tough enough

[Leslie Bartlett]

When I completed my pilot's license, I was told, "This is official
permission for you to LEARN to fly."  The assumption that passing with high
marks was not enough. It only registered one had a basic understanding.
Half of my 250 hours logged was take-offs and landings, because there was so
much to learn.   Every time I touch a concert piano I am aware of the
hundreds of ways to screw up a tuning, and work with some fear and
trembling.  Yet I do well because I am basically a responsible person, and
consider the customer important, not because I took some test.  I thought
the tuning test was quite hard because of the pressure brought to bear
psychologically, not because of the difficulty of the test itself.   "Tough
enough" is very simplistic, leaving lots of issues untended which I have,
for years felt attention was needed.   One can be highly qualified and NOT
pass the test, ever.  That, too is unfair.   My work speaks for itself
(www.bartlettpianoservice.com), and my list of satisfied customers keeps
growing.  I gained not one tiny bit of confidence from having passed that
test, but only as a consistent work record was established.  I think there
is yet much needed discussion about the whole issue of the tuning test.  les
bartlett
houston

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Israel Stein
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2007 9:00 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: tough enough

At 06:11 PM 8/10/2007, Don <pianotuna at accesscomm.ca>
  wrote:

>Hi Chuck,
>
>It is my understanding that no one has yet received a perfect score on 
>the tuning exam. Imho that makes it "tough enough".

Don Tuna,

You don't judge an exam by how hard it is to achieve perfection. You judge
it by how easy it is to pass. And an 80% tuning isn't anything to crow
about. Neither are unisons which are off by the maximum tolerance that still
gets you the point. People with a pair of functioning ears in their heads
who learned how to use them wouldn't be happy with either. Which is why many
tuners feel that the exam is not " tough enough".

Israel Stein


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