In memoriam for Sheldon Smith

[Brian Henselman]

Jason,

>Sheldon taught me, first, that there is no conflict between speed and
>accuracy. I had come to him from another shop (Tip-Top Piano Shop, Valencia
>Street, San Francisco, Dana Huff prop.) where I had initially learned to
>tune and fix old uprights. I worked very hard and diligently to set each
>string right - worked for hours on a single piano. Sheldon showed me that
>this was a waste of time and counter-productive because once I moved to a
>diferent section and tuned it, the changed pressure on the bridge would put
>my first section out of tune again. So he taught me to tune the entire
piano
>very rapidly, then go back when all the tension was approximately where it
>ought to be and get it "right" the second time through.
>*    jkanter@rollingball.com    *

This is a damned good point.  All of your other points are excellent too,
but I can't emphasize how important it is not to fixate on initial tuning in
each section.  As I like to put it, "you're not marrying each unison on the
first pass."  Don't sweat it the first time through, because no sooner have
you solidified it in concrete, the whole damned thing shifts when you move
to the next section.  Yes, do your very best, but do it quickly, so you can
spend more time on the second pass.

It sounds like Sheldon Smith was a very inspirational and bright man.  I'm
glad that you had him as a mentor.  I'm mostly self taught from the "school
of hard-knocks" so, not having a mentor myself,  I can appreciate how
special he must have been to you.

On a personal note:  We should all CHILL OUT about the Master Level
Technician stuff.  I'm ashamed that a fight started here over a stupid
"TITLE".  Apparently Mr. Sheldon Smith WAS special, at least to Jason
Kanter, and his clients, and we would do well to quit "spraying our
territory" like tom-cats and behave like gentlemen.

BTW it's ok to "marry" yourself to the unisons on your second pass.  Just
learn to accept that the relationship will go sour just as soon as the
weather changes!

Jason, thank you for such a thoughtful post.  I hope that you enjoy your
return to piano technology and I hope that the recently displayed
"cat-fight" doesn't sour your fellowship with us.

Brian Henselman, RPT