sure is. And the suffering involved will need to be justified 
by those that make the decisions.  Charge them overtime to fix it, if 
need be.   But it was not the tuner's responsibility to say it was ok 
or not to damage the piano,was it?
     Garth Brooks, The Who, and others destroy pianos and guitars in 
their shows because it is part of the act, and well worth it. It isn't 
a moral travesty, it is the cost of show business.  The cost of some 
bass strings may be looked on by the admin as reasonable for the sake 
of the 'art', or not.  Let the bean counters figure out if they want to 
stand the expense for the Muse.
      I personally don't consider it art, either, but I am not the 
performer.

  If these instruments are irreplaceable pianos, it would be one thing, 
but they rarely are.  They are just pieces of machinery, fungible and 
expensive ,  but also repairable and replaceable. If my school wanted 
to burn a Steinway at each concert, and could afford it, would I quit?  
No, I wouldn't.   I think our responsibilities as CAUTs include making 
the institution aware of potential damage that could result from 
atypical uses of the equipment, but it is not, (at least not my), job 
to decide whether it should be done or not.

Ed Foote RPT
http://www.piano-tuners.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html