List, Just as a reminder for everyone, concert work "can" be dangerous. I though I might relate what I guess could be called a "near death experience" that happened to me Friday morning. I was tuning for a piano concerto with our orchestra. The pit had been raised for the piano. The artist bench wasn't there at the time, so I just grabbed a chair from the violin section. As I got up to the highest octave or so, I moved the chair closer around the end of the piano to maintain tuning lever position to clear the case. You already know what's coming, I'm sure. :-) Well, I forgot that the chair had flared out legs on the rear and I was very close to the edge of the stage anyway, so......... over I went, down on the floor on my back with the chair with me. As I'm sure you know, one's reflex is to grab whatever might be near to stop the fall, so of course, I grabbed at the piano. The treble leg came over the edge of the stage and came to rest on top of the railing for the orchestra pit! This is one time I'm very glad we DON'T have the big brass wheels on the legs!!!! It would have probably kept rolling right over the edge of the stage onto me! Right now we only have the shop cup type of wheels on it and when it went over the edge, the cup came off. Talk about an adrenalin rush! :-) I went and got a couple of students and we lifted it back onto the stage and everything was fine except for a little wood damage on the edge of the stage. Nothing on the piano. And only a little bleeding cut on my left ear where I'd banged my head and a very sore muscle in my left tricep area which I must have hit on my way down. Oh, and I'm going to have to get a new watch. :-) At the time, I didn't think of it but later, I wish I'd had a camera and taken a picture. I'm usually extremely careful in those situations but this time, I simply forgot about those flared out rear legs on the chair. That's one mistake I'm quite sure I'll never make again. May none of you EVER have this happen to you!!!!!! Avery P.S. "Only" 35 recitals/concerts from April 23 through April 30! That's our last class day. Hallelujah! Last Saturday I did 5 pianos and a harpsichord and on Sunday, 3 pianos. This Saturday (today) is also 5 tunings but only 2 on Sunday! I'm definitely ready for a break! :-)
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