Poll -- You Asked For It!

[Z! Reinhardt]

To answer the question about how I got into Piano Technology ...

As I once wrote on a party invitation, "Ever wonder how a *nice girl* ended
up becoming a piano technician?"  Here's an answer.

Born in late 1953.
Was raised in eastern Massachusetts.  (Whether or not I actually grew up is
debatable.)

Came back to Boston after college, tried being a photographer which proved
to be a recipe for disaster.  Went to work in the standard corporate world
as a bookkeeper, got bored out of my brains.  No time (or energy) to hang
out with musicians. 

Question of the decade -- How could I be of use to the musicians in a way
that would make sense to them?  Having promo shots done was met with the
same level of enthusiasm as having income taxes done.  Doing something
about the piano that would make it more "user-friendly" to the music was
more like it.  Furthermore, the work would be completed before the
performance rather than at and after the performance as in photography.  (I
had grossly underestimated the enthusiasm of the musicians I knew when they
learned I had quit the photog and the corporate worlds for their pianos.)

Pianos have always been fascinating noisy mechanical toys.  Tried piano
lessons briefly but was a terrible musician.  Good sense of pitch,
virtually no sense of time.

Attended North Bennet Street School (Boston) 1987-89, teachers were Dave
Betts, Christine Lovgren, and Jack Stebbins.
Became a member of the PTG in 1988.
Moved to Michigan in 1991 to work for dealer, became interested in
Disklaviers.
Went to Yamaha's Little Red Schoolhouse in 1992.
Became an RPT on a trip back to Boston, 1992.
Went to Yamaha for Disklaviers in 1993, acquired the name Diskladame.
Left the dealer on Friday Oct 13, 1995 to be self-employed, specializing in
Disklaviers.
Passed CTE tuning exam on another trip back to Boston in 1996, began CTE
training. 

Have attended PTG conventions in 1992, 1994-97, plan to attend 1998.  Also
attended various reginals, particularly the Eastern Regionals off and on,
and PA State once.  Call me an education junkie, because I cannot get
enough even when I feel like a well-juiced hammer after a convention.  If
there was more time and money, I'd be hitting more regionals as well as the
conventions.  That just might happen yet ... providing my customers don't
squawk about the amount of time I spend out of town.

Z! Reinhardt RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net