One thing I neglected to mention in my earlier post is that rebuilding rather than trading certainly will save money. We do rebuilding here. Unfortunately, we do far too little between rebuilds. As you know pianos can deteriorate pretty fast that way. Technically the pianos still "play" just not well. The roof either leaks or it doesn't. The pianos play well, or play poorly. I just wish we could get people to see the artistic need for maintenance rather than just looking at the "bottom line." dave *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 4/14/00 at 9:57 AM Ken Eschete wrote: >Dave, >Every institution has a obligation to protect and preserve the assets of >the institution. Neglecting the roof is no different than neglecting the >pianos. Every School of Music has a Net Worth, and to a large extent, that >includes the most expensive pieces of equipment --- the pianos. Protecting >your assets is Standard Business Practice and it will stand up to scrutiny. > >Ken Eschete >Northwestern > >>Don: >> >>I tried for a while to justify the cost of maintenance as "saving money" >>because we're keeping the pianos in good condition. However, I don't think >>that really will stand up to close scrutiny. Good quality pianos will last >>a long time whether we regulate them or not. It's just they won't serve >>the artistic purpose for which they were purchased. If we're trying to >>teach students just to push the right buttons at the right time, we could >>get electronic keyboards. Allegedly we're trying to teach artistic playing >>which you can't do on some of the pianos we all work on. >> >>Changing the oil in the car will save money in the long run and this is the >>model we imply when we try to convince the bean counters that maintenance >>saves money. If the artist teachers, and artist department heads can't >>convince the bean counters that maintenance is needed for the educational >>value then we're probably doomed. >> >>Music Schools are expensive to run. The governing boards of our schools >>decided years ago to have a music department. If they can't afford a music >>department now, they need to do enough fund raising to support a music >>department. You can have 200 students in a History class, and the students >>provide the books they need. In the Music Department, a performance >>teacher can only have a dozen or so students before he is full. That's >>expensive. These students and teachers use pianos that are expensive. >>Raise the money. I never say it out loud, but my feeling is: "if you want >>a music department raise the money and have one. If you can't afford to do >>it right, shut it down." I know, I know, that's the extreme, but..... >> >>dave >> >>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** >> >>On 4/13/00 at 3:50 PM Donald R McKechnie wrote: >> >>>List, >>> >>>Thanks to all that responded to my request for dialog regarding the >>>Guidelines. Keep it coming! So far it appears that the formula should >>>stay as is. We will keep this topic open until the end of the forum in >>>Arlington. I propose that at the forum, we put the question of the >>>formula to a vote. If there is any dissension from those who cannot >>>attend speak now. Any revisions to the Guidelines will be completed this >>>year. (I hope :-) We also need to come up with a way to get endorsements >>>as was done the first time. >>> >>>The argument that the bean counters need to see specific information on >>>how they are losing money is worth pursuing. Those that have used the >>>Guidelines successfully are to be congratulated. But, it is really hard >>>to break down the doors at some institutions. Believe me, I have tried. >>>If something can be incorporated into the Guidelines to help technicians >>>get through to the bean counters, it is worth pursuing. Please give this >>>some thought and send any suggestions to the list or me. I plan to put >>>some sort of chart together to add to my justification here at IC. If it >>>turns out to be useful, I will share it with everyone to see if it looks >>>like something we can add to the Guidelines. >>> >>>Ken Eschete's analogy of comparing the maintenance situation to the >>>temperaments was great. I wish I could use that on the powers that be. >>>Oh well, I will have to come up with something else. >>> >>>Don McKechnie >>>Ithaca College >> >> >> >> >>David M. Porritt >>dporritt@swbell.net >>Meadows School of the Arts >>Southern Methodist University >>Dallas, TX 75275 > > >-- >Kenneth P. Eschete >Northwestern University >k-eschete@nwu.edu David M. Porritt dporritt@swbell.net Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC