[CAUT] Differences?

[Jeannie Grassi]

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Jim,

I'm assuming I may answer also.....?  I hope this long answer is more
interesting than boring. 

 

I was first drawn to this business because of the fascination I had with the
mechanical aspect of the piano.  So I adore shop work.  I never thought I'd
have trouble learning to tune because I had played the violin from a very
early age and had always had a "good ear."  I think learning to tune was
difficult for me in that my expectations were way out of proportion with the
realities of learning.  Like many musicians coming into this work...I
thought my "good ear" would make tuning a snap.  But there were other
factors.

 

Here is another scenario I experienced and I've heard several women
technicians tell almost the same story. I also was not "allowed" to tune in
the shop where I was an apprentice because that was reserved for the men in
the shop.  I was needed to answer the phone, restock supplies, clean the
shop, and do menial repetitive and boring work.  It was clear to me that I
was perceived as a threat to their income.  It wasn't until I realized that
I could earn more by cultivating tuning clients that I got serious about
learning.  Then, when they told me they would teach me, they only gave me a
small amount of information, or in some cases, misinformation, so that I
would fail.   Needless to say, tuning did not come easy for me because I
wasn't being taught properly. When I finally got some good training, I had
to "unlearn" some of what I was told originally.

 

Sometimes we are drawn to what we've never had a chance to do before.  I
never was allowed to take shop in school...had to take Home Ec. instead.  I
wanted to be in shop.  Working on pianos finally gave me the chance to
exercise the mechanical part of my brain.  It was new and exciting because
I'd always been denied the chance to work with tools and get down and dirty!
:>)

 

I don't think there are any inherent differences between men and women in
terms of abilities.....I've known too many excellent women tuners and too
many bad male tuners to make generalizations.  The only factor that might
make the learning process less than comfortable might be the upper body and
height differences.  I am short enough that I have to stand for most
tunings, except short uprights, and my arm strength and shoulders just
aren't as strong as a man's.  Even when I stand, for some tall uprights, I
don't have the advantage of coming down over the piano and sometimes still
must reach upward to the tuning pins.  

 

How tall are your daughters?  How musical are they?  What other things have
they learned to do with their hands...i.e. sewing, crafts, artwork,
woodworking, etc.?  How about temperament....who has more patience....boys
or girls?  I think personalities have a lot to do with how we approach work
and there are personality types in both genders.  

 

I think there are differences between the genders, but it would be really
hard to make any generalities.  I hope this sheds some light.

jeannie

 

Jeannie Grassi, RPT

Assistant Editor, Piano Technicians Journal

 <mailto:jcgrassi@earthlink.net> mailto:jcgrassi@earthlink.net

 

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From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jim
Busby
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 2:54 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: RE: [CAUT] Differences?

 

Michelle, Barbara, 

 

A serious question here; I've got three daughters and a son who have learned
to do quite a bit of piano work. The girls all love to do tedious shop work
but HATE to tune. The boy loves to tune but doesn't like shop work all that
much. I just thought it was their personalities until I started having
students work here at BYU. Seems the same applies. I don't want to come
across as sexist in any way, but I want to understand why. All the female
students seem to excel more at the shop skills, but seem to dislike tuning.
It seems harder for them than the guys. They seem to be less aggressive and
more perfectionists and can hardly stand it if they don't get it right NOW.
There are other teachers besides me so I don't think my teaching style is to
be blamed. I guess the real question is, do women (physically, mentally.)
have a harder time learning to tune?? I really want to encourage more women
to take up the trade. (Help!)

 

Jim Busby BYU

 

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From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Michelle Stranges
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 12:15 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] disability insurance

 

Hey Barbara-

 

It's your female partner in crime..

 

I certainly feel that I have an advantage being a female tuner

(And I am the ony female in my Chapter here in Syracuse- *and* the
youngest...)

 

So when I don't get my way I start crying and the guys give in.

They can't help it.

 

:D

 

 


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