[CAUT] Teaching Piano Tuning

[Fred Sturm]

Hi Boaz,
    Interesting post. You raise a number of good points. I congratulate you
on an excellent foundation: North Bennett plus Steinway Hall is as good as
it gets. A couple years in a top notch rebuilding shop, plus a good while in
a college or university setting <g> and you'll be well-seasoned.
    I'm going to respond to your emphasis on the "pair of ears" as the most
indispensible tool we have. Certainly hearing, and acute, educated hearing
in particular, is of vital importance. But I would say that a refined sense
of touch is more important. When you come down to it, it's relatively easy
to hear the difference between a bad, mediocre, good, and exquisite unison.
What's hard is putting it there and getting it to stay. For which you need
that fine sense of touch: feeling the minute movement of the pin in the
block, tied inextricably with the various neuro-muscular reactions that make
the tiny move possible. Similarly with the feel of the needle in various
gradations of hammer felt; the feel of level keys, dip and aftertouch; the
feel of the top of one damper head rising a microsecond ahead of its
neighbor, and the feel of the wire moving that thousandth of an inch within
the top lever to correct it; the feel of a tiny bend of a damper wire; the
feel of the adjustment of a rep spring.
    Hey, I could go on for a long time in this vein. It's putting the brain
(awareness and endless feedback experiences) into the fingertips that makes
a truly fine technician. What do you think?
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
http://music.unm.edu/about/staff_members/fred_s_sturm.php
A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
On 11/2/04 9:25 AM, "Boaz Kirschenbaum" <artisanpiano@gmail.com> wrote:

> Finally, I think there is one indispensable tool no one likes talking
> about or admitting. You need it in order to judge a quality aural
> tuning, to make voicing decisions, and especially to do concert work
> (where the most important decision is not WHAT to tune, but what NOT
> to tune, in order to maintain stability). You need it to know the
> difference between pleasing and harsh, glassy and smooth, focused and
> diffuse....all words we use to try to describe the voice of a piano.
> You need it to know when to stop working and take a break. You need it
> to be flexible, adaptable, and ready for any situation. You need it to
> know whether or not a job has been done to your satisfaction.
> 
> That tool is a great pair of ears. You have to have above-average
> hearing. Any prospective serious apprentice needs to have a full
> hearing test performed by an audiologist first. You simply cannot
> become more than a "just a job" piano tuner if you don't have
> excellent hearing. An ETD has no judgment. It cannot perform a 15
> minute concert tuning, and it cannot listen to the voicing for you.
> You can read as many articles as you want and attend as many
> conferences as you want, but you will not develop your hearing without
> hours and weeks of practice on good quality pianos. You can't learn to
> tune and voice on bad instruments. You can only begin to learn, and
> then keep striving.