<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: Better Tuning, was Re: Sanderson Accu-tuner</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> David, Although I cannot come to KC this June, I, for one, would be thrilled to make a contribution to PTG (or almost anyone else) for an hour with a talented aural tuner. I keep poking around looking for a mentor and despite the wonderful support on this board it’s difficult for me to find someone genuinely interested in helping me learn this trade locally. If I had the money to pay a mentor as they deserve to be compensated it would probably be easier but I do have other skills to offer. Our local PTG chapter is full of talented people but I just don’t know how to engage them in a way that would seem like a fair trade. Any suggestions are more than welcomed. Thanks, David david@pianogrammar.com www.pianogrammar.com St. Paul, MN “Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power. “ - Joan Didion On 6/8/07 3:36 PM, "David Andersen" <david@davidandersenpianos.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> On Jun 8, 2007, at 8:08 AM, Rick Osborne wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> Although I am tuning pianos for pay and am fairly pleased with my work, I am keenly aware that I will never be completely satisfied with my work as a tuner until I am satisfied with it as a teacher and musician. </BLOCKQUOTE>Right on. That's the attitude to take. <BLOCKQUOTE>   I believe that I'm doing all the right things, but I still want to progress more quickly. I would also like to speed up my tuning in a client's home. So, I am giving serious consideration to purchasing a Sanderson Accu-tuner. I have heard wonderful things about this piece of equipment and, my intentions have always been to buy one eventually. Any input from some of you who own one would be very helpful. </BLOCKQUOTE>I deeply encourage you to get some one-on-one mentoring with a great aural tuner before you jump off into ETD-land. Please consider coming to KC this June; it would be my pleasure to give you an hour of tutoring if you would make a donation to the PTG foundation. I believe our wetware, our bodies, are massively underutilized in the tuning process, and I----or any real good "ear" tuner---could give you some immensely helpful tips in a short period of time to improve your speed and your pleasure. I'll say it again: the more "custom" and musical your tunings are, based on the piano you're tuning's UNIQUE tuning/stretching/inharmonicity requirements, the more rapidly your reputation will grow, and your journey to the high end of our business will be turbo-charged. That's the cold, hard Darwinian reality out here in the real world. Don't even think about challenging this one; I've seen it over and over again in the 35 years I've been in the craft and business---the guy that tunes best wins. Period. So---using an ETD to train your ears is a beautiful thing---and ultimately, listening with a relaxed, focused attention is the greatest tool you have, and the most profitable AND pleasurable skillset to acquire. Stay aural for a while; get some help. Then, when you please yourself aurally, if you want to use a machine as an aid to improvement, fine. Just like muscles, both your ears and your ability to listen in a relaxed and focused manner need to be exercised in order to improve, and improvement is the lifeblood of a healthy piano service career. Best, David Andersen </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML>