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P I A N O T E C H N I C I A N S OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE PIANO TECHNICIANS GUILD JournalApril 2014 Vol. 57 No.4 The Only ALL-SERVICE Company Remaining In The Piano Industry Today! Trust SCHAFF With Call Us Toll-Free: All Your Duplication And Replacement Needs. 800-747-4266 Additional Duplication Services Include: 451 Oakwood Road Piano & Organ Covers, Universal Bass Lake Zurich, IL 60047 Strings, Square Grand Hammers, Tel: 847-438-4556 Brass Flange Rails, "Performer" Fax: 847-438-4615 Bench Cushions & More! www.schaffpiano.com April 2014 / Piano Technicians Journal 1 Editorial Perspective BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Begin Where the Wheel Norman R. Cantrell, RPT 2111 NW Dearborn, Lawton OK 73507 Touches the Ground 580-355-5003 [email protected] By Ed Sutton, RPT Vice President Journal Editor Phil Bondi, RPT 24600 South Tamiami Trail, Unit 212-204 The yearly NAMM show in Anaheim is brash and loud, high-pressured and Bonita Springs FL 34134 self-important. Visiting the event as editor of this magazine presents a challenge in 239-949-3688 [email protected] a tough environment. How can I return with something of value for our members? Retail is tough. Companies and people shift, twist, struggle to survive and often Secretary-Treasurer disappear. I don’t want to just survive—I want to thrive, joyfully as possible. I want Paul Brown, RPT Suite 1002-2050 to be ready for change, and I want to deliver reasonable visions of our business Nelson Street future to our members, so that we can all think ahead and not just ride our waves Vancouver BC V6G 1N6 Canada until we fall off. 604-324-7013 [email protected] So, well ahead of time, I sent some questions to the people I expected to see at NAMM, and a few other piano people as well. Northeast Regional Vice President Patrick Draine, RPT 93 Cook St, Billerica MA 0182 1. What is your company’s vision of the piano in the United States and the world over 978-663-9690 the next six years? [email protected] 2. How does your product demonstrate and serve that role? Southeast Regional Vice President Wesley Hardman, RPT 3. How do you envision an ideal technician for your pianos over the next six years? 202 Monticello, Scottsboro AL 35768 What skills and knowledge will be needed to service your pianos well by the year 256-574-4761 [email protected] 2020? South Central Regional Vice President 4. Does your company offer training programs, internships, seminars or classes for Steve Walthall, RPT piano technicians? 5617 FM 222, Austin TX 78731 512-680-3366 You can read the replies I received in the NAMM report. NAMM may be [email protected] the center of things, but the replies to my questions eventually led me back to my Central East Regional Vice President quiet home, and the homes of my customers. The center is where the pressure is Maria Pollock, RPT greatest, but the rim is where the wheel touches the ground. As piano technicians, 5129 W Hutchinson St, Chicago IL 60641 as members of the craft and musical communities, we live our careers in the place 773-307-5207 [email protected] where the wheel touches the ground, and I believe it is a wonderful place to be. We are in a place to know why people have pianos in their homes and in their lives, Central West Regional Vice President Malinda Powell, RPT and we are there to help carry the message forward. 10060 Ponds Way, Elko, MN 55020 See it as job insurance. See it as your purpose. Or even better, see it as both. 651-454-9277 [email protected] Western Regional Vice President Larry Messerly, RPT PO Box 10923, Prescott AZ 86304 928-445-3888 [email protected] Pacific Northwest Regional Vice President Dan McElrath, RPT 644 Winter Haven St, Anchorage AK 99504 907-529-4584 [email protected] [email protected] 2 Piano Technicians Journal / April 2014 Randy Potter School Letters to the Editor Of Piano Technology Complete Correspondence In the November 2013 issue of the Journal, page 11, Paul Williams states, Home Study Course … “My tuning fork’s pitch varies with temperature. Its pitch is perfect at 65 … for beginning students & degrees.” I am not questioning this statement. Then he says, “The fork goes intermediate piano tuner-technicians. sharp in a warmer room.” Unless he has a fork made of a strange material, that statement is not correct. As metal cools, it gets stiffer. Therefore, the frequency We Teach of vibration and pitch go up. As the metal warms up, it becomes less stiff and the • Tuning • Repairing • Regulating pitch goes down. • Voicing • Apprentice Training I did a quick experiment to test this theory. I checked my 523.3-Hz fork • Manufacturer & Dealer Relations with G# 24 on my piano. It yielded about seven beats per second. Then I put the • Business Practices fork in the freezer until its temperature was about 32 degrees and I checked it against the piano. It yielded about nine or ten beats per second. Next, I heated Courses Include the fork with a heat gun until it was a bit too uncomfortable to hold in my • Printed Course Manuals hand. This time it was beating only about three beats per second. • Video Tapes Since G# to C is a wide interval (that is, the wider it is, the faster it beats), • Written Texts this is proof positive that the pitch of the fork and its temperature move in • Apprentice Manual opposite directions. As the temperature goes down, the pitch goes up; as the • Repair Labor Guide • Manufacturer’s temperature goes up, the pitch goes down. Technical Service Manuals James B. Geiger, RPT • Wholesale Supply Catalogs Heart of Texas Chapter • $5,000 Resource Lending Library AND MUCH MUCH MORE! We Are: • The largest supplier of published training materials and videos • Recommended by Keyboard Magazine • Licensed by the Department of Education • Approved for Veterans Training And We Offer: • Advanced training seminars in high-level grand regulating and tuning. THE RANDY POTTER SCHOOL IS AN AUTHORIZED SALES AND SERVICE ACCU-TUNER DEALER Randy Potter, RPT WRITE 61592 Orion Dr. OR Bend, OR 97702 CALL (541) 382-5411 www.pianotuning.com April 2014 / Piano Technicians Journal 3 PIANO TECHNICIANS Columns & Contents Vol. 57 No. 4 • April 2014 Comments Barbara Cassaday Publisher/Executive Director Ed Sutton, RPT Editor 2 Editorial John Granholm, RPT Associate Editor Perspective John Parham, RPT Begin Where the Wheel Assistant Editor Touches the Ground Jason Wheeler Creative Director By Ed Sutton, RPT Shawn Bruce Marketing Manager 3 Letters to the Editor PTG Home Office Phone: 913-432-9975 FAX: 913-432-9986 E-Mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.ptg.org Editorial 6 President’s Message Piano Technicians Journal will accept unsolicited materials, photographs and ideas; however, unsolicited materials will Where are We Going? not be acknowledged unless accepted for publication. It is advisable, therefore, to submit copies of original materials, including photographs or transparencies. Without prior ar- By Norman Cantrell, RPT rangements with the publisher, all materials submitted for publication will be retained by the Journal. DEADLINE: No less than 90 days before publication date (i.e., September 1 for December issue). Send materials and letters to: Ed Sutton, Journal Editor, 4001 Brookview Dr, Charlotte NC 28205 E-mail: [email protected] Advertising Departments For advertising rates and policies call Shawn Bruce at 913-432-9975 or e-mail [email protected]. 13 2020 Vision: A Visit to Subscriptions Annual subscription rates: $80 (U.S.) for Members; $150.00 8 TT&T NAMM 2014 for Non-Members (U.S.)/1 year; $280.00 (U.S.)/2 years; Single copies: Current year/$10; 1 year/$5; back copies/$2, if Compiled by Assistant By Ed Sutton, RPT available. Piano Technicians Guild members receive the Journal for $80 per year as part of their membership dues. Editor John Parham, RPT Address Changes/Subscription Problems Send or FAX a description of the problem and your current address to: Subscriptions, 4444 Forest Ave, Kansas City KS 66106-3750 or call 913-432-9975 between 8:30 a.m. and 18 Stability, Stability, Stability 4:30 p.m. CST — Monday-Friday. General Information By Carl Lieberman, RPT You may not use the trademarks or logos in the Piano Techni- 10 Q&A cians Journal for any purpose including, but not limited to, use as “hot links” or meta tags in Web pages or Web sites, Roundtable without the written permission of PTG, or such third party that may own the trademark. Certain marks used in the Piano Technicians Journal are the property of parties other than PTG, Compiled by Associate and are used in the Piano Technicians Journal with permis- Editor John Granholm, RPT sion and/or to fairly identify the parties’ products or services. © 2013 The Piano Technicians Guild, Inc. Articles published in the Piano Technicians Journal represent only the opinions of the author and not those of the Piano Technicians Guild, Inc. PTG provides this information as a benefit and service in furtherance of PTG’s non-profit and tax-exempt status and makes no representations about the suitability of this informa- tion and these services for any purpose. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, The Piano Technicians Guild, Inc. The words “Piano Technicians Guild, Inc.,” “Registered Piano Technician” and the Registered Piano Technician emblem and logos are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
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