kam544@flash.net wrote: > >...lets start a new post regarding the...definition of a piano tuner... > >Are you prepared to offer evidence in favour of a > >definition for "piano tuner" that limits itself to > >simply being able to turn and set the pins > >to a machines specifications ???... > >Richard Brekne... > > Richard, List, > > In rising to the call of your proposal ... > > As there are numerous individuals throughout the world who do succeed in > accomplishing reasonable, stable piano tunings on a daily basis, that do > receive compensation for such activity, that are not members of, or > affiliated with the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG), that do use various > approaches to accomplishing these tunings, whether it be aural only, aural > with electronic assistance, electronic with aural assistance, electronic > only; what, then, are these persons to call themselves, if not a piano > tuner? > > Is it how many are done per day, week, month, year? > Is it how much one receives in payment? > Is it how satisfied the customer is? > Is it ................ ? These are irrelevant to the question "what is a piano tuner" > > At what point in time does one have the credibility to be called a piano tuner? That of course is a matter for standards. At what point does one have the credibility to call oneself a Doctor ?.. or a Lawyer ?? or any other proffession. The application of minimum standards may be difficult and to some degree unfair... but the alternative is to allow anyone who wants to to simply declare themselves a professional whatever. > > Is there a line that exists somewhere between someone being able to tune a > piano, and being a piano tuner, that I am not aware of, other than to be > able to do it, and declare it so? The key phrase here is "declare it so". In order to do so you have to have certain knowledge about tuning in general. If not then the statment is meaningless. > > Sincere questions enreating cerebral answers, Keith... it would seem your definition of a piano tuner is simply whoever decides to call themselves one. You sight qualifications such as how many instruments a person "services", "how much money made" Whether or not the piano is indeed in tune regardless of how it was tuned. And of all things something as vague as whether the customer is satisfied or not. I am indeed sorry, but as a serious attempt at finding any real criteria for assessment of knowledge and skills neccessary to qualify for the title Piano Tuner, these above fail miserably. I also must say that I find it no less then alarming that you consistantly leave out any requirement for actual knowledge of the trade or trade skills from your "qualifications". Are we really to be expected to confere the PTG stamp of approval on anyone who presents themselves with a machine, a customer list, an income statement, a report of hours worked, and one single tuning skill ... namely that of being able to set tuning pins ??? Give me a break with all this. If we are serious about all this then it should not be so difficult to at least be in aggreement that the prosepective tuner should be able to display that he / she actually knows something about the job. What about the following skills... the ability to count beats per second. the ability to hear and identify beat rates of different coincident partials for any given interval the ability to determine varying degrees of stretch. the ability to isolate tuning concerns from voicing or regulation concerns. the ability to indentify, isolate and minimize the effect of false beats I can go on and on... but you get the idea. The ends do not justify the means, they never have and never will. > > Keith McGavern > Registered Piano Technician > Oklahoma Chapter 731 > Piano Technicians Guild > USA -- Richard Brekne RPT, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC