[nfbpnotk] nfbpnotk Digest, Vol 3, Issue 9
Shawn Brock
shawnbrock at fuse.net
Sun Aug 20 15:32:56 CDT 2006
hello marshal, thats okay, i know how it goes with email. i will try to
answer your questions based on my experiences. first how long does it take
you to tune a piano? if you are looking at more than 2 hours, thin you
might want to say something to the store. but only tell them after you get
there! my first stor tuneing took about 3 hours. after the tuning i asked
the guy if he wanted to check it. he did, but all he checked was the
oktives. i thought " wo what the hell?" it tirned out he is not a player.
and i saw probly the best tuning i had ever dun go in the books with a guy
that just played octives! i lirnd after doing one piano that he had three
more he wanted dun. i asked if i could come back the next day and do those
three. he sed yess, and the next day i did all three pianos in a space of
about 5 and a half hours. i did not try less because he would only check
the octives but i did not go after it like i did the day before. i lirned
that the first day i was tuning like i would for a varry needy client with
grate eres, whin in fact tuning for a store is different than that. i'm not
saying dont do a good job, i'm just sayingthat the truely grate tunings are
not comman in stores. i hav tuned for stors where the shop keeper was a
varry good pianest who knows how good the tuning is, i dont try harder for
him than i do for the guy who just plays octives, but... i hav found most
house hold custamers mostly just want there unison's in tune. lately i am
trying to get away from these kind of people. i would like to do all
grands, and no spenits. but the spenit folks pay the bills. it seems.
anyhow i am straying from the subject... i would tell the shop person that
you are still a little slow whin you get there. tell him or her, you are
still a little slow because you want to do a good job, this is just beeing
troothful. after all shops pay $30 or so per tuning for a reason. most
high end shops hav a full time person who makes good money for keeping the
flore stock in good playing shape. i hope some of this helps. if you would
like we could speek over the phone and share stories and questions. i
joined this list to talk with more blind technicians, because it would bee
helpfull to me. i hav lirned from sighted techs and hav not had the plesure
of seeing how other blind techs do things. oh, and one more thing you had
asked about speeding up your tuning. i can tell you that my tuning sped up
grately after i stoped useing a temperment strip. some folks allways use a
strip and others just use a single rubber mute. after the ere is trained
thin this is maby the way to go. i hav found, and other technicians hav
told me, this makes tunings more stable. hope this helps.
Shawn Brock
Cincinnati Sound Lab
130 East Sixth Street
Cincinnati Oh.
45202
Phone: 513-349-8541
Web Site:
www.cincysoundlab.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "pianotune05" <pianotune05 at comcast.net>
To: <nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 2:00 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbpnotk] nfbpnotk Digest, Vol 3, Issue 9
> HI Shawn,
> Thanks for the e-mail and advice. If you were calling stores to solicit
> tuning for them and you were starting out, would you mention issues such
> as
> slowness in tuning? That's my biggest issue right now, and i agree that
> tuning at a store would give me great practice. In fact, I'm sure I"d
> speed
> up. I've tuned less than 50 pianos, and my last tuning made the pianist
> at
> a local church here in the chicago area extremely happy. she said, "You
> took out that twangy sound in the hight end..."
>
> I've contacted several stores who say they are filled up. One however
> said
> this but wants me to come and tune so nhe can refer me. So Im getting
> closer. I'll let you know what happens. Take care Shawn, and I
> apologize
> for writing so far after you sent me the e-mail.
> Marshall
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <nfbpnotk-request at nfbnet.org>
> To: <nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 12:00 PM
> Subject: nfbpnotk Digest, Vol 3, Issue 9
>
>
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>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. Stringing (pianotune05 at comcast.net)
>> 2. Re: Stringing (Shawn Brock)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:16:54 +0000
>> From: pianotune05 at comcast.net
>> Subject: [nfbpnotk] Stringing
>> To: nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org
>> Message-ID:
>> <081520062116.29443.44E239C60007B68B000073032200745672CACF0A029A9B01020E079F at comcast.net>
>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>>
>> Hello Everyone,
>> I'm glad to be a part of this list. I'm new to tuning, and I have quite
>> a
>> few questions about restringing and other procedures.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a tool that I can obtain that would help me with
>> restringing? The tool I have is, and I'm not sure how to spell it, but
>> it's cerintino instacioler, and I find it tough to use, plus measuring is
>> tough as well.
>>
>> I'm also wondering how to pick up my speed as a piano tuner. Some say
>> practice, but are there things I can do while practicing that can help
>> speed me up. My vision is 20/200. I need tips, ideas on how to speed
>> up.
>> :) Thanks everyone.
>> Marshall Gisondi
>> Villa Park, IL
>> -------------- next part --------------
>> Hello Everyone,
>> I'm glad to be a part of this list. I'm new to tuning, and I have quite a
>> few questions about restringing and other procedures.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a tool that I can obtain that would help me with
>> restringing? The tool I have is, and I'm not sure how to spell it, but
>> it's cerintino instacioler, and I find it tough to use, plus measuring is
>> tough as well.
>>
>> I'm also wondering how to pick up my speed as a piano tuner. Some say
>> practice, but are there things I can do while practicing that can help
>> speed me up. My vision is 20/200. I need tips, ideas on how to speed up.
>> :) Thanks everyone.
>> Marshall Gisondi
>> Villa Park, IL
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:55:03 -0400
>> From: "Shawn Brock" <shawnbrock at fuse.net>
>> Subject: Re: [nfbpnotk] Stringing
>> To: "NFBnet National Association of Blind Piano Technicians Mailing
>> List" <nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org>
>> Message-ID: <002301c6c0d6$ff717dc0$67ab3148 at shawn64xrm2jys>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>> reply-type=original
>>
>> hello marshall, good to hav you abord!
>> i just got into stringing myself after a person i work with offered me a
>> cupple of restringing jobs. its ben pritty easy for me to understand
>> because i hav strung varrious instraments. and i learnd how to replace
>> strings on piano while takeing tuning lessons from a friend. its not as
>> hard as it may seem but neather is it easy. i can list some of the tools
>> i
>> hav for stringing. i buy my stuff from international piano supply,
>> though
>> you can get everything from a few different places. if you would just
>> like
>> to look at there catalog you can find them at
>> www.pianosupply.com
>> now heres a list of some of the tools i hav bought from them.
>> stringing hook,
>> string lifter string spacer, alsoe called a coial lifter,
>> a stringing crank,
>> a rachett drive tuning hed,
>> a hand held coial maker,
>> a tuning pin punch,
>> a technicians hammer
>> a bass string twisting tool,
>> a music wire gage,
>> these are all or most of the stringing tools i hav. theres a lot more
>> stuff
>> on the markit. you allmost hav to take in a stringing job with some one
>> to
>> determan what tools you will want or need. thro in some good wire
>> cutters,
>> and an asortment of screw drivers and some gluvs and this should do fine.
>> stringing is a job you probably dont want to do a lot, its a lot of laber
>> and not much love. a lot of the best technicians here dont want to do
>> menny
>> stringing jobs, they like to stick with tuning, voiceing and regulateing.
>> i'm the same way, but i hav not ben working in this anuff to bee so
>> picky.
>> as far as tuning advice the best thing is to try to find stor work. it
>> sounds like you are in the chicago arya there should bee a lot of work
>> there. what you need is to hav a lot of pianos to tune. this is how you
>> will build speed. are you tuning only temperment now or are you able to
>> tune the hole piano? an. if the hole piano, how long does it take you?
>> my
>> first store tuning took about 3 hours. the next day each piano took 2,
>> and
>> after a few days i got to about 1 to 2 hours per piano depending on how
>> badly the piano was out in the first place. the best practise is store
>> tuning i think that way you are ganeing experience and makeing money at
>> the
>> same time. you just hav to bee able to do a deesent job. it can get
>> varry
>> old practiceing on a home piano i know. i went through that myself.
>> another benafit to stor tuning is that if they like you they will send
>> you
>> out on house calls whin they sell pianos to tune them. after that the
>> custamer is yours. hope some of this helps.
>> Shawn Brock
>> Cincinnati Sound Lab
>> 130 East Sixth Street
>> Cincinnati Oh.
>> 45202
>> Phone: 513-349-8541
>> Web Site:
>> www.cincysoundlab.com
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <pianotune05 at comcast.net>
>> To: <nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 5:16 PM
>> Subject: [nfbpnotk] Stringing
>>
>>
>>> Hello Everyone,
>>> I'm glad to be a part of this list. I'm new to tuning, and I have quite
>>> a
>>> few questions about restringing and other procedures.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know of a tool that I can obtain that would help me with
>>> restringing? The tool I have is, and I'm not sure how to spell it, but
>>> it's cerintino instacioler, and I find it tough to use, plus measuring
>>> is
>>> tough as well.
>>>
>>> I'm also wondering how to pick up my speed as a piano tuner. Some say
>>> practice, but are there things I can do while practicing that can help
>>> speed me up. My vision is 20/200. I need tips, ideas on how to speed
>>> up.
>>> :) Thanks everyone.
>>> Marshall Gisondi
>>> Villa Park, IL
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nfbpnotk mailing list
>>> nfbpnotk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbpnotk
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>>
>> End of nfbpnotk Digest, Vol 3, Issue 9
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