Retired Piano Technician Cartoon: Fill in the caption!

A visual metaphor. What's the message?

The Retired Piano Technician. Fill-in-the-caption.  ©1990, 2013. www.pianotechno.blogspot.com

Jack Benny plays Piano Tuner Sheldon Weeks: GE Theater The Honest Man (1956)

The Honest Man (1956)



Jack Benny plays piano tuner Sheldon Weeks.

In one of the opening scenes, Jack Benny's character, piano tuner Sheldon Weeks, services the piano of an unseen, off-screen character who sounds exactly like Liberace when he speaks.

Director: Frank Tashlin
Writers: Richard Pedicini (story), Frank Tashlin
Stars: Jack Benny, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Charles Bronson

Respect for The Piano

By

The Original Party Pooper

Once upon a time, when a child set a beverage on the family piano, a good scolding wasn't far behind. In those days, parents taught respect.

For banging on the keys and otherwise abusing the schoolhouse piano, the rambunctious earned a swat on the behind. (The penalty for sitting atop, even more, doing The Piano Lid Bop, is too severe to print.) There was no such thing as "time out" back then. Teachers taught respect.

When The Great Piano Trouncer came to town, one dealer refused to rent a piano - any piano - not even a Smith & Barnes with a cracked plate destined for The Old Piano Graveyard. For one dealer, respect was of greater value than profit.

When The Trouncer's successor came to town - The Young String Popper - one piano tech refused to remain behind stage feeding fresh new bass strings to The Hybrid. The piano technician had respect, even for Universal Bass Strings.

Yes, there is still respect for the piano, if only for the lowliest among parts.

At least something lived happily ever after.

What is it?





Discussion here:

Piano Detectives on Piano World Forums

Piano in an old abandoned school at Carden Bottom, Arkansas

      PHOTO BY BRAD WIDDING 2013

                                                                      PHOTO BY BRAD WIDDING 2013

My favorite tools: Pin Vise Voicing Tool

The December 2011 issue of the Piano Technicians Journal has a short explanation of this voicing technique in the Tools Tips and Techniques section of the magazine. It also contains a longer, feature article that provides more detail

Fringe Piano Science (5): The "E Piano." From the recently discovered papers of P.D.Q. Bart.

From the recently discovered papers of P.D.Q. Bart.

For the entire fringe science series videos click here.

So, you want to be a piano technician: Can you hear the necessary things? (1)

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2.

Excerpt from the first movement.

Major conductor, orchestra, pianist and record label.

Something is amiss.

Listen carefully.

Can you hear it?

What's the problem?

(Note: The problem may also be heard clearly on the CD as well as the original Stereo LP.)

So you want to be a piano technician, PART 2 is here:

So, you want to be a piano technician PART 2



Link to the discussion on part 1 and the identity of the recording is here:

Piano World Tuner-Technician Forum 

The Piano vs. the Keyboard.

The Piano

A Noble Art : Three Lectures on the Evolution and Construction of the Piano (Fanny Morris Smith 1892)

                A Noble Art                 
Three lectures on the Evolution and Construction of the Piano
by Fanny Morris Smith.

Published 1892

Read online gratis:

A Noble Art

 

 

(For general interest only. Not a recommendation. In the public domain)

The Pianoforte, its origin, progress, and construction (Rimbault 1860).

 

 

 

 

 

The Pianoforte, its origin, progress, and construction
By Edward F. Rimbault  (ca.1860)  

 

             

Read online gratis:   

 

The Pianoforte, its origin, progress and construction (Rimbault 1860)

(For general interest only. Not a recommendation. In the public domain)

 

An Integrated-circuit Piano Tuner for the Equal-tempered Keyboard employing a tuneable fixed-coefficient digital filter (Hagee ca.1969)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

Published 1969 by  Michael William Hagee
         

About the Book
 

A study of the physics of the piano reveals that while the upper partials of the steel strings are the eigen-frequencies of the complex tone, they are not integer multiples of the respective fundamentals. To properly measure and tune these eigen-partials, a digital filter capable of sweeping a major portion of the audio-frequency spectrum had to be implemented. Such a filter, a tuneable fixed-coefficient digital filter, is discussed as well as a simple pole-zero design procedure for determining the required coefficients. Each module, including the frequency deviation detector and counter, the time-base generator, the digital filter, the reference frequency generator and the display and control module, of the proposed tuner is illustrated and discussed.

 

 

 

 

Read online gratis:

 

 

An integrated-circuit piano tuner

 

 

(For general interest only. Not a recommendation. In the public domain)

 

 



Construction, Tuning and Care of the Piano-forte: A Book for Tuners ca.1887

 

 

 

 

Available online and gratis.

 

 

Tuning and Care of the Piano

(For general interest only. Not a recommendation. In the public domain)

Modern Piano Tuning and Allied Arts by W.B. White ca.1917

 

Available in various formats online.

Gratis.

 

Modern Piano Tuning




(For general interest only. Not a recommendation. In the public domain)



The Hamburg Steinway D.

 

 

Ragna Schirmer - Brahms Rhapsody op.79/2

My favorite tools: Portable Grand Action Dolly.

 

This handy item makes in-home, in-piano regulation, voicing and repair all the more easy. 

 Action slides smoothly in and out of the keybed.

 

Available to the trade only from:

 

Piano Dolly

 

 

My favorite tools: Digital Micrometer

 

 

 

 

 

Indispensable in piano repair.

 

I prefer the non-LED readout.

Available from numerous sources,
both in and out of the trade.
 

Market share: Who is trying to take it from you?

 

A memento from the unhappy days in advertising and marketing.

 

Who is trying to take market share away from us, and succeeding?

 

Piano techs in our town?

 

Nope.

 

Who, then?

 

If you have to ask,  you'll understand why they've been so successful at it.

 

 

Tuning in the showroom

 

 

 

One of the few instruments in the world that can well-receive equal temperament.

Piano Tech and the Kingdom of the Crystal Grand.

 

Coming soon to theaters everywhere!