Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021, 7:30pm Eastern - Ryan Sowers Register HERE Cyborg Tuning: "The best of both worlds" Passcode 304935 The debate rages on: Which is best: Aural or Electronic tuning? As a staunch "aural tuning or die" tuner for many years, I finally deviated from the world of beats to the world of cents and visual displays and have taken my tuning work to a whole new level. Learn how to harness the power of the ETD and use your ear to guide and refine the ideal tuning that exists in every piano. This class will include the following topics - Strengths and weaknesses of electronic tuning devices
- Strengths and weaknesses of "aural only"
- How to efficiently use an EDT in "manual override"
- Optimizing stretch
- Foolproof top octave
 Ryan has been an active member of the Piano Technicians Guild since 1992 and a Certified Tuning Examiner since 1997. His experience includes intensive training with Steinway & Sons, both at their New York factory and at Oberlin Conservatory. He has also attended week long seminars with Shigeru Kawai, Yamaha, and the Rappaport Piano Workshop in Round Rock Texas. Ryan was the 2013 Recipient of the Pacific NW region's James Burton Award.
You can learn more about me here:https://pianova.net/about/ and https://pianova.net/ryans-resume/
Monday, February 8th, 2021, 7:30pm Eastern - Norman Brickman, MPT Register HERE Learning Aural Piano Tuning
Passcode: 854956  This session will introduce John Travis's (PTG Co-President,1957) approach to aural tuning. We'll explain its ease, accuracy and advantages while demonstrating it from start to finish. We'll introduce the partials (overtones), you'll get an opportunity to hear the beats that musical intervals produce with their coincident partials, and we'll review the tests that maintain accuracy as you tune.
Norman Brickman, MPT, was formally educated in piano tuning and technology with Mr. John Travis at Montgomery College, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 1975-76. He had additional training in piano technology including an apprenticeship under Mr. William Hupfer, formerly the chief tuner-technician of the Concert Department of Steinway & Sons, New York City; and an apprenticeship under Mr. Fred Hemry, a registered Piano Technician in Bethesda, Maryland. Other higher education includes a master's degree in Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Physics. Norman has been an active member of Master Piano Technicians of America for many years.
Thursday, February 18th, 2021, 7:30pm Eastern- Mark Cerisano Register HERE Double string unisons
Passcode: 701618 
Cracking the Unison. Shimming the Unison. These are terms that refer to a technique of finely changing unison pitches that has been around for decades. But did you know that you could tune the whole piano that way, and that it could be more Accurate, Precise, and Efficient than just tuning single strings? Join us on February 18th at 7:30pm EST and find out. Mark Cerisano is a Registered Piano Technician that has devoted his life to improving aural piano tuning techniques. He has taken his mechanical engineering background and used it to test a lot of assumptions we have as aural piano tuners; assumptions that sometimes lead us down a rabbit hole. He has used his education background to develop explanations of concepts that make understanding how to tune a piano aurally simple to understand. He has written five books and had four articles published in the Journal and is currently organizing the first ever International Online Aural Piano Tuning Conference for February 26 - 28, 2021.
Thursday, February 25th, 2021, 7:30pm Eastern - BEN GAC Technical Trainer, Steinway & Sons Register HERE The Goldilocks Zone Passcode 673727  Ben Gac has been the Technical Trainer at Steinway and Sons New York since 2014. He began his career in piano technology by attending The Chicago School for Piano Technology the first year the school opened. Years later, Ben became an instructor there and continued developing his passion for piano technology education through teaching and administrating in local and national PTG events, as well as serving as a Certified Tuning Examiner. Ben now combines his expertise of Steinway pianos with training by acting as Steinway's factory trainer. He has assisted Steinway in improving the quality and consistency of its instruments through cross-training, tooling, process improvements, and technique unification and standardization. Ben has spearheaded Steinway's recently launched Apprenticeship Program, a factory-oriented paid to learn opportunity for craftsperson-minded individuals who want to begin a career with Steinway as its next generation of piano builders.
Come and share your expertise. Join us as we help expand knowledge, improve skills, and share experience! Find a day, any day that works for you, and schedule a ZOOM technical presentation. While the Southeast Region has not hosted a "conference" in several years, there have been several learning opportunities. Don't let this COVID bug win! I KNOW there are other folks with the means and where-with-all to put on a Zoom class. Education is the key to advancement. It is also the key to self-improvement, and continuous improvement is a foundational element of PTG. LET'S DO THIS!!! Contact Bill Davis, SERVP HERE, and schedule a ZOOM Seminar. |