<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   Ola Andersson wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Well I play on gut strings if you know what that is. When I started doing this nobody did it but now we are some people doing this. I thought I contributed.</blockquote> If you did, fine... maybe you didnt... big deal... We all like to think we contribute..thats good as long as we dont...er.... "have to" if you get my meaning. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  I don't find myself on the side line at all. Do you really think so?</blockquote> Actually yes I do... and sadly by your own choice. At least in the piano tuning trade. Listen Ola... 99 % of learning in this buisness is being able to put your ego aside, and sit down on the school bench. It takes a great deal of humility that piano tuners for the most part lack. Part of this is the nature of how things are taught. Its hard to swallow a lot of what a guy will tell you when he cant really explain it satisfactorilly to you. You simply gotta do the following if you want to learn (and I mean really learn) how to tune and work on pianos: Find a decent tech (and there are lots of them around... even in Bergen) and learn to tune and regulate to satisfy that tech. Dont matter whether or not you aggree with a whole lot of his judgements... just learn to do it til he is full of comments like... "Now you got it". Then take the test to join an association. If you fail the first time... well welcome to the club of the majority. These tests are relatively subjective, and to some degree its... learning how to tune for the other guy all over again. Now...as it were... I happen to be able to show you how to avoid most of that nonsense if you are interested. I can also teach you enough about piano and grand action regulation to get you past any and all exams any association as contrived. After learning that stuff... I 1million percent guarentee you that a visit by you to Newton, or from Newton to Bergen will yeild you a whole shitload more valuable info then it would at the present time. I know all this cuz I been through the same route myself. Plenty of talent... and closed off just about everybody around me (read accesable) who coulda helped cuz I thought they couldnt teach me anything.. or because I didnt respect their attidudes (and I had good reason from time to time... grin). In the end... I learned to forget all that nonsense... and exploit whoever I wanted whenever I wanted for any knowledge I could get from them. Some folks might call this kissing ass... I prefer to look at it in a more positive light. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  Comming fron Sweden to Norway I have to say that generally that is less interest in Music history here than other places. Maybe not compared to where you come from? It was ofcourse silly of me to comment on this, I probably don`t have enough experience.</blockquote> Norway is a provincial country... limited resources in many regards.. converative in many regards... but dont kid your self.. there are plenty of folks interested in just about anything, including music history. Perhaps it is a matter of you just not finding the right folks here yet. Perhaps (likely)  there is more sophisticated expression of such interests in other places, Sweeden for example. But as the saying goes... seek and you shall find. As for where I come from... grin.. hard to say as I come from really no place.. never stayed in the same town for more then 6 years did I as I grew up. In Montana... they woulda said.. music what ??? In Seattle you woulda had an entirely different answer. And in New York... well I dont need to comment on that. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  Perhaps I`m not as smart as you are. You have to listen to Richard, he has tuned more pianos than me. I hope one day I also can have letters under my name.</blockquote> You have to drop this kinda stuff Ola. This isnt about smart.. it isnt about listening to me... or about how many pianos I have tuned or what letters I have under my name. I am an egg. Just learning.. and hopefully always will remain so. This is about you... and what you want to do, how much you want to learn. Fact is that I sit here with a lot of knowledge that you dont have yet. If I wanted to learn about the Bass the situation would be reversed to the nth degree no doubt. You can either deal with that, and pump me for what I am worth.. growing in the bargain..  or you can reduce this to a battle of egos. Its all in your mind and within your power to decide. Take the neccessary steps Ola. We need good piano techs in Bergen. And by God you need (if piano work is really what you burn for) to get yourself in a position where you can start getting really good and interesting work... without having to rely on Henrik. I convinced Bjørn of that 4 years ago.. He is now making lots and lots of bucks... and doesnt have to go home anymore irritated to shit over the fact that he had to argue with Henrick to get paid again.. or some other unneccesary shit. You dont need Henrik my freind. He needs you... big time... You can easily make 400 grand NOK a year here in Bergen.. but you will never do it under the auspisciousness of H.E. He's going Konk again you know... or didnt he tell you ?? As far as Newton is concerned... As I said.. I am open to the idea... but not as a pie in the sky thing. I am willing to discuss alternatives... and I have a few of my own. For your information I have convinced 4 other techs in town to go good for 2000 NOK each as a participants fee. I have talked Nils Henrick into putting his workshop and pool of used instruments at our disposal.. he will also participate. I am in contact with both the PTG and NPTF as to the possibility of helping financing the project in the name of Intra national cooperation and as part of the ongoing internationalization process going on within the PTG. Newton is a long standing and highly thought of member of the PTG and it may be that this will also weigh on their decision. I have no idea of whether or not we will recieve any such support yet... but I do know how to go about approaching these folks with such ideas.. and it isnt ...grin... balls to the walls enthusiasim with resulting depression when they get scared off. If it happens it will happen in the fall around the fall school holiday. Thats a lull in the action around here, and it will give Newton time to fully recoperate from his recent accident. Realistically we must operate on a budjet of at least 4000 dollars. (Circa 40,000 NOK)  If it turns out we can do it cheaper... great.. but we need to cover our butts. 7 participants at 2000 apiece is 14000 NOK. It is not un-thinkable to recieve blessing and support from two associations for the remaining 26 000 NOK. Thats only about 2,600 dollars and in itself is small potatoes for the PTG if they first decide to come on board. So... like I have said... slow down... lets go through channels... dont feel left out... and dont start pouting about this, that or the other thing. I am not your enemy... My professional freindship is at your disposal if you choose to utilize that. I can help you on your way and smile at the day when you far surpass what I have been able to accumulate in skill and knowledge, should that day come. Perhaps one day you will have the opportunity to do the same for somebody else eh ??. <blockquote TYPE=CITE>Ola Andersson</blockquote> btw .... names and titles and letters are just part of the game.. -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway  </html>