<html> <body> Well... the emphasis was on working progress.  I took a correspondence course and was certified.  I dba Anderson Piano Care part time as a business and since I moved to an area where there is a local chapter of the guild I joined and have appreciated the wealth of knowledge I have encountered.  Someday in the not-too-distant-future I'll start scheduling tests and hopefully pass them to obtain recognition of the skills I am acquiring in the form of an RPT appellation. Satisfied? Andrew Las Cruces, NM   At 12:33 PM 2/11/2004 -0500, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>I am a piano technician who is a machine assisted professional associate. Were you going to skip straight from amateur to RPT?   Terry Farrell   ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew & Rebeca Anderson" <<a href="mailto:anrebe@zianet.com">anrebe@zianet.com</a>> To: "Pianotech" <<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a>> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 11:25 AM Subject: Re: Verituner > Dan, > As a tuner working to progress from machine assisted amateur associate to > an RPT I have found earplugs very helpful in sorting out what partials I > need to be working with in order to lay the bearings by ear.  I heard too > many (some faint) to decide which to work with before that.  Guy Nichols > recommends Ear Filters which are utilized by hearing conscious rock > musicians (there are a few).  These apparently successfully reduce decibel > levels without overly compromising sound detail.  They are generally a > special order item at your local electric guitar and drum store.  I didn't > get them ordered in time for a week long tuning gig I did in an unserved > corner of Texas where all the pianos required pitch-raises (10-120 > cents).  After the first day I went to the local drug store in desperation > and bought regular ear plugs figuring I would remove them for the fine > tuning pass.  I could hear the fundamentals loud and clear and the lower > partials so I risked it and kept them in for the second pass.  I always > remove them for a last playing pass of chromatic scales of thirds, fourths > and fifths.  I was surprised how few of the unisons I did retouch.  I still > have to order those darn ear-filters though.  You'd think a piano supply > house would pick them up. > > Andrew > Las Cruces, NM > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: <a href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives">https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</a> > </blockquote></body> </html>