PianoTech Archive

  • 1.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-03-1994 08:56
    From Ron Torrella <torrella@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    I can now send copies of Bill's "diatribe" via email to those of you who
    either didn't get a copy at the last convention (I'm under the impression
    that he had copies circulated), lost/gave away your copy, or didn't attend
    the convention.  Since I was unable to attend the convention I was unaware
    that the paper even existed until Bill mentioned it to me on the
    telephone.  (After reading it, I recognized it as being something he had
    apparently long thought of producing in written form--having heard
    basically all of it while visiting with him several years ago.)
    
    The paper is rather opinionated but contains some valid points that would
    make for interesting discussion in PIANOTECH and perhaps beyond. (WARNING:
    Those who tend to be offended by the slightest hint of "bashing" should
    probably pass on this one!)  Bill explicitly invites readers to reproduce
    his paper--in whole or in part.  I have done some very minor editting but
    did nothing to change the basic content.  There are some points I disagree
    with, as I'm sure many will, but I prefer to present the paper as it was
    presented to me.
    
    It would probably be more convenient for me to put the copy in the index
    at PIANOTECH, but I'm not so sure everyone would be able to retrieve the
    document from the index.  And since the document is 21217bytes long, I
    thought it would be rude to just send it indiscriminately to the whole
    list of subscribers.
    
    But I'm rambling on.
    
    If you wa
    .
    
    
    
    
    From pianotech@ptg.org Fri, 04 Nov 1994 13:10:50 -0400 (EDT)
    Date: Fri, 04 Nov 1994 13:10:50 -0400 (EDT)
    From: PSLOANE@OCVAXA.CC.OBERLIN.EDU
    To: pianotech@byu.edu
    Subject: Contributions to PTG Foundation in memory of Danny Boone
    Message-ID: <01HJ2YX45SOY00JFKC@OCVAXA.CC.OBERLIN.EDU>
    
    I just finished talking to Sandy Essary in the Home Office about the above
    subject. People making contributions as part of the College and University
    Technicians' Group should indicate their affiliation in a note with the
    contribution. The Home Office will print all the names who contributed as part
    of that group under Danny's name, of course, noting their "group" affiliation.
    
    I personally think the Foundation is a good idea for the Guild, and I look
    forward in the future to trying to help establish an emphasis in the Foundation
    in documenting the skills and technologies that created the evolution of the
    piano.It disturbs me each time we lose another "old-timer" that we not only
    lose an individual and unique personality, we also lose information that is
    gone forever.
    
    Ken Sloane. Oberlin Conservatory
    


  • 2.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-07-1994 07:49
    From Ron Torrella <torrella@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    Okay, I've got it set up so that anyone, anywhere, any time, can read and
    copy the letter Bill wrote.  You'll need a "lynx" or "www" client (I'm
    under the impression that this is widely available).  From "lynx", type a
    "G" [go] and at the prompt type:  http://ux1.cso.uiuc.edu/~torrella/garlick
    That'll drop you into my directory and open the document called
    "garlick."  If you're interested, you can also read a document called
    "pianocare"--just substitute garlick with pianocare.
    
    In the meanwhile, I'll continue to mail copies on request.  So far, the
    commentary seems to agree--in large part--with Bill.  Interesting!
    
    
    Ron Torrella                  "Dese are de conditions dat prevail."
    School of Music                           --Jimmy Durante
    University of Illinois
    


  • 3.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-08-1994 06:17
    From t.seay@mail.utexas.edu (Thomas D. Seay, III)
    
    >Okay, I've got it set up so that anyone, anywhere, any time, can read and
    >copy the letter Bill wrote.  You'll need a "lynx" or "www" client (I'm
    >under the impression that this is widely available).  From "lynx", type a
    >"G" [go] and at the prompt type:  http://ux1.cso.uiuc.edu/~torrella/garlick
    >That'll drop you into my directory and open the document called
    >"garlick."  If you're interested, you can also read a document called
    >"pianocare"--just substitute garlick with pianocare.
    >
    >In the meanwhile, I'll continue to mail copies on request.  So far, the
    >commentary seems to agree--in large part--with Bill.  Interesting!
    >
    >
    >Ron Torrella                    "Dese are de conditions dat prevail."
    >School of Music                                 --Jimmy Durante
    >University of Illinois
    
    Ron:
    
    I found your directory via my WWW client (MacWeb) & downloaded the
    Diatribe. Worked perfectly. Thanks for making that available for us.
    
    Regards,
    
    Tom Seay
    School of Music
    The University of Texas at Austin
    t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
    


  • 4.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-08-1994 14:50
    From Ron Torrella <torrella@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    On Tue, 8 Nov 1994 t.seay@mail.utexas.edu wrote:
    
    > Ron:
    >
    > I found your directory via my WWW client (MacWeb) & downloaded the
    > Diatribe. Worked perfectly. Thanks for making that available for us.
    
    Tom -
    
    
    Ron Torrella                  "Dese are de conditions dat prevail."
    School of Music                           --Jimmy Durante
    University of Illinois
    


  • 5.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-08-1994 14:53
    From Ron Torrella <torrella@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    On Tue, 8 Nov 1994 t.seay@mail.utexas.edu wrote:
    
    > Ron:
    >
    > I found your directory via my WWW client (MacWeb) & downloaded the
    > Diatribe. Worked perfectly. Thanks for making that available for us.
    
    Tom -
    
    (Rats!  I meant to *cancel*!  Oh well.)
    For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with MacWeb, what are the
    commands you used to find my directory?
    
    Ron Torrella                  "Dese are de conditions dat prevail."
    School of Music                           --Jimmy Durante
    University of Illinois
    


  • 6.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-08-1994 17:45
    From t.seay@mail.utexas.edu (Thomas D. Seay, III)
    
    >On Tue, 8 Nov 1994 t.seay@mail.utexas.edu wrote:
    >
    >> Ron:
    >>
    >> I found your directory via my WWW client (MacWeb) & downloaded the
    >> Diatribe. Worked perfectly. Thanks for making that available for us.
    >
    >Tom -
    >
    >(Rats!  I meant to *cancel*!  Oh well.)
    >For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with MacWeb, what are the
    >commands you used to find my directory?
    >
    >Ron Torrella                    "Dese are de conditions dat prevail."
    >School of Music                                 --Jimmy Durante
    >University of Illinois
    
            After you open MacWeb, you type in (or copy & paste) the URL of
    your choice into a dialogue box which you can access by using either  the
    File Menu or Command - U ( in this case, it happened to be
    http://ux1.cso.uiuc.edu/~torrella/garlick), press Return and voila, there
    you are! Then you simply save the file - in this case Bill's Diatribe -  as
    a text file onto your hard disk, in which ever location (folder) you want
    to.
    
    
    
    
    Regards,
    
    Tom Seay
    School of Music
    The University of Texas at Austin
    t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
    


  • 7.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-09-1994 09:30
    From John Minor <jminor@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    On Tue, 8 Nov 1994, Ron Torrella wrote:
    
    [SNIP]
    > In the meanwhile, I'll continue to mail copies on request.  Sofar, the
    > commentary seems to agree--in large part--with Bill. Interesting!
    
    Ron: Isn't this similar to posting election results from one coast before
    the polls have closed on the other, thereby causing people to decide not
    to vote at all due to the majority of votes being cast with the outcome
    already determined?
    
    I was going to wait and give people time to formulate their own
    conclusions regarding the GARLICK DIATRIBE, but to balance your implied
    "opinion" I'll share mine. : )
    
    The GARLICK DIATRIBE is some of the most SELF-SERVING bit of contentious
    tripe I have ever seen. This type of "whining" points out few NEW "faults"
    with the guild, and I'm certain that when his therapist suggested he write
    it, that he had every intention of having Bill dispose of it when he was
    finished! This is not mere conjecture, but based on personal experience!
    
    As a 14 year member of the guild (not much time by "old-timer" standards)
    I have seen and been part of a great many events of nominal worth.
    However, I believe we shouldn't "throw out the baby with the bath water".
    To make an analogy, I'm sure there are plenty of "sinners" at church on
    Sunday morning, but that doesn't condemn the entire church.
    
    The Guild is made up of individuals who, for whatever reasons, enjoy
    fraternal fellowship along with all of the trappings found in the PTG. The
    damned thing may well be headed in the wrong direction, but so is half of
    the civilized world today! That won't deter my dedication to furthering
    the development of my craft, any more than a church full of sinners won't
    deter my own spiritual growth.
    
    Garlick's reputation has prospered due, in no small part, to the efforts
    of PTG to garner manufacturers support and continuing education. Now that
    he finds his own private efforts to be in conflict with that of the Guild,
    he has decided the Guild is at fault? As to the "demise" of "quality"
    piano technology training, piano technicians, as a whole, tend to be
    extremely stingy with their money, as witnessed at any convention with
    members staying at cheaper hotels nearby, unwilling to tip hotel
    personnel, and avoiding restaurants costing more than the price of a
    whopper. Blaming the Guild for the embarrassing spending habits of its
    membership is "the tail wagging the dog"!
    
    As for those who choose to lay blame for their woes on external sources,
    play the victim role, and who choose to ask that life conform to THEIR
    needs and wants, they are doomed to languish in self-made torment for lack
    of the introspection required to recognize the imbalance of this outlook,
    and to acknowledge the necessity for change, at least in part, to come
    from within.
    
    John Minor
    University of Illinois
    jminor@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
    
    
    
    
    From pianotech@ptg.org Wed, 09 Nov 1994 12:46:29 -0500 (EST)
    Date: Wed, 09 Nov 1994 12:46:29 -0500 (EST)
    From: Daniel.Dover@Dartmouth.EDU (Daniel Dover)
    To: pianotech@byu.edu
    Subject: Re: Bill Garlick's "diatribe"
    Message-ID: <8656381@dancer.Dartmouth.EDU>
    
    WOW!
    Right on, John Minor!
    Down with the Victim Mentality!
    Thanks so much for putting into words how I feel about the tone of this
    document.  It has taken me months to try to get beyond that to see what
    truth, if any, can be learned from its content, separate from its tone or the
    personality traits of its author.  The truth is what matters to me.  I say:
    melt this monstrosity down in the crucible of our professional scrutiny, and
    let's see what's left that's worth talking about.
    
    Danny Dover
    Dartmouth College
    DANIEL.DOVER@DARTMOUTH.EDU
    


  • 8.  Bill Garlick's "diatribe"

    Posted 11-09-1994 17:10
    From John Minor <jminor@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
    
    On Wed, 9 Nov 1994, Michael Wathen 556-9565 wrote:
    
    > Garlick's popularity or good fortune has very little if anything with
    the Guild.  > He happens to be a member and he also happens to be a
    popular teacher.  But his > career as a teacher has arisen independently.
    First at the North Bennett school > and later for a short time working for
    Steinway.
    
    Michael, if it weren't for the Guild, how would technicians have come to
    know about Bill? Perhaps read about him in the sports pages?? The Guild
    has, for better or worse, been a forum which has allowed a great many
    people to share their knowledge and experience in the area of piano
    technology. If the Guild weren't there, something else would be, and we'd
    be bemoaning it's faults!
    
    >
    > I personally, feel some of the same frustrations.  I paid dearly for my
    > knowledge and to exercise a Goodwill giveaway officially encouraged by the Guild
    > leaves with a bitter aftertaste.  Who is it serving?  My main purpose in being
    > in the Guild is self enrichment and I feel no guilt about that.
    >
    > Michael Wathen
    
    Sorry Michael, but this sound self-serving! I believe we are called to
    GIVE, to share with others, the experiences that have helped us to grow as
    humans and piano technicians. I have learned far more from teaching than
    from sitting in a classroom! I've learned a great deal from other
    "volunteer" instructors, and have a desire to pass it along.
    
    I remember as a neophyte tuner calling a local technician to ask a
    question, and I was treated like a mortal enemy! If he's a qualified
    technician, he shouldn't have a thing to worry about "competition"! I'm
    distressed when I hear talk of "the loss of the craftsmen" in the modern
    world, and then realize it's due, in part, the curmudgeons who would
    rather take their skills to the grave than pass them on.
    
    John Minor
    University of Illinois
    jminor@uiuc.edu
    
    
    From pianotech@ptg.org Wed, 09 Nov 1994 16:25:25 -0800 (PST)
    Date: Wed, 09 Nov 1994 16:25:25 -0800 (PST)
    From: Steve Brady <sbrady@u.washington.edu>
    To: pianotech@byu.edu
    Cc: Multiple recipients of list <pianotech@byu.edu>
    Subject: Re: Bill Garlick's Diatribe
    Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.91a.941109160117.71377B-100000@homer06.u.washington.edu>
    
    
    Tom,
    
    I, too, am glad to see some open discussion of Bill's document. I do not
    find it particularly abusive, but the tone is without doubt quite bitter.
    The term "diatribe" was, of course, used by Bill himself.
    
    When someone of Bill's stature and expertise takes the time and effort to
    express his feelings in a document of this size, it must merit our time
    and consideration. After having lived with the diatribe since July,
    however, it seems to me that we must also ask what his motives are. It is
    truly a pity that he isn't on-line to participate in this discussion.
    
    When people raise the alarm that the Guild is going to hell in a
    handbasket, I have to wonder who they are worried about: the profession?
    or their own niche within the profession? Reading the diatribe with that
    question in mind leaves the answer, at least in this case, painfully obvious.
    
    Does PTG still serve the needs and interests of professional piano
    technicians? This is the crucial question as far as I am concerned. I
    believe the steps we have taken in the marketing effort do just that. I
    believe the resource manuals and reprint books we have now also help
    professional technicians to grow as technicians. There are obviously
    other areas in PTG which need attention, and some are being addressed.
    
    Finally, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I can't help but
    wonder if someone like yourself, who remains an Associate member after ten
    years in PTG, has REALLY explored all that the Guild has to offer?
    
    Thanks for listening,
    
    Steve Brady, RPT
    University of Washington
    
    
    On Wed, 9 Nov 1994 twinter@mercury.sfsu.edu wrote:
    
    > Ron,
    >
    > Thank you for taking the time and effort to transcribe and distribute Bill
    > Garlick's "diatribe".  I hesitate to use the word "diatribe", because I did
    > not find it to be either bitter or abusive, though others may think
    > differently.  In fact, I found it refreshing.  We may question Bill's motives
    > for writing it, but the points he makes are still valid.
    >
    > This document generated a most interesting conversation with Max, the other
    > piano technician here.  I have become increasingly more uncomfortable with the
    > PTG over the last few years, as I seem to be getting less and less from the
    > organization. I have often questioned whether this is the result of a trend in
    > the Guild or my maturing as a technician and thus needing less from the
    > organization.  Max attended PTG meetings in the early sixties, and remembers
    > them as a group of professional piano technicians sitting around, consuming
    > coffee and donuts, and discussing issues of importance to them: the IRS,
    > business licenses, who was willing to tune birdcages, who was willing to do
    > shopwork for other technicians, and all the latest information on sources of
    > materials and supplies.  In short it, was a support group, not unlike this
    > forum.  There were never chapter technicals; those were presented at the
    > regional and national conferences.  Even when I joined the PTG ten years ago,
    > a little of this collegial atmosphere remained, though usually it occurred in
    > a bar across the street after the meetings.  Alas, now it is all but gone.
    >
    > When viewed on a scale of thirty years, there is no question that the guild is
    > changing and it raises the question of whether it is continuing to serve the
    > needs of the professional piano technician.
    >
    > Tom Winter
    > San Francisco State University
    >
    >