<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">   Tony Caught wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Richard, Kristinn and Maria Richard,I also am self taught. For two reasons. 1. I am stubborn and wanted to learn. 2. Piano Tuners can be stubborn also and refuse to teach you or me for fear of competition.  When you have gained enough experience to understand what is going on, then they will help you. Well that's been my experience anyway. My experience is just the opposite... I had guys offering me help from the get go.. but I too was stubborn wanted to learn... and thought I could do it better on my own then with listening to someone who couldnt rationally explain anything. I got pretty good too, never taken an official test but when your peers say 'your good' I accept it. Hmmmm sounds all to familiar... I will not question your abilitities Tony, my own experience forbids this really.. I got good too... but I can not tell you how much it meant to my abilities to start learning how to satisfy other technicians. That requires a very specific approach to tuning. One that you dont neccessarilly have unless you have been through that process. so far I have tried to teach 5 others to tune, the success rate of 3 out of five is because 3 read books first, understood what was happening and proved to me that they had the perseverance to learn this most difficult profession. Of course you have to use books in this fashion... but like you say yourself, it also take perserverance and dedication to learn... and as you also say below... its easier with a good teacher then on your own. My point was simply that no one can expect to be able to simply buy a couple books, or get sent a recipie or two via the internett and expect to be able learn this proffession without further comment or effort. And I stand by that... and really I think you probably do to. Nothing comes from nothing.. nothing ever could.   Regards Tony Caught ICPTG Australia <a href="mailto:caute@optusnet.com.au">caute@optusnet.com.au</a></blockquote> -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway <A HREF="mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no">mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no</A>   </body> </html>