<!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 5.50.4134.100" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ain't it a shame ... and I often
wonder.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Some thoughts. How much are we =
considered as
merely "a variation on the theme of a stage hand" ? The sound =
engineer,
lighting director, and stage manager all get credits, but their crew =
members are
rarely listed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In how many instances are the liner =
notes, program
notes, or other published verbal materials already at the printshop =
by the
time the piano tuner is hired for the job? I don't know how it is =
in other
cities, but here in Detroit, the performance venues have a habit of =
waiting to
nearly the last minute to get hold of a piano, then finding a technician =
depending on which dealer the piano was rented from.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here's another thought ... how much =
could the
credits given be a reflection of what matters most to the =
performer? All
too often, the piano technician is the "value-hidden extra" who works =
the magic
while the others are away. I personally like to meet the =
performers and
find out what matters most to them when it comes to the piano, =
but
there are some performers out there who prefer to remain "unavailable" =
until
after the job deadline. That same performer may have much more =
interaction
with the sound engineer, and all those other people whose names appear =
on the
published output than they do with the piano technician.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well yes, I too got to see my name in =
bold print
recently ... across the TV screen for work I did for a live =
broadcast. The
woman in charge of the credits was very busy collecting all of the =
information
she could about everybody who had stepped into the studio that =
day. She
certainly made up for the apparent lack of interest the performer had in =
everybody else except himself and his immediate entourage.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Z! Reinhardt RPT<BR>Ann =
Arbor MI<BR><A
href="mailto:diskladame@provide.net">diskladame@provide.net</A></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=Billbrpt@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM">Billbrpt@AOL.COM</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> Monday, July 22, 2002 =
1:08 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Respect for =
PT's</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>In a =
message dated
7/21/02 11:34:47 PM Central Daylight Time, <A
=
href="mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no">Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no</=
A>
(Richard Brekne) writes: <BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
TYPE="CITE">It never ceases to amaze me how ignored we are otherwise =
in
<BR>the industry. On stage productions, in films, on recordings,
<BR>virtually everywhere there is piano music there must be a =
<BR>piano
tuner who in no small way contributes quite directly <BR>to the =
quality of
the music. Heck, on records they even give <BR>credit to who took =
the
blinging picture of the artist, but <BR>almost never is there =
mention of the
instrument or who <BR>prepared it. <BR><BR>The more I learn about =
tuning,
and the more I explore in <BR>what ways we are directly involved in =
the
creativity that <BR>ends up coming out of the instrument, the more =
aghast I
am <BR>that we as a profession have allowed (walked straight into =
<BR>??)
this state of affairs to evolve. The more I learn about <BR>the =
instruments
themselves the less I understand why they <BR>are equally ignored =
thus.
<BR><BR>A nice exception to the rule is a Classical album given out =
<BR>by
Maria Joao Pires who records Beethoven's Piano Sonatas <BR>13, 14 =
and 30. In
the very short list of credits on the <BR>inside cover is the name =
of the
Piano Technician.. one <BR>Kazato Osato, and the piano used.. a =
Yamaha CF
III S. It was <BR>refreshing to see.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT =
lang=0
face=Arial color=#000000 size=3 =
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR><BR>This is one of the
facts of life that will probably never change. The piano =
technician is
almost never mentioned in a live music program or in the liner notes =
of any
recording or film. Sometimes the kind of piano is listed but =
rarely,
almost never, is the piano technician. I don't see this changing =
and for
that reason, I don't see any information about *how* the piano is =
tuned as
being something that would ever even be thought of as appropriate =
information
to make public. <BR><BR>I'm glad you found an exception to this and
fortunately, I was able to cause one too which will be available very =
soon.
A new Jazz CD will be coming out by the end of the month. =
There
are 2 pianos, a Yamaha and Kawai, both grands. The artist =
has been
a customer of mine since 1978, 24 years. He owns a Steinway A. =
He
knows about and believes in what I do, so he agreed to put the =
following in
the credits: <BR>"Piano Technician: Bill Bremmer RPT =
Tuning:
EBVT" <BR><BR>I have my copy on order and will receive it by The 30th =
or 31st.
I'll listen to it, review it and post the ordering information =
both here
and on my website for those who would like to hear what a piano in my =
idea of
what makes a better set of compromises than current standard practice, =
sounds
like. <BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Bill Bremmer RPT <BR>Madison, Wisconsin <BR><A
href="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b =
r e m m e r
. c o m =-</A> </FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>