<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here's another vote for the Randy = Potter school. I are a graduate cum laude ( with mustard, I think that says). Seems like = ages ago, though. </FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE 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=ssclabr8@flash.net href="mailto:ssclabr8@flash.net">SUSAN = P SWEARINGEN</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> Tuesday, July 16, 2002 = 3:40 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Piano Technician Training</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Hi Doug,<BR><BR>While I don't know anything about = American, I have taken the Randy Potter<BR>course and I found it to be of very = high quality.  However, that said, I can<BR>tell you that it needs to = be supplemented by additional training.  Of<BR>course, Randy would = be the first to tell you this.  He bills the course as a<BR>beginning/intermediate course and that is exactly what it = is.  I could<BR>nitpick about the course (numerous spelling and grammatical = errors in the<BR>text), however, that doesn't change the fact that it is a very comprehensive<BR>course that includes video tapes that you have to = make for evaluation.  I<BR>thought it well worth the money but please = don't stop there.  Randy's course<BR>should be supplemented by the PTG = journal and, if you are serious,<BR>involvement in your local PTG chapter.  = Randy has done a great service to<BR>people who want to get involved in piano = tuning and I would highly recommend<BR>the course!<BR><BR>Corte = Swearingen<BR>Randy Potter Graduate<BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "Doug Jones" = <<A href="mailto:limax@plover.net">limax@plover.net</A>><BR>To: = <<A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Sent: = Tuesday, July 16, 2002 1:52 PM<BR>Subject: Piano Technician = Training<BR><BR><BR>> Greetings,<BR>> I just joined the mailing list a couple of days ago = and have been<BR>> enjoying the amount of email sent to me by this = mailing list.  It's nice<BR>> to see a very active = list.<BR>><BR>> I do have a question about training to become a piano technician<BR>> = (as I'm sure you have been asked numerous times).  How did you get = your<BR>> training?  Currently, I'm looking into both the Randy Potter and the<BR>> Americal School correspondence courses, but I'm not sure = if either is<BR>> better or if I should try to find a technician who is = willing to take on<BR>> an apprentice.<BR>><BR>> I have issues with how = both schools present themselves as being<BR>> the "better" school.  = In the case of Randy Potter, he includes a<BR>> 12-year-old article from = Keyboard Magazine saying that his school is the<BR>> best.  (Written by = Larry Fine, no less)  I'm not sure how much relavance<BR>> an = article of that age has on training today.  In the case of the = American<BR>> School, there are email testimonials included, but none of the<BR>> = testimonials are from members of the PTG.  They say that they = just haven't<BR>> bothered.  Cost, of course, is an issue, since = the Randy Potter course<BR>> costs twice as much as the American School course.<BR>><BR>> Which brings me to the other option.  = >From what I've read on the<BR>> list and the archives, it seems to me that = most piano technicians would<BR>> not be willing to take on an apprentice = since they fear that this will<BR>> take business away from them.  How = can that be approached?  Yes, I'd be<BR>> willing to pay a technician = for training if they would offer it to me.<BR>> I have been in touch = with the PTG about membership and stating that I'm<BR>> looking to maybe = apprentice to someone.  I'm currently living in the SF<BR>> Bay Area, = just to give you a geographical reference.<BR>><BR>> Any help/suggestions/comments would be very welcome.  You are welcome = to<BR>> contact me off-list if you feel that this is not worthy of = the bandwidth<BR>> on the list.<BR>><BR>> Thank you very = much.<BR>> Sincerely,<BR>> Doug Jones<BR>></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>