<HTML>The St. Louis Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild presents   Show Me The Gateway To Knowledge Central West Regional Seminar March 30 - April 1, 2001. Renaissance Hotel, St. Louis, MO. Explanation of classes offered: Special feature of the Central West Seminar: Randy Potter RPT and Dave Swartz, RPT;  Hands-on Vertical Piano Regulating and Hands-on Grand Piano Regulating. Learn regulating on real pianos. Randy and David will teach Vertical Regulating on Friday and Grand Regulating on Saturday. Classes are limited to 18 students, working on 2 pianos. You must sign up prior to the seminar and an extra fee is charged for these two classes. You may take either class or both. Wally Brooks RPT; Voicing the Plate: A thorough discussion and demonstration of the cause and effect on tone by strings, bridges, action parts, etc., and the adjustments that the technician may do to a piano after manufacture or rebuilding. Voicing the Hammer: A thorough discussion and demonstration of the process of putting a new set of hammers onto their optimum working state and the art of listening to tone. Hands-on Voicing: A completion of the 2 tone building classes. It is recommended that voicing the plate and voicing the hammer are taken before taking this class. The Mechanics of Regulating:  A thought provoking study and demonstration in simplicity of the grand piano action  and regulation. Learn the whys and wherefore of each step of regulation and the ability to regulate by feel and touch. A good class for expert and novice alike. Ed Foote, RPT: Temperaments for the 21st Century.  A survey of temperament's history, a presentation of the piano's intonational evolution, and a suggested course of action for the modern piano technician's development of a multi-temperament approach to their clientele.  Through playing selected works, an ongoing analysis of an alternative temperament accompanies the 90 minute class. Skip Becker, RPT: The History of Tuning. How did we get to where we are today? This will be a history lesson, and how science plays a part in our craft. Mitch Kiel, RPT; Tuning with the Cybertuner: Three different sessions: For those who don't know anything about tuning with a computer, Beginning Cybertuning will give you a crash course. For those who have a Cybertuner, you'll want to attend Advanced Cybertuning. And finally, there is a whole new way to Raise pitch with the Cybertuner. Willem Blees, RPT; Physiological troubleshooting: Problems with a piano requires more than the knowledge of turning screws and adjusting levers. Sometimes the problem is with the customer. Learn what to say, what not to say, how to handle complaints, and how to deal with angry customers. Greg Hulme; Pin Block installation: This class will include the important factors to be considered in installing a pinblock, along with tips on removing a Steinway pinblock. Hammer hanging: This class will include a demonstration of installing new shanks and flanges, and hammers and what factors to consider when doing the job accurately and quickly. Fred Tremper, RPT; How Partials are Used in Tuning: How does a tuning work? Fred will demonstrate the math behind the tuning. Charles Faulk, RPT; Tuning Levers: Origins, Design, Making Your Own. Charles is a woodworker and technician. He will briefly describe tuning hammers from a historical perspective, current commercial models and their distinctive designs features. Also on display will be 15 levers he has made over the last five years and show how they evolved in design. Finally he will give a step-by-step procedure with slides for making your own custom tuning lever. Ken Jones, RPT; Bringing Your Piano Back to Life In One Day:  Ken will show efficient methods for cleaning, lubricating, regulating, tuning, and voicing a grand piano that can be completed in one day. Liz Baker, RPT; The Care and Feeding of the Concert World: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Piano Technician dives deep into the subject of concert preparation, sharing both unique incites and experience with artists and situations from around the world. Divided into 3 phases: Caring for the Piano; Caring for the Artist; and Caring for Yourself. Julius Konopka, RPT;  Appraising Pianos For All it's Worth. Actual vs. Factual. Practical analysis meeting the needs of the client who pays for the appraisal. Customizing the appraisal with semantics. Bill Trefts; Servicing Pianos with Electronic Players:  Bill will take the guess work out of working on pianos with electronic players in them. Craig Waldrop, RPT; Aural Tuning skills: Some of us still tune the old fashioned way. Learn to do it right in the first place, or renew the skills you might have lost. Paul Revenko-Jones, RPT; Termination Points: What terminates? And where? The string as a vibrating system; capos, agraffs, bridges, etc..   Understanding Torque: The nature of torque and its mechanical application to various component systems in the piano. Chris Blees CPA; Selling Your Business  One of Chris's responsibilities as a CPA is advising clients on how to sell their business by analyzing the business's assets to set a potential selling price. Included in this class are all the Federal tax aspects involved in selling or buying a business. He will use his knowledge as a tuner and rebuilder to tailor this class to the industry. Is an S-Corp Right for You?   A small businesses can take advantage of a lot of tax breaks if it becomes a corporation. Find out if forming a S-Corp can save you money. Tim Coats, RPT; Introducing the Wapin Bridge.  Wapin Bridged pianos have more dynamic range, power, clarity, and control. Sound too good to be true?  Tim will explain why Wapin Bridges work as they do.  He will also let you see and hear the difference between the before and after of a Wapin Bridge installation.   You will experience for yourself what a rapidly growing number of piano technicians consider a "must" when rebuilding a piano. Roger Wheelock; The Technical Basis for Climate Control. This class will describe the technical issues related to piano Climate Control including the science of humidity. A discussion of local climate will be presented. The impact of air conditioning and winter heating will be discussed. A detailed presentation of the functioning of Dampp-Chaser Climate Control Systems will be given. Installation techniques will be described, including a demonstration of a grand installation. SEMINAR HIGHLIGHT Special Piano Recital featuring Annette Burkhart. Friday evening we will have the opportunity to hear Annette Burkhart, instructor of piano at Washington University, play on a piano tuned by Ed Foote, RPT, using a temperament from another century. The concert will be preceded by a lecture on the history of tuning, given by Skip Beck, RPT. The public is invited to this unique concert. The Tuning and Technical exams will be offered, but you have to pre-register to take the exams. On Thursday evening, Alan Crane, RPT, the Central West Region CTE Chairman will give a short program on taking the tuning exam, and Wayne Yockey, RPT Central West Region Technical Exam  Chair will give a short program on taking the technical exam. On Thursday evening there will be two Round Table discussions, Dealer Relations, and Aural vs. ETD tunings, led by a panel of experts. Bring the family. On Friday, the Auxiliary and guests will visit the Scott Joplin House in the morning, have lunch at either the historic Demill Mansion or Lemp Mansion, and then tour the Anhueser Bush Brewery in the afternoon. On Saturday, Auxiliary members and guests are free to take the Metro Link to Downtown St. Louis, where you can visit to the Arch, Union Station, and Lacledes' Landing. Children under 12 are free for the tour, but must purchase concert and banquet tickets. Renaissance Hotel room rate: $69.00 single/double.  Call the hotel directly at (314) 429-1100, toll free (800) 468-3571. This special rate for the seminar is guaranteed only until March 1st. Mention you are with the Piano Technicians Guild. The Renaissance Hotel is at 9801 Natural Bridge Rd. off I-70 near the Airport. Free Shuttle to the Airport. Complimentary parking for hotel guests. PTG Member (registration before March 1, 2001) $155.00 (registration after March 1, 2001)       $190.00 Non Member (registration before March 1, 2001)         $205.00 (registration after March 1, 2001)             $240.00 All day Hands-on Vertical Piano Regulation on Friday $ 35.00 All day Hands-on Grand Piano Regulation on Saturday $ 35.00 Auxiliary Registration, includes tour, banquet and concert $ 45.00 Tuning or Technical Exam        @$  90.00 Extra Banquet Tickets        @$  35.00 Extra Concert Tickets        @$    5.00 For more information, or to get a seminar brochure, e-mail Wimblees@aol.com. Willem Blees Chairman, Central West Seminar home (314) 961-5203 shop (314) 962-5774</HTML>