Families with kids

[Jeffrey Schlaybach]

Hi Clyde:

I enjoy kids as well which is one reason I do some substitute teaching. My
wife and I have 5 of our own as well!

The other day I tuned a piano and the 2 year old did just what you
described. Sat right aside of me, but then began playing the piano in the
bass section while I was tuning in the middle of the piano. Since she was
too young to understand names of parts, etc., so I had to call her mother in
and explain that she's showing a real interest in playing piano, but needed
to practice after I was finished. The mother got a nice laugh about this and
proceeded to take her outside to play in the yard.

Jeff Schlaybach
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Gamble" <michael@gambles.fsnet.co.uk>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 4:24 AM
Subject: Fw: Families with kids


> Hello Clyde Hollinger
> I too like families around and it's usually a great pleasure to reveal
what
> goes on in the piano when they play it. The only thing I find disturbing
is
> when they start to sing the note I'm trying to tune....! I regularly have
> battles with an On Stage vacuum cleaner as I'm tuning in the Pit. The
vacuum
> cleaner is slightly sharp of middle C - and I can tell if it needs
emptying!
> But Stage Management has got used to my requests for delaying their
> vacuuming now and, after twenty+ years of doing this, they actually
schedule
> the vacuuming to not clash with the tuning!
> What I cannot understand, Clyde, why did you have to give up that grand on
> the basis of being left-handed? I'm left handed and cannot work out any
> reason for your doing that. I always use a "T" hammer on Grands (one needs
a
> very strong wrist to turn the "T") and a Lever on Uprights. Some of the
old
> Grotrian-Steinweg uprights are the very devil to apply any Lever to...
their
> wrest plank is sloped which makes the handle of the Lever come into
contact
> with the excessive over-hang of the casework. My Lever has changeable
heads
> and I have one very long head about 4inches long. The stem is extendible
> with a collett mechanism in the wooden handle to grip the metal stem. The
> separate heads are simply screwed on to the Lever stem. They don't sieze
on
> or anything like that. I rarely use the Lever on a Grand - or if I do it
is
> simply because the wrest-pins are so darned tight. (Who re-strung this
> piano? Did they remember to dip the new pins in French Chalk before
> hammering them in?)
> Regards
> Michael G (UK)
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
> To: <dave@davispiano.com>; "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 2:01 AM
> Subject: Families with kids
>
>
> > Dave,
> >
> > I'm with you there!  I enjoy kids, and, while there are some kids who
> > will drive you crazy, the majority of the ones I work for are polite,
> > interested in how the piano works, personable.  I enjoy teenagers as
> > well, which is how I could be a high school teacher for 17 years.  So
> > when they will actually speak to me, even with a smile sometimes, their
> > stock goes way up in my book.  I'm always disappointed when they ignore
> > me as if I weren't even there.
> >
> > On a couple occasions I had a younger kid come and sit on the other end
> > of the piano bench and just quietly watch while I work.  After a bit I
> > would say, "Now you need to get up so I can move the bench, then you can
> > sit down again."  And that's exactly what they do.  I love it.
> >
> > Sometimes I will teach a little.  "Want to know what this pedal does?"
> > Then I show them.  One time I told a little kid the names of a half
> > dozen piano parts and said I'll ask a little later if he still knows
> > them.  If my memory serves me correctly, he remembered them all.
> >
> > I tune one piano every year where the mom gives each kid a set amount of
> > time to be in the room with me as an observer.  I'd think they would be
> > bored silly, but they sit quietly and watch until told their turn is
> > over, then the next one comes in.
> >
> > I referred a customer to another tuner because their very nice grand
> > piano was hard for me to tune as a lefty.  (My long tuning head works on
> > all other grands, but not on this one.)  The customer agreed to the
> > change but later told me the kids said, "Aw!  We *like* our piano
> > tuner!"  Music to the ears.  But the new guy is nice, too.  This life
> > has its drawbacks in some ways, but it's got its blessings, too!  <G>
> >
> > Regards,
> > Clyde
> >
> > Dave Davis wrote:
> >
> > <big snip>
> >
> > > ... tuning for families with kids taking lessons makes it worth it.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> >
> >
>
>
>