[CAUT] FW: Concert hall pianos

[Fred Sturm]

On Dec 4, 2009, at 6:22 AM, Jim Busby wrote:

> I would think that perhaps a reasonable compromise can be met -  
> perhaps with allowing only the serious performance majors controlled  
> access to the instruments. A criteria could be developed that would  
> qualify the students that would have access to the pianos. Sign-in  
> sheets could be used but these sheets would need to be approved by a  
> person that would have the authority and ownership of the schedule  
> and this person would be responsible for ensuring the system is not  
> misused.


	This is an excerpt from Kent Webb's very reasonable post. I'd say  
that if a select group of piano students is given some access, it  
should be made very, very plain that the purpose is highly restricted.  
They are not to be doing their warmup, their scales and arpeggios and  
exercises, or learning notes on this instrument. It is for working on  
interpretation _only_!!! And I would think that a maximum of one two  
hour session per week for the very top students would be a reasonable  
limit.
	I'd also suggest alternatives: what about the piano faculty studios  
in those early and late hours, when they are unlikely to be there?  
Lots of faculty in lots of institutions give students access. And, of  
course, there is the question of the condition of practice room  
grands. While they can't be kept up to concert condition, they should  
be kept as close as possible, well prepped and regulated, reasonably  
well voiced, tuning not allowed to get too horrible. Maybe there could  
be a special practice room where the piano is kept up to a higher  
standard, and practice times are allocated specifically to that room  
on a limited basis per student (not 2-3 hours a day for a given  
student, but maybe a couple 2 hour sessions a week max per student).
	The concert instrument is important to the whole department, and to  
the institution. It is the public face of the department. It must be  
as good as it can be.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu