CAUT

  • 1.  Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-04-2024 14:16

    Greetings,

    We at the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts are creating a proposal for a minor in Piano Technology. While I have trained a hundred-plus people over the past forty years, it has been in a mode best described as the "Combat Apprenticeship" (IOW, beyond piano cleaning and tuning, trainees learn to handle other issues as they crop up). I have taught a class called "Shop Help: A Guide to Effective Selection, Training and Supervision of Piano Shop Assistants" numerous times at regional and national conventions. In it, I compare and contrast the Combat Apprenticeship with the trade school approach.

    Now we are considering offering a formalized course of study. To this end,

    I would like to know how counterparts at other institutions that offer courses in Piano Technology structure their class(es)/programs.

    1)    How long have you been doing this?

    2)    What class(es) is/are offered?

    3)    What are the criteria for passing a class?

    4)    Do you offer a single class, or a course of study?

    5)    How many students do you have at any given time?

    6)    How do you balance group learning with individual instruction?

    7)    Are you the sole instructor?

    8)    What work is required outside of class time?

    9)    Do you provide tools and materials (such as a tuning lever and mutes, and action models), or do you require students to obtain their own?

    10)  What is the relationship between students in the class(es) and students on the Piano Shop crew (if you have a student-based shop crew)?

    11)  What form of certification, if any, is offered?

    12) How has this minor been received by the students at your school?

    13) Any other relevant points that you can think of that I have not?

    Please respond either on these lists or to me privately, whichever you prefer.

    Thanks,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-04-2024 14:52
    Several questions come to mind.

    1. Is the intent of the course make a student a full time technician ready to make a living upon graduation, or as a supplement to another degree, either in music or another subject?

    2. How does the other faculty feel about this course, especially the piano professors? 

    3. Will there be any prerequisite courses for any of the degree courses?

    Wim  







  • 3.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-04-2024 16:25

    Wim,

    1) As per the OP, this would be a minor course of study, not a major. Although many people that got their start in piano technology training with me are enjoying substantial careers in the field, I do not envision that what we would offer, by itself, would prepare participants to jump into a full-time career. That said, I have had some especially talented and motivated trainees launch successful careers with less training than what this minor would likely involve.

    2) When the idea of doing this was floated at a recent faculty meeting (not by me, but by someone else), the response was overwhelmingly positive. When asked to comment, I pointed out that while no one in their right mind would pay CalArts' tuition just to study piano technology (which they could do more quickly and for less money at North Bennett Street School), prospective students choosing among various desirable schools that have accepted them may find the scales tip towards the one(s) that offer minors through which they could actually earn a living. Then the faculty liked the idea even more, as did our admissions liaison.

       As for the piano faculty themselves, for decades they have referred their students to me for training in piano servicing.

    3) Based on preliminary discussion with our dean, prerequisite courses would include music history, music theory, acoustics, ear training and a team-taught course on building musical instruments.

    Best,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-05-2024 08:33

    1)    How long have you been doing this?

    • In the 80s, BYU offered a degree program in piano tech. For the last few decades, it is a student job (apprenticeship). Last year, we offered a intro class about how pianos work for anyone interested.  

    2)    What class(es) is/are offered?

    • Part time jobs and a one semester intro course

    3)    What are the criteria for passing a class?

    • The student apprentices can receive pay raises if they complete proficiency exams. 
    • In the class, there is a hands-on midterm and final. As well as smaller homework assignments and quizzes. 

    4)    Do you offer a single class, or a course of study?

    • Single class to everyone. Apprenticeship to a select few. 

    5)    How many students do you have at any given time?

    • Class has around 30 students. We typically have 4 apprentices. 

    6)    How do you balance group learning with individual instruction?

    • In the class, most everything is group learning with 2 opportunities in the semester for more one-on-one mentoring. Apprentices are nearly always one-on-one. 

    7)    Are you the sole instructor?

    • No, Rick Baldassin and I work together 

    8)    What work is required outside of class time?

    • The class requires small homework assignments, usually a reading and a response.
    • Students usually work 15 or so hours per week, tuning and working in the shop. 

    9)    Do you provide tools and materials (such as a tuning lever and mutes, and action models), or do you require students to obtain their own?

    • We provide tools 

    10)  What is the relationship between students in the class(es) and students on the Piano Shop crew (if you have a student-based shop crew)?

    • The class and the apprenticeship are pretty separate. 

    11)  What form of certification, if any, is offered?

    • None, we encourage them to get their RPT if they want a certification. 

    12) How has this minor been received by the students at your school?

    • The class and the apprenticeship program and supported by admins and in high demand from the students!

    13) Any other relevant points that you can think of that I have not?

    • Mentoring is one of the things I love about my job! 


    ------------------------------
    Jason Cassel, MA, RPT
    Piano Technician
    BYU School of Music
    (801)422-3400
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-05-2024 08:56

    Hey Jason,

    Thanks so much for sharing the benefit of your real-world experience with formal instruction in Piano Technology. Very helpful.

    You mentioned that you co-taught with Rick Baldassin. Could you please go into some detail about the nature of your collaboration?

    Thanks again,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-05-2024 10:08

    Jason,

    I, too, love teaching and mentoring.

    Re-reading your post, could you please define what you mean by "apprentice" in this context?

    Thanks,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-05-2024 18:36

    You mentioned that you co-taught with Rick Baldassin. Could you please go into some detail about the nature of your collaboration?

    • Rick and I teach the class together. When building the class, we discussed what topics we wanted to cover and then I built slides with videos and images to support those topics. We also have hands-on elements of class that we use a camera to capture. Each week, we decide who will cover what topics in the class. 

    could you please define what you mean by "apprentice" in this context?

    • At BYU, we don't have an official program. We just have a student job. So instead of working at the campus food court, they can work for us. They aren't studying piano technology. They are pursuing degrees in other areas. Mostly we hire music majors, but we also have an engineering student and a microbiologist! 
    • I call them apprentices because that's how I see them. We teach them tuning before we hire them. Then they tune a piano a day (5 per week) and are assigned a project piano in the shop. At first they start on an upright piano. They rebush the keys and file the hammers, align the parts and level the keys and then regulate. After a year, they can get a pay raise if they can pass an upright proficiency. Then they move onto grands and do the same process (plus repinning). After their grand proficiency, they get more involved in rebuilding (stringing, touchweight, hammer boring, etc).    


    ------------------------------
    Jason Cassel, MA, RPT
    Piano Technician
    BYU School of Music
    (801)422-3400
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Class(es) in Piano Technology at your school

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12-09-2024 18:49

    Jason,

    Thanks so much for sharing these details (and apologies for the delayed response... it IS end-of-semester crunch time!).

    Best,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------