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<DIV>
<DIV>Alan,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I will offer my input, as one who has just taken the test(this
morning)--and not done as I expected! The parts I worried about and en=
ded
up spending most of the time preparing for were the parts I ended up having =
less
trouble with. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The parts I didn't prepare as much for because I felt I knew the materi=
al
well enough....well, I'll leave it at that and chalk it up to a learning
experience. Next time I'll know EXACTLY what I have to do. </DIV=
>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Time is of the essence, but don't get nervous. Nerves cause mista=
kes
and backtracking costs precious time. Be methodical, know the material=
,
and go for it. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'll be back!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dave Stahl</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>a message dated 7/31/05 4:35:57 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
custos3@comcast.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><=
FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=
=2>At 10:21
AM 7/31/2005, "Alan Barnard" <tune4u@earthlink.net><BR>
wrote:<BR>>I notice every month in the journal there are many more "new=
<BR>>members" than there are "new RPTs". It seems like, over time=
,
the <BR>>numbers ought to be almost the same, discounting only non-tuni=
ng
<BR>>members. I have my theories. There were quite a few who took exams=
<BR>>in Kansas City, but are not now RPT's. Are we undermotivated?
Underprepared?<BR>><BR>>Your thoughts?<BR>><BR>>One other thin=
g:
Some regions have pretty good accomodation for <BR>>people who want to =
take
exams. Others, it seems, have very limited <BR>>numbers of
opportunities--few CTEs and TECs, few willing mentors, <BR>>perhaps, or=
people willing to set up and run exams.<BR>><BR>>I don't want to mak=
e it
"easy" to become an RPT, but if there are <BR>>barriers having nothing =
to
do with the talent, knowledge and <BR>>interest of Associate members, t=
hey
need to be removed, methinks.<BR>><BR>>Alan Barnard<BR>>Salem,
Missouri<BR><BR>Alan,<BR><BR>Piano tuning, repairing and regulating are
skills. To develop skills <BR>one needs to:<BR>1. Acquire the theoretical
knowledge underlying the skills<BR>2. Learn correct techniques (and someti=
mes
unlearn incorrect ones)<BR>3. Develop fluency and speed through repetitive=
practice.<BR><BR>This is what it takes to be a skilled technician - and th=
is
is what <BR>it takes to pass the RPT exams. The exams are timed, so speed =
and
<BR>fluency are essential.<BR><BR>Because the training available to most
aspiring piano technicians is <BR>so haphazard - catch as catch can, as yo=
u so
rightly pointed out in <BR>your post - it is difficult for candidates to
prepare for the exams <BR>or even know if or when they are prepared. Yes, =
some
of us (like Joe <BR>Garret, for example) do volunteer lots and lots of tim=
e
and effort to <BR>teach and coach others. But really, can we expect to be =
able
to train <BR>2000 aspirants to RPT status using strictly volunteer labor? =
That
is <BR>absurd... There need to be alternatives...<BR><BR>But then, again, =
I
have been coaching, teaching and examining in the <BR>Technical Exam area =
for
more years now than I care to own up to, and <BR>let me assure you of one
thing: all the classes and the coaching in <BR>the world will do you no go=
od,
if you don't spend time practicing <BR>your skills to develop speed and
fluency. At some point a candidate <BR>must make that commitment of time t=
o
develop his or her skills - and <BR>not expect to do it all on his or her
clients' time and money...<BR><BR>So, there is much to be done in providin=
g a
well organized curriculum <BR>and study sequence for those who wish to dev=
elop
their skills and <BR>prepare for the exams - the PACE program barely scrat=
ches
the surface <BR>(it is essentially a basic skills course, in itself not
adequate to <BR>fully prepare a technician, and may - if used
incorrectly - actually <BR>mislead students into counterproductive
approaches). And all the <BR>classes and coaches in the world will not exe=
mpt
aspiring RPT <BR>candidates from spending time on practice...<BR><BR>Israe=
l
Stein<BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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