I'll just echo what others have said about not over-doing it while tuning. I suffered with tendonitis (still do, to a much lessor degree), several years ago, after I'd changed my tuning technique. Ironically, it happened when I went from bash-n-crash tuning to something less forceful! Instead of having problems with my thumping arm, I developed problems in my *tuning* arm! That was because my muscles weren't used to the constant strain of pulling all of that weight. It was a bit like using that spring-thing people use to increase finger strength for 4-6 hours with very little down time. Bad news. After I backed off and started taking 5-10 minute breaks after 15-20 minutes of tuning for several months, I finally got away from the severe inflammation (Oh, the pain!). I still tune for no longer than 20 minutes without stopping to relax for a spell. So what if it takes me a whole two hours to tune the darned piano! At least I'm a whole person when I'm done! My latest problem is a very sore spot at the top of my tuning arm on the outboard side of that joint. There's a tendon or ligament (not sure which) that's been getting very sore over the past two weeks. I've been doing more tuning, over the past two years (averaging 2-3 a day at the U, then another 2-3 a week on the outside), so it's possible that I'm just developing one of those nasty RSIs. My colleague recently had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff that may have been the result of many tunings. I have an appointment with my physician, later this week, at which we're going to try to determine what's causing the pain. I would emphasize that taking frequent breaks is important, but that finding a way to tune without unduly jarring your joints is also very important. I'm a recent convert to the belief that it's not how *hard* a pianist plays that puts a piano out of tune. It's the constant, loud repetition (anywhere from forte, on up) that does the damage. Therefore, I try to mimic what they're doing, only more. 8-10 blows, at forte, seem to be yielding better results in setting a string/pin than 2-3 very hard/loud blows. Try it, sometime. Ron Torrella, RPT Ypsilanti, MI ----------------- FreeDSL Information - Updated! http://www-personal.umich.edu/~torrella/InfoPlease/HereItIs.html ----------------- "There's a difference between 'involved' and 'committed.' When providing ham and eggs for breakfast, the hen is involved. The pig is committed. (Milo Sturgis in Jonathan Kellerman's novel "Self-Defense")
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC