--- Central West Regional Seminar ---
March 19, 20, 21, 22
Clarion Hotel - Airport
5805 W. Kellogg Drive - Wichita, KS 67209
For Reservations call
(316) 942-7911 - 1-800-835-2913
Thursday Night Opening Session: Presentations on "The State of the Industry"
followed by an Open Forum for new promotional ideas.
Friday Night Session: RVP Kent Swafford will lead a discussion on Regional
Concerns and Plans for the Future.
Saturday Night Banquet: Join others for a fun evening. Cash bar, fine
buffet, and entertainment for your enjoyment.
A program will be provided for "spouses and significant others",
sponsored by the Auxiliary. Details and registration upon arrival at the
Seminar. Please let us know as early as possible of your interest in this
program.
Early registration deadline postmarked by February 25, 1998.
Fees By Fef. 25 After Feb. 25
PTG Member $ 95.00 $ 135.00
Non-Member $ 140.00 $ 180.00
Additional Banquet Tickets $35.00
There will be a $30.00 Rebate for non-members joining PTG at the Seminar.
Checks to:
Central West Regional Seminar, PTG
c/o Marty Hess
3900 N. Parkwood
Wichita, KS 67220
For more information call (316) 744-0564
========================================================================
CLASSES: Scheduled Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
========================================================================
LaRoy Edwards, RPT -- Yamaha Corporation
"Aftertouch and the Secrets of Performance Piano Preparation"
This innovative class will help to clarify the whole picture of
"aftertouch." You'll see how to factor in the "human element" that
the pianist places on the mechanical system of the piano, and what
the pianist expects from your regulation work. We'll examine all of
the related regulating adjustments, to understand how each one
contributes to the control and efficiency of making music at the piano.
"Introduction to Disklavier"
This class will give you a good overview of the features and functions
found in the Yamaha Disklavier pianos from a technicians perspective.
Included will be general tuning and regulating service, action removal,
and the helpful diagnostic features built-in to the instrument.
========================================================================
Kent Webb -- Baldwin Piano & Organ Company
"Meeting the Service Needs of the Vertical Piano"
(Level: Intermediate - Advanced)
Kent will discuss the various problems, causes, and repair
techniques associated with the vertical piano. Included will be
noise diagnosis, regulation tips, touch analysis, and other items
we encounter in our service schedules. The vertical piano is still
the most commonly encountered piano we service today. Be sure not to
miss this essential class on this important aspect of our market.
"Bringing Out the Best in Performance Grands"
(Level: Intermediate - Advanced)
Kent will discuss the diagnosis, troubleshooting, and repair of
professional usage grands. The many problems and conditions we
encounter as we service the critical customer will be covered in this
fast-paced class.
Regulation, voicing, downbearing, and touchweight will be examined as
we attempt to maximize the tone, touch, and projection of the
concert grand while meeting the expectations of the customer.
===========================================================================
Wally Brooks, RPT -- Brooks, Ltd.
"The Business of Rebuilding"
Estimates, appraisals, contracts, as well as project and client
management strategies make this class a must for anyone who does,
or wants to do, major in-shop repairs or rebuilding.
Wally's wealth of experience in this field will benefit everyone
from novice to seasoned veteran rebuilders.
"All About Hammers"
Its hammers from A to Z in this class as Wally takes his audience
through felt and hammer manufacture, hammer boring, vertical and grand
hammer hanging, as well as working with pre-hung hammers which are
growing more popular with technicians every year. What hammers should
you use? Should you do your own boring? Should you use hammers pre-
hung on new shanks? This class gives you the knowledge you need to make
decisions instead of guesses and more money on the bottom line.
"Vertical Piano Construction"
Basic construction of a back, sounding board, bridges, keybed,
action and keys, and case of a vertical piano are demonstrated
by use of slides and models.
This informative class will provide a wealth of knowledge useful
to each of us every day in our work.
==========================================================================
Tony Geers -- C. A. Geers Company
"All About Bridges"
This class will cover bridge construction and repair including
installation of new bridge caps and complete bridge replacement.
Downbearing, plate height and position relationships and analysis
will also be covered.
"Pinblock Replacement and Fitting"
The C. A. Geers Company ha for years been one of the premier piano
rebuilding operations in the nation. Drawing on his vast experienc
in all phases of the rebuilding business, Tony takes his audience,
step by step, through removal of the old pinblock, selection of
material for the new pinblock, and fitting and installation.
===========================================================================
Greg Hulme, RPT -- Kansas City, Missouri
"Efficient Restringing"
Time-tested methods, tips, and shortcuts taught by a master
craftsman and one of the most respected rebuilders in the midwest.
Whether you are new to restringing or an old hand at it, this
class will lead you toward more speed, confidence and precision
in performing this important task.
"Rebuilding Details"
In rebuilding, like most other things, if you attend to the
little things, the big things tend to take care of themselves.
Greg highlights the "details" in piano rebuilding that
prevent small problems from becoming big disasters, that
keep a formidible project on track and managable, and that
add that sparkle of excellence which seperates the true craftsman
from the merely adequate rebuilder.
===========================================================================
Dr. Al Sanderson, RPT and David Sanderson, RPT -- Inventronics Inc.
"The Basics of Tuning with the Sanderson Accu-Tuners I, II, and III !
All the secrets of the Sanderson Accu-Tuner will be revealed
and we will go over the functions of all the keys, the tuning lights,
and the displays. At the beginner's level, we will cover the basics:
How to get the correct page in memory and use pre-stored tunings.
How to use the FAC method to create and store 88-note tunings in memory.
How to use the automatic pitch-raise calculator and the pitch offset
register to raise pitch to any pitch from a semitone low to "how high
do you dare!"
Advanced features will be covered if questions show an interest.
The Sanderson Accu-Tuner III will be shown and its new features will
be covered. Among them are a new Auto-Stepping program that uses the
two adjacent keys (to the one being tuned) for stepping down;
a sequencing feature that allows following any aural tuning order while
tuning; and adjustable octave-width control to vary the amount of octave
stretch as desired.
There will be plenty of time for questions and answers.
"Add a Foot to Your Piano -- Rescale!"
You may wonder if rescaling a piano really pays off, but its a fact that
the average 5-foot grand sounds more like a 6-foot grand when given a new
scale design and low inharmonicity bass strings. We will show you how to
add this "acoustic foot" to your too-short baby grand. The technical
aspects of modern string design will be covered briefly, and then we will
get into the "how-to" stages -- how to make the physical measurements
of the old scale, how to improve the line of the bridge when recapping,
and how to change plain wires to wound bichords at the break when necessary.
We'll also show you some patent-applied-for improvements in bass strings
that compensate inharmonicity, increase flexibility and reduce those
unpleasant spurious overtones.
==========================================================================
Don Mannino, RPT -- Kawai America Corporation
"Action Centers: The Secret of Consistent Touch"
This class is in two parts within the one class session. The first
focuses on conceptualizing action center operation and service, and
the second demonstrates an efficient and highly accurate method for
recentering using sized broaches. The discussion will include
evaluating the amount of friction needed for any given action part,
the effects of pinning on touch and tone, and dealing with the various
types of bushing cloths encountered.
"From Rocks to Cream Puffs: Voicing Difficult Hammers"
This is a "basics of voicing" class in which samples of 4 different
sets of hammers are installed in 1 Kawai grand piano and each is voiced
during the class for the best tone. The hammer manufacturing process
and concepts of how hammers work are discussed. The goal of the class
is to show how to work up soft hammers, how to bring down hard hammers
and, most importantly, how to take the fear out of the voicing process.
==========================================================================>
Jim Krentzel, RPT -- Oskaloosa, Kansas
"Tuning: Solid Foundations, Accuracy and Speed"
This is a basic tuning class but experienced tuners will find something
for them here as well. Jim is a respected technician and an
excellent teacher. His classes are not to be missed.
"Pitch Raising for the Aural Tuner"
In this class, Jim presents solid proceedures which work well and
produce consistent, predictable results with a minimum of time and
effort. Not just for beginners.
==========================================================================>
Randy Potter, RPT -- Randy Potter School of Piano Technology
"Getting the Most From Your Electronic Tuning Device Using Aural Checks"
Over half of all tuners today use an EDT to some extent. Many "forget"
how to tune aurally after using a device for several years - or neglect
to ever learn it in the first place. This class teaches quick, easy and
effective systems for optimizing your tunings by making aural checks as
you tune and how non-aural tuners can *learn* aural tuning as they use
their EDT. Handouts include charts and instructions for use with the
PT-100, SAT (I, II, and III), and CyberTuner. The new SAT-III's Aural
Temperament Tuning Sequence will also be demonstrated.
"Business Cents and Nonsense -or- If You Did Not Earn $60,000 Last Year..."
Randy begins with the premise that we ought to be earning at least
$60,000 a year - yet the recent PTG survey makes it clear that only about
25% of our members are in this income catagory.
We will look at why we should earn this much, help attendees determine
why they did not - and show what they can do to increase their income
this year. Included, is a glimpse of Determining Your Professional/
Business Appearance Quotient, a very useful method of assessing
yourself and your business which Randy developed a number of years ago.
Four pages of handouts includes and article titled "How Much Do Piano
Technicians Earn?", which is very insightful and which we will use as
a stepping-off point.
"Taxes and Our Profession -or- Recent Tax Law Changes Benefit Piano
Technicians"
Believe it or not, both the 1993/94 and 1997 tax law changes were
huge boons for piano technicians! Even so, my surveys show that *most*
piano technicians pay two to three times in taxes what they should!
Usually, it is because they do not understand the law or how it is
skewed to help small business prosper.
The information recieved in this class includes IRS code numbers,
so you can go back home and take advantage of these benefits on your
1998 tax forms with the confidence that you are filing and accurate
return.
==========================================================================>
Mitch Kiel, RPT -- Reyburn Cybertuner
"Introduction to the Reyburn CyberTuner"
In this introductory class, Mitch Kiel will demonstrate basic RCT
operations such as automatic sample taking, selecting one of ten
stretch styles with one click of your mouse; "pre-listening" to the
tuning with RCT's predicted beat rates; selecting the best tuning
partials; faster and more accurate pitch raising with RCT's auto-
measuring and dynamic overpull percentages optimized for each note;
"automagic" chromatic both-ways noteSwitching (no hands or feet);
saving and organizing RCT's unlimited number of tuning files;
and more!
"Advanced RCT Techniques"
Mitch Kiel will demonstrate some of RCT's advanced tools such as
"Custom Equalizer" which lets you micro-adjust the stretch of every
octave and instantly see a graph of your tweaks;
"Pianalyzer", RCT's spectrum analyzer which measures each partial's
pitch, inharmonicity, sustain, and volume; using RCT's graphs and
spreadsheets to analyze a piano's scale design and create an
optimized tuning; choosing on of RCT's 57 stored historical
temperaments or creating and saving an unlimited number of your own;
using RCT to measure and score the PTG tuning exam faster than ever;
and more!
==========================================================================>
Hugo Reimer, RPT -- North Newton, Kansas
"Piano Refinishing"
Piano finishes have traditionally been the acme of all furniture
finishes; the benchmark by which all others are judged and nothing
sticks out quite like mediocre refinishing of a piano.
Hugo guides this class through the process of fine piano refinishing
from stripping to final polishing, including hinges and other hardware,
with an emphasis on safety, predictability, and longevity of the final
product.
=========================================================================
Lloyd Meyer and Rick Baldassin, RPT -- Renner USA
"New Parts on Old Frames - Retrofitting the Grand Action"
Many different action designs have been produced over the years,
and manufacturers have often changed their action dimensions.
This class will teach you how to choose the correct action parts
for the job, including assembling a "Universal Wippen" if no
exact replacements are available.
"New Grand Damper Back Action"
The damper, or back action, has often been overlooked or neglected
during piano action restoration (even when wear & tear warrented
replacement) simply because no replacement system was available.
In response to this need, Renner has produced a new underlever
system kit. This class will teach you how to assemble and
install it.
======================================================================
David Stanwood, RPT -- Stanwood & Company
"The Touch Designer's Tool Kit"
New tools and techniques for controlling touch dynamics are emerging
with the advent of "The New Touch Weight Metrology" (PTG Journal,
June 1996). This exciting class explores the reality of designing
touch by making component specifications for hammer weight, strike
weight, front key weight, and action weight ratios.
"Making Hammer and Strike Weight Specifications - Workshop"
Technicians and pianists across the country are discovering that
fine tuning of hammer-weight is the foundation of quality voicing
and fine touch. Learn to create your own strike weight specifications
using the Smart Chart, a "computerless" method for calculating strike-
weight and hammer-weight specifications. Try your hand at adding or
subtracting hammer weight with a new generation of specialized tools.
==========================================================================>
Bonnie Swafford, RPT -- University of Kansas Medical Center
"Essential Tool Maintenance: Your Body"
Piano service doesn't have to be a pain in the neck, or anywhere
else. If not taken seriously, our bodies suffer on-going damage from
the work we technicians do. This class addresses the specific
stresses imposed on the body by piano work and provides a concrete and
sensible strategy for treating the body with respect and care in order to
keep our most important tool in service. Bonnie, a Registered Physical
Therapist (RPT) married to a Registered Piano Technician (RPT), is head of
Physical Therapy for the KU Medical Center and brings a unique perspective
and insights to this important subject. Don't miss this class!
==========================================================================>
Kent Swafford, RPT, CTE -- University of Missouri at Kansas City
"Preparing for the PTG Tuning Exam"
Learn what to expect at your PTG tuning exam. Kent is a past chair
of the Tuning Exam section of the PTG Examinations and Test
Standards (ETS) Committee and is one of the most knowledgable CTEs
in PTG. This class will explain the "detuning" and "scoring"
proceedures involved in the exam. Helpful tuning tips and critical
psychological preparation will be emphasized. Both Associates
preparing to take the exam, and RPTs wanting to help administer it,
will benefit from Kent's expertise in this class.
"The PTG Technical Exam - Grand Regulation"
Kent takes the class through the grand action regulation portion of
the PTG Technical Exam and doesn't just talk about it - he does the
exam right there as part of the class providing prospective examinees
a look at the situation they will encounter during their technical
examination.
========================================================================
The mailing will be out shortly.
Ron Nossaman
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC