Making the Transition

[Larry J Messerly]

Trombone and Violin Here.
No valves or frets, makes one listen to pitch.  Although my son asked me
one day after I scheduled a tuning, "How often does a piano really need
to be tuned?'

My answer was, "How often do you tune your trumpet?" He answered "Ever
time I practice."  He came back about 15 minutes later and said, "I tune
with every note I play."

My question is, how do piano players become tuners since they have no
control of the intonation of the notes they play?

Larry Messerly, RPT
Prescott/Phoenix

On Mon, 7 Feb 2000 21:09:44 EST ROBOTUNER@AOL.COM writes:
>        I guess I maybe shouldn't be replying to this since I have 
> allways 
> been a piano tuner.And I have worked for the same dealer for 20 
> years.But 
> here is my story.
>         I learned piano technology at Shenandoah Conservatory.I 
> started in my 
> junior year.Prior to that I was a trombone performance major.It was 
> in my 
> junior year that a former classmate returned to school a year after 
> he had 
> graduated to teach piano tech.His name was Jerry Rhoads and he had 
> been a 
> Bass Trombone player in the Orchestra with me.This was in 1977.
>         Piano tuning had been a career option for me as early as 8th 
> grade 
> when my trombone teacher James Crowe was also a tuner and I loved 
> watching 
> him tune the family spinet.
>         I started my career as a tuner still hopeing to get a break 
> as a 
> professional trombone player.Tuneing was to be a side line.That was 
> back in 
> 1980 and I am now a part time trombonist and full time Concert and 
> Artist 
> Technician.I even get to see my trombone teacher that I had after 
> college 
> when I tune for the National Symphony(that's a name drop...I really 
> only tune 
> for the National Symphony when they are playing outdoor 
> concerts)Funny 
> thing..a former trombone teacher of mine,who is principle trombone 
> in the 
> National Symphony, is a part time piano tuner.My piano tech teacher 
> after 
> college was Rick Butler who is the full time Tuner for the National 
> Symphony 
> at the Kennedy Center...He doesn't play trombone.
>         Another guestion for the group is,since many of us our 
> musicians,what 
> is your primary instrument other than the tuning hammer? I wonder if 
> there is 
> a prodominace of trombone players.    

Larry Messerly, RPT
Phoenix/Prescott