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Of all the things!

  • 1.  Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 13:39

    Hey all.  We have our Southeast Piano Festival here this week.

     

    Just now with a half hour to tune, the guest artist noticed that the lyre was about LESS than a ¼" off of square.  We've had this piano for 4 years (new)  and nobody noticed it.  It took a minute to see it wasn't exactly square and not one person has noticed it, even me. It was a factory goof. I was not involved in picking it out. Just 2 Piano Profs who flew to NY Steinway factory. 

     

    So, of course, the anal artist asked if it could be put square.  It was obviously a factory flaw. She is obessed with symmetry I guess.

     

    I swear that not one pianist knows what this would entail, and I told her this is a woodworking impossibility in my ½ hour of time I had.

     

    Why do 99% of all other instrumentalists understand their instrument and pianists know nothing??

     

    Nothing is wrong with the piano or lyre/trapwork and all works perfectly.  What the hell?? Less than ¼"???

     

    Go away festival!  I still have 2 more days of these idiots.

     

    Paul



  • 2.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 13:44

    I also get crap all the time from these Divas: 

    "Can you make it brighter?" during intermission.

    "Can you make it play faster?" yesterday for the previous artist with my 1 hour tuning time.

     

    What planet are these guys from??

    P

     

    I would love to hear your freak show stories.

     

    Paul

     

     

     






  • 3.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 13:57
    Just say no. What are they going to do, fire you?





  • 4.  RE: Of all the things!

    Posted 06-16-2022 16:39
    I would rather hear stories of piano technicians who respond gracefully to artists who express their concerns under performance pressure.
    Putting down artists degrades our profession.
    David Anderson often said: "If you don't want to be a servant, you don't want to be a piano technician."

    ------------------------------
    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    (980) 254-7413
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 16:55
    Well Ed, I have a thousand positives I can say. This week has one for the books. 






  • 6.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 18:58

    A very good point, Ed.

    My proudest one was when Jon Nakamatsu came with his clarinetist friend, and 1/2 hour before the concert gave me a little list of things he wanted different. Pedal lift sooner; voice down both the shift and the non-shift, still having them different from each other (the clarinetist was able to play amazingly softly.) ... I forget what else.

    I got through the list, he noticed and thanked me after the concert, and, amazingly, when he returned a couple of years later he remembered! He left me a note saying, "you know how I like it."

    What struck me about this was the feeling that a piano technician who could actually follow instructions was a rarity for these people.






  • 7.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 18:47

    I sympathize, truly. But I have a contrary story.

    Yachats Festival (kind of unique place, pronounce the name with the accent on the first syllable, and imagine sneezing.)

    Young Asian pianist (one of many pianists there), she very politely asked me to voice down a particular note. It was right in the thick of things, I didn't find a single minute to deal with it.

    Saw her out back during intermission. She effusively thanked me for looking after the problem! I think I said something like, "so glad it worked for you." I definitely did NOT say that I had done anything about it.

    PLACEBO, wonderful word.

    If you had somehow taken some black magic marker up near the keybed and made it LOOK like the lyre was 1/4" different?






  • 8.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 19:14

    Susan, I definitely agree with you regarding the PLACEBO effect. And I think the bottom line in dealing with these artists is realizing that they are SO human  AND, when "in the thick of it" and when their nerves are on edge or their feeling a bit anxious…many times they kind of look to us or "turn to us" as techs, or possibly other support team members for a little support or help…whatever you call it-to help them through. 

    Many times just saying, "okay let me see what I can do!"
    or just "I'll give it my best!" Will many times take their attention off of the ISSUE or whatever SEEMS to be bothering them, etc-just long enough for them to get through the moment and then many times they don't even notice the "issue" during performance…or at least it somehow "seemed better". 

    I can only remember ONE encounter with a guest professor during my decade at Texas Tech school of music in which no matter what I did or tried…this lady was just COMPLETELY fixated on a particular voicing issue with one note on a LIKE NEW, AMAZING FAZIOLI 278. It was a recording session and she was (apparently expecting the MOON). But she finally bowed out gracefully and I found out soon thereafter that she also had similar issues at the HUGE University where she was on staff. So it was just a "weird deal" and no repercussions, etc. 
    David Anderson had it right with these performers. We all miss him. 



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 19:31

    Yes, Kevin, sometimes people have a physical medical issue with one particular note. Impossible to do anything for them, except sometimes just physically leaning over the piano and using a chopstick tool (with a very short needle) might make them feel listened to and respected.






  • 10.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 20:26
    Exactly! I did voice the note down about 3 times-but then I was approaching the point of no return so to speak and we just had to tell her we are very sorry but we cannot alter it any further-it would then be an issue for our faculty/staff/students!!

    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 20:31
    They may be suffering from hyperacusis.

    ------------------------------
    Larry Messerly, RPT
    Bringing Harmony to Homes
    www.lacrossepianotuning.com
    ljmesserly@gmail.com
    928-899-7292
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 13:55
    Which side of the lyre is too far forward or backwards?  How is this 1/4" affecting her pedaling?  Instead of repositioning the lyre, would be possible to add a 1/4 piece of plywood to the bottom of her shoe, or asker to take off her shoe?  How about moving the bench forward or backward a 1/4"? When is she leaving?

    Wim 





  • 13.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 15:09

    I had a "concert pianist" once who was upset because her piano didn't sound good to her after I had tuned it. Now, she hadn't played a concert in over three decades and the piano was an off brand from the 1950s. But it was my fault, of course. She insisted I come back, so I drove an hour away just to end up nicely but firmly telling her the problem was with the piano, not the piano tuner. For whatever reason she didn't call back, LOL. 

    If you know you did your job right, sometimes you just have to put your foot down and tell them so. Adapting the words of the great Montgomery Scott, "I'm just a piano tuner, not a miracle worker!"



    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-16-2022 22:43
    By any chance, were you looking for suggestions for squaring it? (After that crowd went back where they belonged…)

    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Of all the things!

    Member
    Posted 06-17-2022 09:02

     Was one side of the lyre forward or back than the other ? Maybe tapping the lyre forward or back on that end would have fixed it or just the attempt would have calmed the nerves of the artist. The best response a technician can make is to reply I will see what I can do or I will try to fix the problem in the time I have. Keep in mind there are artists that have all sorts of things going through their minds and many can be obsessed with things that in their minds are out of place.

    Franz Mohr stated to our Chapter a few years ago that he had to through specifications out the window so that the piano was satisfactory to Horowitz . The touch was so sensitive that the rumor was you could blow across the keys and they would play. It seems like a stretch but I think it is our job to make the artist as comfortable as possible with the piano .

    99.9 % of the pianists never noticed the issue but this one did. Time to investigate is later when the festival has ended

    ------------------------------
    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 14:04

    I still wonder if a little bit of optical illusion might make that 1/4" asymmetry "disappear." Not as if the lyre wasn't working properly.

    There are a few problems that get out of the factory, even for a magnificent D like I'm privileged to work on. The wedging for the rear leg is just a trace out of true. Once a year or so I check it, and give the wedge a few whacks. It has sometimes shifted outward about a quarter inch. Whack inward, then whack upward, then whack inward again, all done.






  • 17.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 16:27

    Susan, EXACTLY. And what a great example. 

    I have another example of a leg issue-"ADD Version of the story….I would be surprised if that leg EVER gets loose again on that piano! George Winston was scheduled the following week and my adrenaline was a BIT HIGH!! 



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 17:56
    New D they don't do the wedge anyore






  • 19.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 22:10

    Yes, Paul, I saw that the wedges were historical now.

    I PROBABLY don't mind, but then the question comes, what might go wrong with the new system, and we haven't figured it out yet?






  • 20.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 22:03

    George Winston -- what fun. After an incredibly irate bunch of negotiations when a damned lawyer for the City of Corvallis decided I needed to sign a huge "contract" totally misfitting my work, after 30 years of working for the city without one, and not a trace of trouble, I got together with a guy at the local theater and we went through the damned thing. It was full of stuff appropriate for a contractor building buildings for the city, with dozens of workers! Told me where I couldn't park, wanted over a million dollars in liability insurance (what, does Corvallis intend to sue me for a million dollars?) had pages and pages of crap totally unrelated to me. We finally got something I was willing to sign, though I was still hopping mad.

    The impetus for the theater guy to move ahead with it was that the theater was about to have two concerts with George Winston, and he'd seen that quite remarkable contract Of George's. And I'd tuned for George, and pleased him, twice. I had pointed out to the theater guy that if I wasn't there to tune for George, he'd have to find some general piano tech to take it on, who ALSO would probably have taken one look at the city contract and told him where he could shove it.

    And after rebuilding and resuscitation of a battered Baldwin SD 10 in Monmouth, under very difficult conditions, with excellent results and no contract at all, and having tuned it for them a number of times and also having cleaned it up from more getting banged around, suddenly they also asked for a garden variety tuning but required for the first time a huge wad of a contract. And I told them simply, NO.

    George was fun. He amazed me by remembering both my two concerts and Jeff Hickey's, both of which were long ago, in Newport. Amazing memory. The theater has a decent 7 foot Yamaha (contract wanted a Steinway) but their artist bench was really old and noisy. I borrowed an immaculate like new one from a customer, got it there, did his usual prep, stayed back stage for both shows. He was extremely cordial, gave me multiple CD's. The owner of the like-new bench, 75, couldn't attend because both shows were sold out, but she asked that he sign the bench, which he did, with a nice little tribute. He said it was the first time he'd ever been asked to sign a bench! I showed him a trick to brighten up the voicing of an individual note, for which he was very grateful. He tends to use those thin rubber mutes to point out the treble unisons to check. I've noticed that a lot of time the ones he pointed out had more voicing than tuning issues. By the last intermission, he left only 4 mutes for me to check. Something of a record.

    I remember the first time I tuned for George, and the Arts Center director (as then was) asked me how I had pleased him so much. "Oh, a little of this, a little of that ..."







  • 21.  RE: Of all the things!

    Posted 06-18-2022 08:09
    George's contract is famous among piano technicians, but it's really just asking for a decent piano, properly prepared and tuned. 
    He played two benefit concerts for Habitat on an old Mason & Hamlin A.
    He had marked a few unisons for touch-up, saying "These sound like false beats, but just see if you can make them any better." 
    He probably paid the material costs for two houses with those concerts.

    ------------------------------
    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    (980) 254-7413
    ------------------------------



  • 22.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 09:34
    Actually (when you come down to the practicalities, based on tuning for him many times), George Winston mostly demands clean and stable unisons and a bench that doesn't wobble or squeak. In the early days (35-40 years ago) he specified some things about tuning, I suspect based on experience with people using a Stroboconn without any stretch.

    I think the clean and stable unisons thing was very healthy for our profession: here was someone who wasn't shy about demanding what we should take for granted. Obviously he experienced many tunings with unisons that went out during the first half of the concert, hence his demand for an intermission touch up. And his meticulous marking of every suspicious unison showed he had a good ear, and why would we expect that he or any professional level pianist wouldn't?

    I know that tuning for him in the 1980s got me to focus on what mattered most in tuning (and not just in the concert hall), and it has served me in good stead ever since.

    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    "When I smell a flower, I don't think about how it was cultivated. I like to listen to music the same way." Mompou






  • 23.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 10:35
    Ed,
    I had the same experience with George Winston. There were indeed false beats on the D he was playing, but my impression was that it was his generous way of letting me or any other technician save face if we actually had left a few weak unisons. On another occasion I tuned a Young Chang 185 for him and he adjusted his expectations for the overall experience by just wanting good tuning and solid unisons and overlooking any other issues. He ended up liking the piano and having a good concert. A very gracious artist to work with.

    Regards,
    ~ jeannie

    Jeannie Grassi
    PTG Registered Piano Technician
    Bainbridge Island, WA
    206-842-3721
    grassipianos@gmail.com




  • 24.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 10:35

    Susan, love this story! Like "war stories"…which is an actual structured "time" at our South Central Regional Conferences over the years….usually around a nice bonfire. 🤓🤓🤓
    I absolutely LOVE George Winston, his music and working with him was SO enjoyable! I also live his little "wedge mute marking while everyone is clapping" routine. Brilliant. Always finished making his "notes" just in time to say, "thank you..thank you very much.." 😊😊

    I also feel that he is THE MASTER of "inside the piano techniques"… no need for coke bottles, screws, nails, chains…just tons of practice & knowing EXACTLY where to place his hand/fingers ever so gently on the treble strings…oh the sounds he can make out of any decent concert grand. 

    The particular song that I'm addicted to is on the Linus & Lucy CD…one that he personally gave me at the first concert I took care of for him. I think he has given me 8 CDs. Love then so much. 



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 25.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 11:39

    I tuned for him in Lincoln several years ago.  He was very laid back and cool and a stickler for unisons.  After intermission, he thanked me in front of the 2.200 seat audience.  Never have had that, before or since.

     

    After the show, he hopped in his Camry and drove off.

     

    Respect!

     

    Paul

     






  • 26.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 11:47

    Paul, YES! Couldn't agree more. He did the same for me. Wouldn't it just be GROUNDBREAKING (mind-blowing! Incredible..<I need a thesaurus's!> if even a forth of these incredible artists even just MENTIONED us & said a brief "thank you" to us as techs. 

    George has huge insight into human nature and I just LOVE that he does so many benefit concerts and also gives his CD proceeds at concerts to local food banks!! ♥️♥️

    As you said Paul, RESPECT!!! 



    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 27.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 12:07

    I would love at least a thank you once in awhile.

     

    I just spent 45 days getting everything ready for the Southeast Piano Festival  (SEPF).  Not one word of thanks for all the piano preps (45) and concert and competition tunings every day several time a day!  I saw my name on the pamphlet.  Also, no word of thanks to our facilities man who set up and moved a million things, the IT guy, the video/streaming guy....nothing.

    I only took Mother's Day off.

     

    Fortunately, these profs who have run this for 20 years are moving on to Eastman and we get new people next year, and they are way nicer people. These people have been major Diva's only looking at themselves.  Good riddance, most of us say here.

    Paul

     

     






  • 28.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-18-2022 15:42

    Yes, Kevin, so delightful in many ways.

    It seemed to me, even the first time I saw his big contract, that it was a record of all the horror stories from when he was forced to play on inadequate instruments, or in poor conditions. Whatever burned him, he stuck in the contract.

    ??






  • 29.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 16:29
    Just to clarify-leg was loose in the carriage. Used hardened  "rebar" screws and like West System Epoxy…I just realized it may have sounded like I just "WHACKED & WHACKED" lol

    ------------------------------
    Kevin Fortenberry
    Registered Piano Technician
    Longview, TX 75602
    806-778-3962
    ------------------------------



  • 30.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 22:04

    Excellent one, Kevin. Always keep them guessing?






  • 31.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 17:03

    All great musicians are eccentric, I think it is what drives their passion.  The same is true for many technicians.  I realized years ago that pianists are a little crazy – but for very specific and good reasons.  Unlike any other instrumentalist or vocalist, they rarely travel with their own instrument.  To complicate matters, they are not able to tune, adjust actions, or make simple repairs, like most other instrumentalists can.

    Instead, pianists go from venue to venue wondering what kind of piano will provided.  They have no control over the quality of the instrument, the funding for care, the skill of the technician, the schedule for service and rehearsals, or the acoustics of the hall.  All that uncertainty, yet they will be judged on how well the piano sounds when they perform.

    I have found that, although I often have little control over the build quality of an instrument, if it is a piano I regularly service, I do have control over the pianists' reaction to it.  Pianists want predictability and color.  If we can offer them a piano that, after a few minutes of playing, they know how it will react, the battle is pretty much over.  They may ask for a quick pedal adjustment, or some spot voicing, but they find comfort in anticipating the response of the piano.  Pianist are very flexible musicians – they have to be.  Over the years I have dealt with a handful of difficult pianists, but for the most part I find them to be gracious and appreciative.  To save my sanity, I choose to focus on the latter.

    Off my soapbox…



    ------------------------------
    Rick Florence RPT
    Gilbert AZ
    ------------------------------



  • 32.  RE: Of all the things!

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-17-2022 17:41
    I agree with Rick, and other statements I’ve heard here. Pianists want to be heard and acknowledged. A gracious statement accepting what they’ve said and showing a willingness to try is often magic. We can make that statement without actually saying that we agree (or, heaven forbid, disagree) with them, especially if they are asking for unreasonable changes. We aren’t trying to trick them. After all, we know pianos - but each artist is the world’s leading expert on how he or she is feeling. Some reassurance can go a long way.

    I am a terrible liar or fibber. When I say, “Let me look at that carefully” or “I have a couple of ideas I can try”, I usually really touch the piano even if I don’t hear much I can do. If it seems heavy, I may pull the action and hit the action centers with a hairdryer for 10 minutes (the Hollywood Bowl trick for humidity). Or if a note needs to come up a bit, or a small section, I’ll mute the strings by pressing down with a cloth and bang on those particular hammers (which actually helps a bit on occasion).

    We all have countless stories. In one case, a well-known female artist was working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra doing Tchaikovsky 1. She thought it felt a little bit slow or heavy, so I told her I would work on it. (It was not particularly bad.) I did a few minor things so I could state truthfully that I’d worked on it, but it didn’t actually change much. Her adrenaline probably kicked in for the performance and she came off stage, giving me huge hugs and saying it was so much better. Again, not an attempt to trick anyone, just reading the situation.

    In another case of a big name pianist, for a solo recital, he came off after the dress rehearsal when I only had 15 minutes to check unisons (before a pre-concert talk speaker came out to get miked up) and he asked for the upper tenor to be brought up a bit. I did the banging-while-muted thing, double checked unisons and he was happy afterward. Really not much change. Adrenaline?

    Franz Mohr used to tell another story of a famous pianist who asked for some work. Franz knew the piano was just as the pianist usually liked it so he said “I have plenty of time, maestro, go have a cup of coffee” and Franz sat on the bench reading a newspaper while the pianist was away. When he returned to try the piano, he was very happy. Franz offered the possibility that it was the caffeine, but we can’t underestimate a pianist who feels that we’re listening and is more relaxed by the considerate attention.

    I am NOT promoting lying, avoidance, tricks, or ignoring the requests. There are certainly pianists who really know what they’re asking for, and can hear or feel whether it got improved or not. But even if they don’t end up feeling totally satisfied with that particular piano on that particular day, at least they know they’ve been acknowledged and respected.

    Now I’m off MY soapbox too.