Compelling Interest

In the Beginning

Being a professional piano tuner for the last 10 years, I thought I might share some things about my profession that you may find interesting.

First, you should know that I have had a love affair with the piano since I was about eight or nine. I went on to study string bass in college, and orchestral conducting at the master's level, but all along I have never lost my admiration for the piano (and great pianists). I share this because I have met other tuners that give the impression that what they do is just a job - that there is no real love for the instrument they work on. If these impressions are correct, I think it is sad for those tuners and for the pianos they have serviced.

I am an incredibly slow reader when it comes to reading piano music, so I am useless as an accompanist, but I have enough facility on the instrument to have taught myself seven of the Joplin rags (original editions - I hate, hate, hate simplified versions of Joplin's music). My reading is so pathetic that I have to learn the rags one hand at a time and then put them together - slowly. By the time I am able to play a piece smoothly, it is memorized, and I put the music away. So, I never reinforce good reading habits. When I want to learn another rag, it is the same, slow process.

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One morning in 1998, a CPA wife asked her musician husband if he could "find more work." He said, "Okay, honey." That same morning, the musician's piano tuner came over and sat down at the piano. Out of the blue, the tuner began to talk about how he had more work than he could handle and that he was looking for someone to train and hire. Presto! A piano tuner is born.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

You're probably wondering what I think about various piano brands. Well, I'll tell you. But I will only tell you about pianos I have worked on. There are some European brands that I have heard are exceptional, but I wouldn't know.

I write the following lists using a broad brush stroke, but will get more specific below.

Let's start with the Good:
Steinway
Bosendorfer
Chickering
Mason & Hamlin
Baldwin
Conover
Yamaha
Kawai

Let's go to the Bad:
Most of the pianos coming out of China, Korea, and Indonesia today. These would include brands such as Kohler & Campbell, Hallett Davis, Pearl River, Cristofori, Hamilton (by Baldwin), Essex (by Steinway), Sohmer, and Samick. There are others.
Most American-made pianos from about the mid-50's on. These would include brands such as Kimball, Wurlitzer, Everett, Baldwin*, Gulbransen, and others that used to be household names.

The Ugly:
Any piano that has been painted or poorly refinished.

The Good Ol' Days:
Once upon a time in America, people who built things had a real pride about their work. This includes the people who built pianos. Up until about the mid-1950's, the mindset of piano manufacturers was, essentially: "If we're going to make a piano, let's make a good one." After that time, the mentality in most companies became: "Let's cut corners, build cheaply, and sell faster." The result: the companies that went this direction drove themselves out of business. Meanwhile, brands like Yamaha and Kawai were coming into the market from Japan and getting better and better over time. The auto industry is a great parallel to the piano industry in this regard.

I will often recommend American made pianos from the 20's, 30's, and 40's over new stock coming out of China or Korea. The inherent quality of a 1925 or 1940 Kimball or Chickering is better than pianos of the same brand from the '60's or '70's, and better than just about anything being mass produced today in Asia. The trick is finding a vintage piano that has spent most of its time in good environments and has had reasonably good service over the years. There are many more out there than one might imagine. And even one that has been neglected over the years can usually be brought back to life without a lot of effort. This is a reflection of the fine craftsmanship that went into American made products, and this was the norm.

*The Problem with Baldwin
About the only piano company that did not go with the "cutting corners" mentality back in the '50's was Steinway. Good for them. Baldwin decided to run the entire gamut from concert quality pianos to pure junk, and everything in between. And that's the problem. You never know what you're getting when you're looking at a Baldwin.

I have a customer who is the chairman of the music department at a local university. About 6 years ago he thought he'd do his piano students a favor and get a brand new Baldwin console to put into one of the practice rooms. He put a sign on the practice room door indicating that piano students had first priority on this piano. The university has a fleet of pianos which includes three 30-year-old Yamaha consoles, several Steinway grands which are at least 40 years old, a Baldwin grand from the late '20's, a Steinway upright from the late 1800's, and an Everett console from the '60's. The American made Baldwin the chairman proudly presented to his piano students is by far the worst piano in his entire fleet. But that is no reflection on the chairman. How would he know? He went along with the Baldwin reputation and the sales pitch. If you're going to get a Baldwin, take a tuner with you to check it out. It may be a great one - it may be a piece of junk.

So Simple, an 8th Grader Can Understand

So, I just got back from a piano tuning lecture/demonstration at a local middle school. They were holding a Career Day in the music department and had various people coming in to talk about the various career paths that exist in the music world (just in case those music performance degrees don't pan out...ahem).

I came in to talk about the wonderful world of piano tuning (just in case those music performance degrees don't pan out...AHEM!). One of the talking points the staff wanted me to hit was "Average Salary." So, I start talking about the average salary for a tuner whose business is doing reasonably well, and I had to mention a couple of the cons of being self-employed. For instance, if you don't work on a given day, you don't get paid that day. There is no personal (paid) time off, no sick days, no paid vacation.

Another con is taxes (no pun intended). The self-employed are taxed as employees, and as employers. Lots o' taxes to pay. And then I just couldn't help slipping in my conviction that the income tax is unconstitutional, and did you ever notice that when we are taught about the rights we enjoy in this country we never hear about our right to work, that we have a fundamental right to earn a living to sustain ourselves? Then I said, "But that's a whole other lecture!" and started to get back on point.

"So," I went on, "what exactly does a tuner do?"

Just then, one of the 8th graders raised his hand and said, "You mean...we have to pay the government to work?"

"Well," I said, "we need to get back to the subject at hand, but, bingo! Do some research."

Then we got into the finer points of tuning unisons.

Sorry, I'm Just Not In the Mood

Once in a while, I tune pianos in some of the local nursing homes. I usually enjoy conversing with the residents, and many of them become very interested in what I am doing - it's entertaining for them; a little break from the normal routine.

So, there I was a few days ago, tuning away in one of these homes. The piano was situated in their multi-purpose room. Just before lunch, they had one of the staff members come in and lead the residents in some stretching exercises, and then they had a little sing along. I was trying to get the job done as soon as possible, but tuning in a room full of singing people tends to slow me down. Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? So, instead of tuning, I offered up some piano accompinament to their small repertoire of old favorites. It was a good time.

Once the singing was done, the staff began to help their elderly charges to the tables in the room to begin serving lunch. I went into overdrive to finish up my tuning, but I had at least another ten to fifteen minutes before I could wrap it up.

There was a table of four old women right next to the piano, and I was suddenly aware that the woman closest to me was having a hard time of it as I pounded away at the instrument to make everything just right.

Her friends at the table were saying, "It's okay, Linda. He'll be done soon."

Soon, Linda was standing next to her chair, obviously bothered by the clamor, but suffering in silence. Her friends convinced her to sit down again. After a few more minutes, she was standing up again and had moved several feet away. The staff had to convince her this time to take her seat, and she did.

Linda was seated just to my left, and I became aware that she was now looking right at me, and it looked as if she had something to say. I stopped tuning and looked at her.

Very quietly, and with the straightest possible face, she said, "It's okay. We got it." It was plain that what she meant was: "That's enough. You can stop now."

I leaned toward her a little and turned on the charm. "You can sing along if you know the words," I said with a smile.

She continued to stare at me as she slowly turned her head away, her mouth remaining as straight as a ruler, her eyes fixed on me until the last possible moment as she turned toward her friends. Her friends just looked at me and their eyes said, "Nice try."

I returned to my work, more eager than ever to finish up. That line never failed before.

"What the hell are you doing?!" a gruff voice demanded from over my right shoulder. Any other day I would have been slightly bemused at the silver-haired grump who had rolled up in his wheel chair, acting like an overgrown child. But not today. There was no more magic in the air.

I spoke over my right shoulder, giving free reign to my sarcasm: "I have no idea, sir."

"Then why are you doing it?" he barked.

"Because someone told me to," I replied, barely turning my head this time.

He harrumphed in derision and wheeled himself away to his table. I continued to pound out the last few notes, knowing that Linda was ready to stick her fork into my neck.

Feels good to be wanted.