Garlick Diatribe

[MITCH KIEL]

        Bill Garlick is a great teacher and an interesting guy - on that few
would disagree. But when I read his letter, I reacted two ways. One, he sounds
angry and bitter, and takes all this PTG stuff very personally. Two, he makes
some points with which I disagree.
         Bill starts off his Diatribe by asking for an exemption from PTG
politics. He has opinions - obviously - yet he professes stage fright too
excessive to speak before Council. He forgets that Council is composed of the
same people he's been charming in his classes all these years.
        Perhaps he'd be less angry if he participated in the process rather
than proclaiming himself powerless. Most of us who speak up at Council do so
in spite of sweaty palms and fluttering hearts, but believe that participation
in democratic decision-making is the way to effect change. Hurling bricks then
fleeing into the darkness is not responsible behavior, nor is it usually
successful.
        PTG is a democratic organization. That means we have to put up with
all the flaws of participatory democracy - including losing.
        PTG is further hampered by being run largely by volunteers.
Admittedly, our amateurish efforts as writers or political operatives don't
always match everyone's expectations, but we're trying our best. Maybe our
best will eventually get good enough. One can only hope.
        An alternative is to hire professionals. PTG did just that to help us
create our new PTG marketing materials (500,000 pieces sold so far - yes, half
a million, that's not a misprint) and were mostly written by PTG volunteers,
and which have made money for PTG and, assumedly, money for those that members
that are using them. If you don't have a large private tuning clientele, you
may not realize how useful all this stuff is.
        After driving around all day tuning pianos, then calling up customers
in the evening (and trying to have a social and family life), we PTG
volunteers still find the time to write Journal articles, ponder committee
issues, teach classes at conventions, lead our chapters, etc.
        Why do we do it?
        It's because we believe that PTG is a good thing and we want to keep
it alive. Luckily, there are enough of us who can sacrifice the income and
free time - and are able to put up with the brickbats - to keep PTG afloat.
It's not an unsinkable ship; remember that PTG almost went bankrupt in 1980.
        What's most distressing in Bill Garlick's letter is that he seems to
support a boycott of volunteerism and the collapse (his word) of the Annual
Convention. I'm sorry he's come to be so resentful of PTG volunteers, who
could never compete with his vast abilities or talent as a private teacher.
        When I was a beginner, I learned a lot from PTG. Now I want to give
something back. Maybe years from now, I'll only be asking "What's in it for
me?" Until then, I work and write and teach for free because I want to. When I
don't want to, I'll stop. But I hope I'll never resent PTG for doing what it's
supposed to do - helping piano technicians become more skilled and more
wealthy.
        My point? Groups have two types of members: participants and
observers. The former have the courage of their convictions to turn their
beliefs into action. The latter have chosen to watch the action from the cheap
seats in the upper bleachers, where their faces are dim and their voices
indistinct.

        Anyway, Bill Garlick's elected delegate speaks for him at Council
meetings. In fact, Bill's viewpoints have been expressed - vigorously albeit
by others - at several Councils, and numerous proposals that reflected the
Garlick Diatribe have been voted upon. Most have been defeated. Instead,
Council has voted to support the Marketing Committee, support the PACE
program, etc.

        In response to some specific points mentioned here on the net:
        I agree with my friends Ken Sloane, Steve Brady, Bill Spurlock and
others who've said that getting involved in PTG, rather than complaining from
one's ivory tower, is the way to change it or receive its fullest value.
        Tom Winter hit the nail on the head when he wondered if becoming a
more mature technician is making him less dependent on PTG. He also said he
misses PTG activities from the old days - discussions on how to handle the
IRS, birdcage tuning, trading supplies among techs, and after-meeting beer
chats. Well, Tom, I'd like to invite you to a Puget Sound chapter meeting
anytime you're in my neighborhood, where we do all the above and more.
        Michael Wathen wrote that he has "a bitter taste" about how much
support PTG is offering Associates because, back in the old days, he had to
learn the hard way. This is a common complaint, but is an over-reaction and
over-simplification of the issue. Surely Michael's not proposing we drive
horse-drawn buggies because cars get you there too fast, outlaw Accu-Tuners
because they're too accurate, or teach Associates how to tune the temperament
but not the treble. More importantly, we all know that piano technology is not
mastered simply by reading a few PACE articles, but requires years of hard
work and personalized instruction from an experienced professional (and be
willing to pay for it). Michael Wathen and Bill Garlick make the mistake of
overestimating the educational materials PTG is offering Associates (and
RPTs), which were never intended as a substitute for real education, but only
as a boost, a momentum builder, a glimpse of what's around the corner.
        Bill Spurlock, who has done more for PTG in the last ten years than
anyone else I know, said it all, and said it well, especially when he says
that PTG's recent educational efforts (like PACE) are simply a continuation of
long-standing PTG activities. The quality is higher (is that really what folks
are objecting to???) and the format may be different, but it's still the same
stuff we've been enjoying in Journals and conventions classes for many
decades: how to tune, how to repair & reg, and encouraging more Associates to
pass the RPT exams.

        A few days ago on PianoTech, Vince wrote:
        "So far, I haven't heard anybody very happy about the direction PTG is
going, except a few people that show up as delegates at council, and some of
the more outspoken RVPs...I think there are more in agreeance with people like
Bill Garlick and Ernie Juhn and Charlie Huether than Eugenia Carter and Mitch
Keil (sic). But obviously even more who couldn't care less!"
        My response:
        One: I guess you aren't talking to the same people I've been talking
to.
        Two: MAJORITIES of delegates representing MAJORITIES of members have
voted numerous times to create and support these programs.
        Three: If, as you claim, there's lots of people "who couldn't care
less," I challenge them to either start caring or get out of the way.
        And four: Thanks for the honor of mentioning me with some very
illustrious PTG personalities. I never suspected I was regarded as a
representative of a certain political wing of PTG. I'm flattered - I think.

        Mitch Kiel