In need of some encouragement

[A440A at aol.com]

<<  with my aural temperament tuning.<snip>I have been practicing at 

home and at customers' homes for a few months now, and I still just 

can't do it right.<< 

Well, duh, aurally tuning an ET to test standards isn't something one usually 
does after "a few months".  Give yourself a break,  I suggest a year's 
progress will get 99% of those that apply themselves past the tests.  
 
>>My main problem, I think, 

is, I just can't always hear the beats. <snip> . Are my ears the problem? 

Is it my brain?<<

   Yea, maybe.  Learn where the exact pitch is for the partials you want to 
hear,  prompt yourself by playing that note before the interval, and then 
aurally search for  the beating at that pitch.  It will happen, but not in few 
months. 


>>Second, I am discouraged with my business. I could use some more 

customers. I have gotten every kind of marketing advice imaginable - 

that's not what I need. I am unhappy because I am kind of shy, and I 

just don't do some of those assertive things that many business people 

do. It doesn't come naturally for me to sell myself.<< 

     Shyness is the opposite of promotion, and without promotion, few 
businesses survive.  
 
>>Maybe I don't have the right personality to 

run my own business.  >>

That is entirely possible, however, there may be changes that would help. 
First, ask yourself if you are willing to actively promote your business. if you 
can't do it, you will dry up and blow away in this trade, (or you may be able 
to hire on at a store as a full service tech and let them promote you, (for 
their cut).  
      Your business will, ultimately, shape itself around you and your 
approach to life.  As you become more confident in your skill set, it will show 
through.  Since customers usually respond to confidence on the non-verbal level, 
how you feel about yourself is how the customer will feel about you and your 
work.  It is hard to fake, at least, for any length of time.
     Don't be hard on yourself after this short a period of time.  You want 
steady progress, not perfection. 
Good luck, 



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html