poll

[Joe & Penny Goss]

hi Rev John,
Thanks for your post now I really know where you are coming from :O) won"t
be on the chat line for the next two weeks too many 12 o"clocks :O( , P.M.
s that is  " Hello Dolly".
Gozzo


----------
> From: John Musselwhite <musselj@cadvision.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: poll
> Date: Saturday, May 23, 1998 10:17 AM
> 
> 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 
>