<HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html;= charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>Barbara:</DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>I guess the funniest(?) voicing time I had was at= a home where they had a new Knabe grand in a living room with= hard floors and little stuffed furniture.  It was= loud.  The wife was out shopping, and the husband was the= host.  After I tuned the piano, Bob (husband) asked me= about the volume.  I gently voiced one note and asked him= if that's more like what he wanted.  I got enthusiastic= cheers!  I went ahead and voiced the piano to what Bob and= I thought was really nice.  Happy customer.  Very= happy customer.</DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>Bob is an airline pilot.  He leaves the= house and heads for Los Angles.  Wife comes home and sits= down at the piano.  I get the call "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO= MY PIANO!!!!!!"  I told her that Bob liked it a lot! = She was really mad.  I told her that she and Bob should= decide how they want it and call me back and I'd voice it= however they want it.  I've never heard from them= again.  </DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>That was with approval!</DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>dave</DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV= align=left><BR>__________________________________________</DIV> <DIV align=left>David M. Porritt, RPT</DIV> <DIV align=left>Meadows School of the Arts</DIV> <DIV align=left>Southern Methodist University</DIV> <DIV align=left>Dallas, TX 75275</DIV> <DIV align=left><A= href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">dporritt@mail.smu.edu</A></D= IV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left><BR>----- Original message= ----------------------------------------><BR>From: Barbara= Richmond <<A= href="mailto:piano57@flash.net">piano57@flash.net</A>><BR>To:= <<A= href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">dporritt@mail.smu.edu</A>&gt= ;, Pianotech <<A= href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Rec= eived: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 14:58:48 -0600<BR>Subject: Re:= Voicing</FONT></DIV> <DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>Hi= Dave,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Definitely with permission. = But I don't wait for the customer to say something--I'll bring= up the subject.  (Voicing is my "thing"--perhaps because= I'm a pianist.  I'm no Andre, but deal well with day to day= stuff & did well on staff at a university.)  Depending= on the situation, I may say:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Do you find it difficult to play= softly on this piano?'</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>or</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Have you heard those old uprights= that sound like tin?"  (Your piano can sound like that,= too!)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>or</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Can you hear how much brighter this= section is compared to others?"</FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Of course, there's voicing up,= too.  But very often on the pianos I see that is a power or= regulation issue.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A major voicing issue to me= is, would I have trouble tuning the piano with the way it= sounds now.  Perhaps I have delicate ears.  If there= isn't a major voicing issue or just an overall adjustment to be= made, I will go ahead (without permission) and even up some= notes when I'm done tuning or do some string/hammer mating while= tuning.  Of course, I'm not changing the character of= the tone-just smoothing things out.  That has never come= back to "bite" me.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'll explain in whatever terms= necessary to get the message through--there are a multitude of= angles.  Either I'm fairly good at communicating with folks= or I'm really lucky, because I've always been allowed to do= the voicing I felt was necessary.  Maybe it's the way= I get business (no ads, only referrals, I just work part-time= these days).  Currently, I find myself doing mostly= institutional stuff and I've usually been told to do what I= think is best (my usual service call time on these= pianos has been 4-5 hours including a bunch of= different stuff).  Of course it's true, sometimes= just removing the action and tightening the screws improves the= sound by leaps and bounds--but that's not the voicing= I'm referring to. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, it's time for me to go out and= shred some leaves.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara Richmond</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px;= MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT:= 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----= </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color:= black"><B>From:</B> <A title=dporritt@mail.smu.edu= href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">David M. Porritt</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A= title=pianotech@ptg.org= href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 31,= 2004 6:37 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Voicing</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>Barbara:</DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>Do you voice the piano with or without the= owner's ideas?  When I was still doing in-home tuning, I= never voiced a piano unless the owner said something about the= sound.  On extreme pianos I'd ask them if they like the= sound and let the conversation go from there, but just voicing= without their saying anything usually bit me in an inappropriate= place!</DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>dave</DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV= align=left><BR>__________________________________________</DIV> <DIV align=left>David M. Porritt, RPT</DIV> <DIV align=left>Meadows School of the Arts</DIV> <DIV align=left>Southern Methodist University</DIV> <DIV align=left>Dallas, TX 75275</DIV> <DIV align=left><A= href="mailto:dporritt@mail.smu.edu">dporritt@mail.smu.edu</A></D= IV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV= align=left><BR></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>