<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1250"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Les,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Great post, and interesting too.  My question is then, how does one reach the place where we've done our best and yet satisfy the person wanting the piano tuned at the same time?  Where is that fine line?  Did I do a poor job for this person wanting to see how I tune, and didn't set the pin correctly as they suggested, or did  I succomb to a piano who's personality didn't agree with mine as I tried to coax it into tune?  Did I lose a battle based on my being new to the trade, or did I tune as best as the piano would allow me to tune?  How do we find this answer?  Is it blowing in the wind as the song suggests? :) "How many times must a piano tuner tune before the piano cannot be tuned?  How many times must a pin be set before the unison will stay? The answer my friend is .... :)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Marshall</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=l-bartlett@sbcglobal.net href="mailto:l-bartlett@sbcglobal.net">Leslie Bartlett</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech List'</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 26, 2006 10:43 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Our own pianos</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV><BR> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</A> [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>pianotune05<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 26, 2006 10:10 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Our own pianos<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hi Avery,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>I agree with you.  It's dificult to tune, but I tuned a new piano that didn't hold well not too long agon.  It's interesting I must add.  I wanted someone I met in our field to see how my tuning is doing.  I tuned for them, and it took me forever as usual.;)  The tuning was great.  A week later, I tuned for them again, and they wanted me to do two pianos. I did them in the same time frame  The pins on these were tight, stiff and I had to work hard with them.  My unisons were "squirly" as in someting that eats acorns? :)  I'm not sure what they meant.  Anyway, I need to up my speed and somehow get past this awesoe tuning squirly tuning swing and stay on a steady flow of awesome tunings.  I usually get the unisons in really well. Have you guys had this happen in the beginning of your careers?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Marshall<BR><SPAN class=050583703-27042006><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>[Leslie Bartlett] </FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=+0><SPAN class=050583703-27042006><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>How about all through one's career........................................   It never ends which is why the better tuners say that every piano can be a teacher.  I personally think a piano can't be "forced"into tune, but the tuner has to come to understand the particular "personality" of the piano and work as the piano allows.   But then I'm crazy.............  :-) After I've done some big deal tuning for a concert here or there, I'll inevitably come on some "thing" which will eat my lunch and make me pretty sure I know nothing at all.   Ron Nossaman  did a whole class a couple years ago, spending an hour and a half telling us a piano can't be tuned.   Horrible class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - and one of the most useful I've ever attended.  But now, each time I sit down at a piano I remind myself it can't be tuned, and I find a burden lifted as I go about doing the best my skills will allow, and accept the fact  that the perfectionist ideal I seek doesn't exist.It keeps one humble,and ever learning</FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=+0><SPAN class=050583703-27042006></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=050583703-27042006> </SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT size=+0><SPAN class=050583703-27042006><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>les bartlett</FONT> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV><BR> <P><FONT size=2>--<BR>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>Checked by AVG Free Edition.<BR>Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.6/324 - Release Date: 04/25/2006<BR></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>