poll

[John Musselwhite]

At 05:07 PM 5/22/98 -0400, Ralph wrote:

>There haven't been enough replies for any kind is accurate poll so the
>validity of the following is certainly questionable:
>
>Randy Potter School......18%
>Self taught....................... 41%
>Other schools.................. 24%
>University schools..........  18%

There's an important category missing here, possibly because myself and
some others I know who are second, third and even fourth generation tuners
haven't spoken up yet. There are others we haven't heard from who learned
their craft one-on-one from craftsmen in rebuilding shops and stores who
would also fit into the missing category, which might be labelled
"Apprenticed".

To give some of my background, I apprenticed with my father beginning in
the 1950s when I was old enough to hold a screwdriver without it being a
deadly weapon. The earliest sounds I heard were pianos and pianos being
tuned, and there were always jobs for a young boy to do in a piano shop.

My father had apprenticed with his father as a young teenager after
Grandfather returned from overseas serving as an officer in the CDN armed
forces during The Great War.  My grandfather had grown up in a residential
London music school, apprenticed with Henry Willis as an organ builder
after his voice broke and later worked as the organist and choirmaster (and
piano tuner) for the Duke & Duchess of Westminster before emmigrating to
Canada in 1903. He worked at the Martin-Orme factory in Ottawa for a brief
time before returning to Saskatchewan to teach music, play and tune pianos.
(See the reference in the Canadian Encyclopedia of Music.) He was a fine
tuner and technician but did no rebuilding, and other than his factory work
he learned what he had to by doing it. My father learned basically the same
way, and although he was a superb tuner he did very little rebuilding and
confined most of his technical efforts to regulating and reconditioning.

Both my father and grandfather had been active in tuner's organizations in
the past, and Dad had helped set up the first PTG chapter here in Alberta
back in the 1950s, although he later left the Guild. Some of my earliest
memories are the Guild Christmas parties I attended as a very young child.

Back to my story. I worked with my dad (who was the first Yamaha dealer in
Alberta in the 1960s) until I left high school in 1969, when I became a
professional touring musician playing any instrument they'd pay me to play
in dining rooms and bars across Canada. In between tours I managed to get a
college education in broadcasting, and finally left the road and worked my
way up from sweeping the floors in a TV station in small-town Saskatchewan
to producer and news anchorman in a fairly major market. In 1981 I decided
to  return to pianos, where the pressure (and the pay!) is a lot less than
in TV news.

My father, who was the tuner for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the
local Steinway dealer, and my brother both worked with me as I built up my
piano skills again. Shortly after that I was introduced to Joe Bisceglie,
and after working with him here for a few days, went to NY and had my first
of several factory experiences at Steinway, with Joe and Bill Garlick. I
joined the PTG in 1985 and became an "RTT" in 1987, and since then have
attended as many conventions and seminars as I can as well as enjoying
private tutoring in specific skills. 

>In all cases the respondents furthered their education (sometimes years
>later) with books, PTG affairs and MPT affairs. It is only fair to assume

The Guild has been the major influence on my skills in the last ten years.
Every issue of the Journal, almost every chapter technical, many of the
messages here and of course, the Pianotech live chat have all added
something to my own knowledge and perhaps showing me a new skill to master. 

Being born into the piano business and having  wonderful role models in the
family was a great help in my learning about pianos, but the Guild has been
almost entirely responsible for my learning about piano *technology*.

			John


John Musselwhite, RPT  
Calgary, Alberta Canada 
musselj@cadvision.com