Pianotech

One of the reasons we have a shortage of CTE's is because we don't seem to be getting enough tuners with the aural skills to qualify. There might come a time when we don't have enough aurally skilled tuners to qualify for the CTE qualification. What do we do then? 

Three statements have been made why an RPT needs to have the aural skills to become an RPT. 1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. 2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. 3 Unisons are the most important interval.  I want to answer these three points.

1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. That, to me, is the most ridiculous reason why an RPT needs to know how to tune aurally. If the battery on a calculator runs out of power, an accountant isn't going to add up the numbers the old fashioned way. He's going to find some batteries, and reschedule the appointment. Having an ETD malfunction is an equipment malfunction, and should not be a reason why aural skills are needed, anymore than if you car runs out of gas and you can't get to your customer. Either carry a spare battery or power cord, or reschedule the appointment.

2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. That is a good reason why an RPT should have aural skills. But then let's test for that  Instead of tuning Part 1, and checking for errors, why not turn it around? Untune 4 notes in the midrange, and have the candidate not only find those mistakes, but also correct them. And not just in the midrange. Detune 2 notes in each octave, and have the candidate find and tune those note. For this, the piano would not need to be master tuned. Tune the piano to an ETD, and detune notes like when we de-tune the piano now, but only 4 in the midrange, and 2 in each of the other octaves.

3.  Unisons are the most important interval. Not only do I agree with that, but I think we need to test more than just the middle 2 octaves. We should test unisons in every octave. Maybe all the d's , f's, and a's.  It show a more comprehensive ability to tune in all octaves.

ETD's are here to stay. Yes, there are still tuners who tune aurally, and I applaud them. But for the PTG to survive, we need to look beyond the skills of an aural tuner, and use an ETD's ability to test our tuning skills. Finding and correcting mistakes in as important, of not more so, than tuning a temperament from scratch. An tuning unisons in octave 7 takes much more skill than tuning a unison in octave 3.

As has been pointed out, becoming a CTE is more than tuning a piano aurally at 90%. That's just the first step. Part of the process of becoming a CTE also includes knowing how to use the different ETD's and knowing how to score the exam. And the most important skill in being a CTE is the human skill. Being able to talk with candidates, those who pass, and those who do not pass, is a very crucial part of being a CTE. We need to retain that training. But in order to recruit a new class of CTE candidates, maybe we can shift our focus away from the aural requirement of being a CTE, and concentrate on the other aspects.

There are other ways we can test aural skills. Let's use all the latest technology to help us.


 

One of the reasons we have a shortage of CTE's is because we don't seem to be getting enough tuners with the aural skills to qualify. There might come a time when we don't have enough aurally skilled tuners to qualify for the CTE qualification. What do we do then? 

Three statements have been made why an RPT needs to have the aural skills to become an RPT. 1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. 2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. 3 Unisons are the most important interval.  I want to answer these three points.

1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. That, to me, is the most ridiculous reason why an RPT needs to know how to tune aurally. If the battery on a calculator runs out of power, an accountant isn't going to add up the numbers the old fashioned way. He's going to find some batteries, and reschedule the appointment. Having an ETD malfunction is an equipment malfunction, and should not be a reason why aural skills are needed, anymore than if you car runs out of gas and you can't get to your customer. Either carry a spare battery or power cord, or reschedule the appointment.

2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. That is a good reason why an RPT should have aural skills. But then let's test for that  Instead of tuning Part 1, and checking for errors, why not turn it around? Untune 4 notes in the midrange, and have the candidate not only find those mistakes, but also correct them. And not just in the midrange. Detune 2 notes in each octave, and have the candidate find and tune those note. For this, the piano would not need to be master tuned. Tune the piano to an ETD, and detune notes like when we de-tune the piano now, but only 4 in the midrange, and 2 in each of the other octaves.

3.  Unisons are the most important interval. Not only do I agree with that, but I think we need to test more than just the middle 2 octaves. We should test unisons in every octave. Maybe all the d's , f's, and a's.  It show a more comprehensive ability to tune in all octaves.

ETD's are here to stay. Yes, there are still tuners who tune aurally, and I applaud them. But for the PTG to survive, we need to look beyond the skills of an aural tuner, and use an ETD's ability to test our tuning skills. Finding and correcting mistakes in as important, of not more so, than tuning a temperament from scratch. An tuning unisons in octave 7 takes much more skill than tuning a unison in octave 3.

As has been pointed out, becoming a CTE is more than tuning a piano aurally at 90%. That's just the first step. Part of the process of becoming a CTE also includes knowing how to use the different ETD's and knowing how to score the exam. And the most important skill in being a CTE is the human skill. Being able to talk with candidates, those who pass, and those who do not pass, is a very crucial part of being a CTE. We need to retain that training. But in order to recruit a new class of CTE candidates, maybe we can shift our focus away from the aural requirement of being a CTE, and concentrate on the other aspects.

There are other ways we can test aural skills. Let's use all the latest technology to help us.


 

One of the reasons we have a shortage of CTE's is because we don't seem to be getting enough tuners with the aural skills to qualify. There might come a time when we don't have enough aurally skilled tuners to qualify for the CTE qualification. What do we do then? 

Three statements have been made why an RPT needs to have the aural skills to become an RPT. 1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. 2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. 3 Unisons are the most important interval.  I want to answer these three points.

1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. That, to me, is the most ridiculous reason why an RPT needs to know how to tune aurally. If the battery on a calculator runs out of power, an accountant isn't going to add up the numbers the old fashioned way. He's going to find some batteries, and reschedule the appointment. Having an ETD malfunction is an equipment malfunction, and should not be a reason why aural skills are needed, anymore than if you car runs out of gas and you can't get to your customer. Either carry a spare battery or power cord, or reschedule the appointment.

2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. That is a good reason why an RPT should have aural skills. But then let's test for that  Instead of tuning Part 1, and checking for errors, why not turn it around? Untune 4 notes in the midrange, and have the candidate not only find those mistakes, but also correct them. And not just in the midrange. Detune 2 notes in each octave, and have the candidate find and tune those note. For this, the piano would not need to be master tuned. Tune the piano to an ETD, and detune notes like when we de-tune the piano now, but only 4 in the midrange, and 2 in each of the other octaves.

3.  Unisons are the most important interval. Not only do I agree with that, but I think we need to test more than just the middle 2 octaves. We should test unisons in every octave. Maybe all the d's , f's, and a's.  It show a more comprehensive ability to tune in all octaves.

ETD's are here to stay. Yes, there are still tuners who tune aurally, and I applaud them. But for the PTG to survive, we need to look beyond the skills of an aural tuner, and use an ETD's ability to test our tuning skills. Finding and correcting mistakes in as important, of not more so, than tuning a temperament from scratch. An tuning unisons in octave 7 takes much more skill than tuning a unison in octave 3.

As has been pointed out, becoming a CTE is more than tuning a piano aurally at 90%. That's just the first step. Part of the process of becoming a CTE also includes knowing how to use the different ETD's and knowing how to score the exam. And the most important skill in being a CTE is the human skill. Being able to talk with candidates, those who pass, and those who do not pass, is a very crucial part of being a CTE. We need to retain that training. But in order to recruit a new class of CTE candidates, maybe we can shift our focus away from the aural requirement of being a CTE, and concentrate on the other aspects.

There are other ways we can test aural skills. Let's use all the latest technology to help us.


 

One of the reasons we have a shortage of CTE's is because we don't seem to be getting enough tuners with the aural skills to qualify. There might come a time when we don't have enough aurally skilled tuners to qualify for the CTE qualification. What do we do then? 

Three statements have been made why an RPT needs to have the aural skills to become an RPT. 1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. 2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. 3 Unisons are the most important interval.  I want to answer these three points.

1. In case the ETD breaks down, the RPT can still tune a piano, aurally. That, to me, is the most ridiculous reason why an RPT needs to know how to tune aurally. If the battery on a calculator runs out of power, an accountant isn't going to add up the numbers the old fashioned way. He's going to find some batteries, and reschedule the appointment. Having an ETD malfunction is an equipment malfunction, and should not be a reason why aural skills are needed, anymore than if you car runs out of gas and you can't get to your customer. Either carry a spare battery or power cord, or reschedule the appointment.

2. An RPT needs to have aural skills to make sure the ETD is operating correctly. That is a good reason why an RPT should have aural skills. But then let's test for that  Instead of tuning Part 1, and checking for errors, why not turn it around? Untune 4 notes in the midrange, and have the candidate not only find those mistakes, but also correct them. And not just in the midrange. Detune 2 notes in each octave, and have the candidate find and tune those note. For this, the piano would not need to be master tuned. Tune the piano to an ETD, and detune notes like when we de-tune the piano now, but only 4 in the midrange, and 2 in each of the other octaves.

3.  Unisons are the most important interval. Not only do I agree with that, but I think we need to test more than just the middle 2 octaves. We should test unisons in every octave. Maybe all the d's , f's, and a's.  It show a more comprehensive ability to tune in all octaves.

ETD's are here to stay. Yes, there are still tuners who tune aurally, and I applaud them. But for the PTG to survive, we need to look beyond the skills of an aural tuner, and use an ETD's ability to test our tuning skills. Finding and correcting mistakes in as important, of not more so, than tuning a temperament from scratch. An tuning unisons in octave 7 takes much more skill than tuning a unison in octave 3.

As has been pointed out, becoming a CTE is more than tuning a piano aurally at 90%. That's just the first step. Part of the process of becoming a CTE also includes knowing how to use the different ETD's and knowing how to score the exam. And the most important skill in being a CTE is the human skill. Being able to talk with candidates, those who pass, and those who do not pass, is a very crucial part of being a CTE. We need to retain that training. But in order to recruit a new class of CTE candidates, maybe we can shift our focus away from the aural requirement of being a CTE, and concentrate on the other aspects.

There are other ways we can test aural skills. Let's use all the latest technology to help us.