Hello Tim,
First of all, I need to qualify what I am about to say by observing that many people in the media quote the bible to justify an immoral lifestyle. More often than not, I disagree with those who claim this or that is something the bible guarantees us, or teaches, in the media. That having been stated, I am provoked to make some observations from the scripture about the capacity of a piano technician to make moral decisions, though again, the bible can be a terrible source for defining what is moral.
The first 3 verses of Psalm 33 read as follows:
א רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים, בַּיהוָה; לַיְשָׁרִים, נָאוָה תְהִלָּה.
1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous, praise is comely for the upright.
ב הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה בְּכִנּוֹר; בְּנֵבֶל עָשׂוֹר, זַמְּרוּ-לוֹ.
2 Give thanks unto the LORD with harp, sing praises unto Him with the psaltery of ten strings.
ג שִׁירוּ-לוֹ, שִׁיר חָדָשׁ; הֵיטִיבוּ נַגֵּן, בִּתְרוּעָה.
3 Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully amid shouts of joy.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2633.htm
I would like to draw attention to two Hebrew words from this passage, and attempt to explain these in a way that will help us to recognize the possibility of morality in music making as it relates to the musician, the tuner, and the technician.
1. The first is from the 3rd verse.
It is הֵיטִיבוּ , translated skillfully. To fully understand this word, we need to observe another use of the same word in the bible. It also appears in Jeremiah 7:3,5 which reads as follows:
ג כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, הֵיטִיבוּ דַרְכֵיכֶם, וּמַעַלְלֵיכֶם; וַאֲשַׁכְּנָה אֶתְכֶם, בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה.
3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
ד אַל-תִּבְטְחוּ לָכֶם, אֶל-דִּבְרֵי הַשֶּׁקֶר לֵאמֹר: הֵיכַל יְהוָה הֵיכַל יְהוָה, הֵיכַל יְהוָה הֵמָּה.
4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying: 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, are these.'
ה כִּי אִם-הֵיטֵיב תֵּיטִיבוּ, אֶת-דַּרְכֵיכֶם וְאֶת-מַעַלְלֵיכֶם: אִם-עָשׂוֹ תַעֲשׂוּ מִשְׁפָּט, בֵּין אִישׁ וּבֵין רֵעֵהוּ.
5 Nay, but if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor…
ז וְשִׁכַּנְתִּי אֶתְכֶם, בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה--בָּאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לַאֲבוֹתֵיכֶם: לְמִן-עוֹלָם, וְעַד-עוֹלָם.
7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1107.htm
The word is translated amend in vs. 3 (הֵיטִיבוּ) and amend in vs. 5 (תֵּיטִיבוּ). When we play, tune, and/or otherwise perfect the sound of a piano, even though it has a lot more than ten strings, I believe we over the course of time learn something about amending our ways, or repentance, as the Hebrew word is employed by Jeremiah. When we play a passage over and over to get it right, what some call wood-shedding, we engage in an activity that teaches us a lot about developing the ability to lead a moral life. You may fail a 1000 times before you finally get it right, and need to take all kind of approaches and practicing techniques before that happens. But finally, you get something like what the composer intended. Likewise, the kind of tenacity that it takes to learn aural tuning by repetition, or the painstaking thoroughness that regulating forces us to engage in, helps us in that experience to develop an understanding of the practice that leading a moral life takes, and how often we have to try for finally achieving something approaching mastery of the task. Morality is difficult to achieve, and sometimes, religion is the biggest obstacle to discovering it, while some kinds of work help us to discover it. That is part of what we learn about morality when, playing, tuning, regulating, and rebuilding pianos. Morality is as difficult to obtain or achieve as being good at pianos.
2. The second word is from the 2nd verse of the 33rd psalm.
It is זַמְּרוּ , translated sing praises unto Him. This is a Hebrew word, as the other, was also used in Aramaic, I believe, the language the 12 apostles used. The etymological source is from a word meaning to pluck, trim, or prune, play on a reed in Arabic, hum, or murmer, in Ethiopian, in other words, pluck or strike a string. This also is something that we enhance the ability to do well at when improving in our craft as piano technicians. When we look at the following from John 15,
1"(A<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015&version=49#cen-NASB-26701A>)I am the true vine, and My Father is the (B<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015&version=49#cen-NASB-26701B>)vinedresser.
2"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He [a<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015&version=49#fen-NASB-26702a>]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015&version=49
when we consider that the same Hebrew word for pruning a plant is used for playing a stringed instrument, we realize something about the attitude Jesus taught the disciples that the Heavenly Father had toward them as His children. The same care we employ toward a piano, God employs toward, us, as God’s instruments. God wants to tune us, to fix us, to rebuild us, to restore us, to put His song into us.
My sermon for the day.
God bless all of you,
- Ben
-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of tcoates1 at sio.midco.net
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 10:28 PM
To: Ed Sutton; College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning--again
I read the quote below to my wife and neither one of us understand it. My father was a minister and one of my best friends is a minister. I must not be tuning the right pianos because I don't consider myself even close to the type of decisions they make. I really am in awe of piano techs whose tunings truly have moral implications.
Tim Coates
------Original Message------
From: Ed Sutton
Sender: caut-bounces at ptg.org
To: College and University Technicians
ReplyTo: Ed Sutton
ReplyTo: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning--again
Sent: Jun 15, 2009 8:48 PM
Yes, that's it!
Thank you.
Ed S,
----- Original Message -----
From: <A440A at aol.com>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 6:17 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Tuning--again
> Ed S. writes:
>
> << "A piano technician makes more moral decisions in 20 minutes than a
>
> preacher makes in a week." Wish I knew who said that. >>
>
> Kelly Ward said that to me when I first spoke to him about going into
> the trade. That was in 1974. I believe I quoted him on this list several
> years ago.
>
>
>
> Ed Foote RPT
> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
> <BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours
> in Just 2 Easy Steps!
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Tim Coates
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