Coffee spill on the Bridge

Joel Jones jajones2@facstaff.wisc.edu
Sun, 18 Apr 2004 09:34:02 -0500


On 4/18/04 6:28 AM, "Richard Brekne" <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> wrote:

> Dave Nereson wrote:
> 
>> -
>> 
>>    Many schools now require signing up for pianos and practice room times,
>> and even have hotel-type magnetic cards to open the doors.  That way you can
>> see who was in there last and possibly find the guilty party.
>>  
>> 
> This is one of the options being looked into now.  We've had signs up
> appealing to folks common sense for a couple years now, and everyone
> knows what to expect from me if I come walking in and find coffee or
> cola or the like on the pianos.
> 
>>    Yeah, I would overstate the damage and print up handouts about how to
>> treat pianos and have them distributed to all the music dept. classes.
>>  
>> 
> I suppose you read David I. post.  I want to make sure and keep myself
> within the borders of what real damage can potentially (reasonably) occur.
> 
>>    If the problem persists, have the nice pianos taken out and old beater
>> uprights
>> and cheap spinets put in instead!
>>  
>> 
> 
> Grin... I suppose I could just let them ruin these and then we'd save on
> moving costs.
> 
>>    --David Nereson, RPT
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>  
>> 
> 
> Cheers
> RicB
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives


RicB, Dave, 

A couple of suggestions I used in practice rooms grands.

1. I made string covers.  Not difficult to do with a student on work study
to cut out covers from left over stage curtains.  In the front area under
the music desk and above the tuning pins/hammers some plastic was be added.

    a.  Stretching the material above the plate we cut a few holes in the
tuning pin and the hitch pins areas.  I used front rail punchings over the
tuning pins and balance rail punchings over the hitch pins.  This secured
the covers at each end.

    b.  Additionally this kept pencils, room keys, paper clips etc. from
falling into the action.  Pulling the action produced few surprises.

    c. Before installing the covers we cleaned the pianos thoroughly.   The
covers kept the strings clean and the entire piano looked sparkling.  About
every 4 years or so we would repeat the cleaning.

PROBLEM:

    2. In my case this was not accomplished without student resistance.  A
group of piano majors protested that the covers were restricting and
muffling the sound from the piano.  ? Worried about lowering the volume in a
practice room ?    :-)

    aI challenged the pianists to a blindfold test.  While they played I
raised and lowered the lid.  Less than 30% were correct in telling  whether
the lid of the piano was up or down.   If you can't hear the difference with
a solid piano lid, the covers are not going to be noticeable either.

   b.  For a few years we would find covers tossed on the floor.  However we
had a signout system and we initiated a $50 installation fee for those
offenders.  We actually collected several fees.

`   It was a hard  sell to faculty and students.   (Spill? Not us.)
The advantages to us, the technicians, I know is worth the effort.

Joel
-- 
Joel A. Jones  RPT
Piano Technicians Guild
Assistant Institute Director
June 29 - July 3, Nashville, TN
http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm
jajones2@facstaff.wisc.edu
608/833-1488

    


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