August 2014

Now We Are One Hundred

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August 2014 3

Editorial — 4President Writes — 5Membership News — 6Trade News — 7Electronic Tuning Devices Part 2 — 8Electronic Tuning Devices — 10Meet the Council — 11

Obituary — 12PTA History — 13

Students’ Pages — 14PTA Finances — 16

From the Other Side of the Fence — 18

Images from Piano History — No 1 — 20

Letters — 21

Council Report — 22

PTA Diary — 23

The next deadline for PTA News is: Friday 19th September 2014.PTA News is the Newsletter of the Pianoforte Tuners’ Association. All views expressed are

those of the contributors, not necessarily reflecting those of the PTA or the editorial team.Please send items for publication to ‘The Editor’, preferably via email or computer disc . If byemail or disc please send photos separately from the text. Items can only be returned if

accompanied by an SAE. Please obtain permission before submitting copyright items.

PTA News, 49 South Hamilton Street, KILMARNOCK, KA1 2DTEmail: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

To advertise in PTA News, at very reasonable rates, please contact:Tania Staite, Flat 8, Deepdene, 15 Streatham Common Northside, London, SW16 3HQ.

Email: advertising@pianotuner.org.uk

CONTENTS

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Firstly, I would like to thank you for the kind comments I’vereceived about my first newsletter.

Enclosed in this edition is a booking form for the Yamaha TrainingDay at the Piano Workshop in Reigate. This promises to be an interestingday finding out all about Yamaha’s ‘Silent’ and ‘Disklavier’ systems. It is aimed at thetuner/technician with little or no experience of them. As it is only £10 for Students,I hope many of you will attend. There is plenty for partners to enjoy in Reigate –shopping, a visit to the castle and walks (Box Hill is nearby) – then we can all join upfor an early evening meal.

Also enclosed is an order form for Les Sherlock’s updated history book with extrasupplements. John Lambert reviewed it in the February 2014 PTA News. Please showyour support and buy this marvellous tome.

My thanks go to Mr Bill Kreis who has supplied me with “38 Steps to Endearment”from the PTG Review of August 1996, which would seem to be of particular relevanceto Students. I contacted the Piano Technicians Guild of America and would like to thanktheir Executive Director, Barbara Cassaday, for permission to use this in our Newsletter.She informed me that the author, Mr Sid Stone, RPT, recently passed away at the age of94. Mr Stone was Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the PTG and it had been part ofhis responsibilities to write such articles. The piece is too long to be included in itsentirety in one issue and will appear in sections over the coming year. I have made somevery minor amendments to the article to bring it more up to date (for example,references to the client have all become gender neutral) but I have tried to keep it asfaithful as possible to the original.

It was suggested that it was time to reintroduce “Meet the Council”. Therefore aseries of articles starts with new-to-council member Michelle Rudd, who has alsosupplied me with the second of the articles on electronic tuning devices (p.10). Part twoof Nigel Donovan’s personal view (see February 2014 for part one) is on page 8.

From time to time we have articles about becoming PTA Members, so I’m pleased tosay that we have “From the other side of the Fence” – a look behind the scenes atbecoming a PTA Examiner, written by Mark Beglin. It appears that he must have hadhis arm twisted twice; to embark upon the examiner training and then to write about it!

Like me, I hope that you will find interesting the photographs and facts of a newseries, “Images from Piano History” supplied by Dr Alastair Laurence.

I’d like to draw your attention to two items from the Council report (p. 22).Genie Dyke, the new Coordinator of the Mentoring Scheme for Students, intends tore-launch this scheme; more information in forthcoming editions of the newsletter.The CD of the archives of the Journal of the PTG of America will be obtained for thePTA library. Our library is a marvellous resource; I found it quite indispensable duringthe period leading up to my PTA test and I can’t wait to see what delights are on this CD.Form an orderly queue behind me!

Finally, coming soon will be an article on the young Precision Engineer andToolmaker, Gavin Hartley, whom we met at the Convention in Bolton.

EDITORIALANNE BURTON

August 2014 5

THE PRESIDENT WRITESBRIAN FROST

Hopefully by now you will have received the ‘new look’2014-2015 Year Book. For the first time the data for the YearBook is now entered directly from the PTA central database — weare hopeful that this will mean fewer errors. It does mean that wewill all need to check our information on the renewal invoices when they are sent outlater in the year to ensure ongoing accuracy. Thanks go to Ian Summers (no relation toAnnette) who has worked so hard to make this all work.

We had hoped to announce that the new PTA Website would be going live thissummer but unfortunately there have been unavoidable delays. It is imperative to makesure everything in the ‘back office’ of the website is sorted before it goes live otherwiseit will complicate things, and increase the costs, further down the line. The new site willbe the ‘hub’ of our activities — Members, Associates and Students will be able toupdate their contact information and Members will have the ability to modify their PostTown list. The new forum will also be accessed via the website, and unlike the currentPlist, this will be a more organised affair in that discussion topics will be groupedtogether. A forum that works likes this has been requested for some time and for thoseof you who are waiting, please be patient, it will happen.

You will see that there is an order form for a ‘hard copy’ of Les Sherlock’s revisedand reprinted PTA History Book in this copy of PTAN. This new version is nearlytwice the size of the original and well worth reading. Les has put in an enormousamount of work preparing this printed version and it would be fantastic if we can showhim the support he deserves by ordering one today. For those of you who prefer, thereis an electronic version as well.

Finally I do hope some of you will be able to attend the Yamaha training day inOctober — see enclosed form. Matthew Gough has worked extremely hard putting thisall together and it looks to be a very interesting day with a chance to socialiseafterwards… I hope to see you there.

PTA/YAMAHA TRAINING DAYIn association with Yamaha and the Piano Workshop, Reigate

Saturday 4th October, 2014At the Piano Workshop, Reigate, Surrey

This special day will be run with a Technician from Yamaha.Training will focus on their Silent and Disklavier systems.

£45 for Members/Associates/Patrons, £65 for non-Members, £10 PTA Students

BOOKING FORM WITH THIS ISSUEOr contact the Secretary; contact details on page 23

Booking Deadline 4th September — places are limited

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSANNETTE SUMMERS

A warm welcome to three new PTA Members:1231 Finlay Fraser 2 Alva court 146 Lower Clapton Road LONDON E5 0QJ Tel: 07811 387946 finlay.fraser@gmail.com1232 Gavin Crooks 184 West Street Warsop Vale MANSFIELD

Notts NG20 8XLTel: 01923 748044Mob: 07944 317475gavin@crown-pianos.com

1233 Elb Hall 250 Albert Road Heeley SHEFFIELD S8 9RB Tel: 0114 255 4559 Mob: 07771 893973 elb@pianotuner.org.uk

and also to new PTA Associate:

A101 Mr A M Howard 144c Sulgrave Road LONDON W6 7PU Tel: 020 3685 5083

Please note these changes to the 2014/15 Year Book:

885 Mr J Phillips email should read jophillips06@aol.com

1057 Adrian Carpenter's email address has changed to acmc1948@gmail.com

S354 Miss Andri Maimaridou (new address; telephone and email remain the same)4 Farthing LaneSUTTON COLDFIELD B72 1RNWest Midlands

Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretary usingthe contact details on Page 23

The updated version of the PTA Logofor use by Members (only)

is now available on the website

NEW LOGO

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Heckscher & Co. Ltd. ceased trading from the Bayham Street warehouse onFriday 11th July 2014. Graham has taken early retirement, Phil is going to take asabbatical and Lee will run Montague Pianos. Anne will continue to apply herbook-keeping skills within the new operation which will be a mail order service basedat Martin’s home. This will focus on Abel hammers and action parts, damper felts, tapes,centre pins, Röslau wire, cloths, baize products, punched washers, A-frames, safetybrackets and various other items.From the 1st august the new trading name, address and phone number is:

Heckscher & CompanyApril CottageCholesburyTRINGHP23 6NDTel: +44 (0)1494 758713Email: martin@heckscher.co.ukWeb: www.heckscher.co.uk

TRADE NEWS

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ELECTRONIC TUNING DEVICESA PERSONAL VIEW PART 2BY NIGEL DONOVAN

Following my recent revelation of my change from RCT toVerituner, I thought it might be interesting to briefly explore theprejudices that I know to be held aboutusing such machines.

I've been on both sides of the fence over this. When I firststarted out over thirty years ago, aural tuning was the accepted,traditional and really the only way for a professional to go. Yes, there were electricpitch pipe devices and even some glorified oscilloscope-type machines which I wouldhave regarded as well below the standard required for professional tuning. This didn'tstop some people from using them though. Quite often, in my early days, I would getcomments from my customers about the previous tuner who had failed to please.Me: Did he use a machine?Mrs Green: Yes, I believe he did!Me: Well, there you are then, he's not a proper tuner if he has to rely on a machine.A properly trained tuner uses his ears to tune!And that is how it was. I actually knew who that particular tuner was and no, he wasn'tproperly trained. The kindest way of describing him would be 'gifted amateur'.

And then the oddest thing happened; the personal computer. As processors gotmore powerful, devices got smaller and soon, some of us started carrying aroundmobile telephones which were small enough to fit in the pocket. The pocket PC wasinvented and then some clever people managed to fiddle about with this technologyand make a tuning device worth looking at seriously. (Sorry if I've missed out any vitalsteps here, I don't know much about how these things work, just like using them).I started to notice that well-respected tuners were using these new machines andinstead of quietly and surreptitiously keeping it to themselves, were openly extollingtheir virtues! What possible advantage could they have over me and my ears when Iconsidered my tunings to be perfectly good enough to be considered professionalstandard? Well, for a start, I wasn't getting any younger and (not having a 'proper' jobto fall back on) I wanted to continue tuning pianos until I was physically unable tocarry on. Which meant, of course, that my hearing had to last the course. I had someexperience of following an elderly tuner who was plainly guessing the top two octaves.So I did the obvious thing and fitted myself out with a pair of custom hearingprotectors – quite expensive but what an investment in my future career!

I still wasn't convinced that I'd done enough to secure my idea of working pastwhat would normally be considered retiring age. For that, I'd need some help if I didn'twant to whittle away my good reputation by tuning rubbish treble octaves. Quite ahigh fence I'd set myself but I jumped over and bought a Cybertuner. It does take a bitof adjusting to and with perseverance it is a remarkable tool. I found, amazingly, that Iwas able to produce tunings which, with a little care, were as perfect as I could wishfor. Perfection is a lofty goal and I must confess to previously aiming high but falling

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short for whatever reason – maybe I knew the scale wasn't quite right but what theheck, who's going to notice that third beating a little slowly while this one beats toofast, because I've spent long enough fiddling about, time to move on. I was a convert;despite tunings taking slightly longer they were actually cleaner and more accuratethan ever before.

But it wasn't at all easy to sell the idea to all my customers. Slightly difficult toexplain such a U turn and it instantly put me on the defensive. ETDs are certainly notinferior to aural tuning – just different. Cries of 'That's cheating' are not relevant as it'sthe end product which must be examined, not the means of achieving it. However, I'd

be willing to bet that any tuner whospent a couple of weeks getting to knowan ETD and using it properly would findit very difficult to revert to aural tuning,having realised that level of perfectionwhich he would otherwise struggle tomaintain. Personally, I find the endresults of my tunings very satisfying;more than compensating forsurrendering to the machine.

What about the 'Art' of tuning? I have heard it said that the art of the tuner is tobring out the best of each piano as an individual, allowing for the tone, voice, timbre,and any other idiosyncrasy you can think of. If that means leaving a piano not quite intune and explaining that this is the 'voice' of this piano then I'd rather tune it perfectlyin either equal or some other non-equaltemperament. ETDs do actually listenfor and measure the inharmonicity ofeach piano and compensate for it. Auraltuning 'faults' are not perfect tunings.Tuning aurally does not have anadvantage because of some mistakenidea that it is more 'organic' than ETDtuning. Who would not choose to haveas perfect a tuning as possible?

What of the future? With only onepart time piano tuning course available,the temptation for aspiring tuners isgoing to be the purchase of an ETD and calling themselves a piano tuner withobviously disastrous results. Together with any number of 'teaching' videos onYouTube, this is perhaps the downside of such remarkable technology. I hope thataural tuning skills will continue to be taught at Newark and ETD use discouraged forat least the first five years (5,000 pianos) although I suspect a few will be temptedearlier. Membership of the PTA might be the only outward way of displayingcompetence and professionalism.

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ELECTRONIC TUNING DEVICESBY MICHELLE RUDD

Following on from recent articles, here are my thoughtsafter using Cybertuner for about 2 years. It has made my workso much easier, and less stressful, mainly because there are sofew aural corrections to be made after a pitch raise – even asmall one. You start by letting it listen to most of the ‘A’s and itthen calculates a unique tuning for that piano. It does this byexamining the relative strength of all the partials, and decidingwhich ones to use in its calculations, and in effect emulates an aural tuning. It alsomeasures each individual note when tuning commences, giving the correct over/underpull for each one. At the end of the tuning, I have to check out aurally what it’s done,and always find something to tweak – particularly in the breaks. But the overall resultis extremely accurate and consistent. Even a ¼ tone pitch raise in one pass produces atuning which would be acceptable to most customers. I did regular pitch raises atcollege, of course, but we all got used to how much over pull to use on each of thepianos, because we knew them. But I never get such a good result in a pitch raise, inone pass, as Cybertuner does. Two complete tunings are now a thing of the past,which it makes it quicker for me and cheaper for the customer. And a follow-uptuning in 3-6 months is my recommended plan, when the piano has settled at thecorrect pitch.

I think Cybertuner is an amazing asset to have in my work, and it also has otheradvantages:

Tuning in noisy environments is so much easier, because of the visual display.Tunings are inherently more stable when tuning from A1 to C88. I do not have to playas many octaves with one hand, which is physically less stressful. (I think this may beone reason why I haven’t had a return of Tennis Elbow since using Cybertuner). Pitchalterations for European orchestras is far easier, and again, less stressful because of thetime constraints put on concert tuning, not to mention people moving around anddoing noisy things on stage. The pitch ended up with is usually a perfect A442 forexample, or very close. Unisons in the top treble where individual strings can be veryimpure are a little easier, because Cybertuner can display the fundamental visually foreach trichord. I recently had to tune two orchestral pianos for a modern piece of musicwhere one of them had to be exactly a quarter tone flat! No guesswork for Cybertuner,and a perfect result. (OK, not that anyone might have noticed if it wasn’t perfect!)

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MEET THE COUNCILMICHELLE RUDD

I originally trained as a music teacherand found teaching in Birmingham a ratherstressful experience! After that I tried socialwork, but didn't like the unsociable hours.I'd already taught myself to tune my ownpiano (taking about 3 hours, and obviouslynot very accurately) and decided that propertraining would result in a good career for me.I trained full-time, 9-5, at Newark College1980-83, and then returned to my nativeYorkshire to set up my own business.I located myself well away from other pianotuners and fortunately very quickly got a schools contract. Private work also took off

– there were plenty of pianos before electronic ones made their mark! I successfullytook my PTA test two years later.

My first attendance at a convention was in Harrogate in 1989 – it was great tomeet other people in our profession, and to be able to update my skills at classes (notto mention the social side!) I've contributed several articles to the PTA news, haveactively participated on the Plist, but with business and family commitments neverhad the time to join the Council until now. Now that I'm heading gradually towardsretirement, I felt it was time to give something back to such a great organisation asours. I hope I can make a positive contribution for the benefit of all Members.

Retired Member,Freddie Gallichan(1049), tuned thispiano in a disusedpolice cell in Bristol.

It is used forrecording purposes,with otherinstruments inadjacent cells.Fortunately, he wasnot locked up!

Eri Onami’s photo of 17 yearold Mr Mau standing by ready to

play this 92 note Model 225Bösendorfer .

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OBITUARY ROBERT (BOB) PULLARSUPPLIED BY ANDREW JAMIESON

It was with sadness, I heard that BobPullar died on 10 April 2014.

After a long career as a Post OfficeTelecommunications Engineer, Bob trained asa Piano Tuner/Technician at StevensonCollege, Edinburgh.

However, surprisingly, it was at the bar ofthe King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn, thevenue of one of the first ‘Meet the PTA’, thatI first met Bob. He was sceptical of the PTAand asked many questions as to how he wouldbenefit if he were to become involved,possibly as an Associate or worse still, bytaking our membership test! Soon after, Bobdid become an Associate and eventually tookour test to become a Member, joining the PTAin 1999. He proved to be a larger than lifecharacter who attended many PTA eventsincluding conventions and autumn lunches.

One of my lasting memories of Bob was thegolf day he organized as part of our Conventionin Stirling in 2000. After just one hole, we soonrealized that Bob’s golf was as good as his jokes

– consistently dreadful!He was a gentle giant of a man whose hearty

laughter was contagious. I know I am not theonly one who will miss his companionship atPTA events – especially the golf as now no oneknows who will come last!

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As you know, the PTA History book has been available as a Kindle book sinceautumn last year. However, the Executive Council asked me if I would produce it asa printed book as well, so after many months of struggling to reformat it, I have finallymanaged to do it! Both the printed copy and the Kindle version are available fromwww.Amazon.co.uk. For those outside of the UK you would need to go to theAmazon site relevant to your country.

When the proof copy thudded onto my doormat I was really pleased with the wayit turned out, and surprised at the size of it. After only seeing it in electronic form, Ididn’t realise how big it would turn out to be – it’s the equivalent of an oldThompson’s Telephone Directory!

There is still a significant advantage in going for the Kindle format, though. It ishalf the price (£7.20 as opposed to £14.99 for the printed version in the UK); it hascolour photos, where the book has had to revert to black and white because to includecolour would have doubled the price; it takes up no space on your shelf, you candownload it immediately and not have to wait for it to be delivered to you, and ismuch easier to navigate between chapters, end notes, etc. Having said all that, it isquite true that there is nothing quite like having ‘a real book’ in your hands, it neverruns out of battery, and I think if I were reading it for the first time I would probablychoose the print version.

Just to remind you, this is the updated version of the PTA History that wasdistributed to Members in 2006. It includes lists of all the different categories ofpeople who have involved with the PTA and positions they have held, Conventions,PTA price recommendations, and the main addresses for the PTA over the past 100years. There is also Gill Green's excellent dissertation on piano tuning between 1837and 1913, and the one-year diary of the Australian piano tuner, Joseph Bird Burgess,from 1872.

To help those who may be unable to order it via the Internet, I have agreed asa one-off, to order and distribute copies, and details will be found on the enclosedorder form.

PTA HISTORY, 1913-2013BY LES SHERLOCK

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STUDENTS’ PAGES

PTG Review38* Steps to Endearmentby Sid Stone, RPT, Chairman, Ethics Committee

“Actions speak louder than words” is an often repeated proverb. It is especiallyapplicable to politicians, to leaders of industry, and to role models. Is it also true ofpiano technicians? While what we do in terms of tuning and repair can endear us toour clients, we may be more endeared by what we say.

These 38 Steps to Endearment are concerned more with words than actions. So itmay be that words speak louder than actions in our business.

Some of the steps may contain light content to keep your attention. A fewreferences are made to my old friend, Sam. Some of you knew Sam as a characterpar excellence.

1. Make a good first impression.The well-known adage “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”

applies to all of us. The first impression may be from the yellow pages. It may be fromthe recorded message on your answering machine. It may be from direct phone contact.† Remember to speak clearly and unhurriedly.

2. Accept and appreciate directions given.Don’t deny the client the opportunity of informing you how to get to their house.I include this as one of the 38 Steps because it has taken me some 30 years to

realise that. You can teach an old dog new tricks. I used to interrupt a client by saying,rather abruptly, “If it is on the map, I can find it.” I have learned to listen attentively totheir pointing out various landmarks and streets. If you have a map to follow††, it iseasier. Then thank them for the detailed instructions.

3. Make the client feel good.Speak the client’s name in conversation over the phone or in person. There is no

sweeter sound to another person’s ears than the sound of his or her own name. If youcan add tactful flattery, your mission is accomplished. Even inept flattery, done by aprofessional, may make the client feel good. Who is more professional in this areathan our old friend, Sam?Sam had an appointment to tune an old piano in a retirement community. He wantedto see if he could endear himself to the client.The conversation went something like this:

“Is Mr Stern in?”“I am Mrs. Stern.”“You are Mrs Stern?”“Yes, I am! To whom do you think you are speaking?”

Sam could have guessed that she was a retired school teacher, but he chose a moreproductive approach.

“Oh, excuse me, Ma’am. I thought you had to be 55 before you could live here.”That one remark changed her composure from annoyance to endearment.

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4. Make the client feel important.This is good advice in all walks of life and in all situations. One step beyond

making people feel good is making them feel important. A client may not realise howimportant they are in the musical education of their children. We can giveencouragement by giving sincere compliments. More about that later.

5. Schedule appointments for the client’s convenience.Do not appear so busy that you make the client feel that they are imposing on you.

On the other hand, do not act as though their tuning fee is needed to pay the rent today.Give the client a choice as to the time for tuning. This indicates that you care

about their time as well as yours. Schedule enough commute time to go from onetuning to the next. If there is not enough time between appointments, you may not doyour best tuning; you may not have time to do extra services needed; you may not getto the next appointment without getting a speeding ticket.

6. Be on time.As piano tuners we have no excuse for being late for appointments. We know how

long it takes to tune a piano, and nine times out of ten we know how long we will bein a client’s home. Other tradesmen do not have that advantage.

If you arrive on time, not a minute early nor a minute late, you will first of allsurprise the client. More important, you will endear yourself to the client. Usuallyappointments are made on the hour or half hour. Do not hesitate to make anappointment 15 minutes or 45 minutes past the hour. Imagine how the client wouldfeel if you arrive at the exact time! If you have the reputation as being the “on timetuner”, you will also get more referrals.

If you are early, stop somewhere and read the PTANewsletter†††, take a nap; orif there is time, clean out your tool kit. If you will be late, even for a few minutes, callthe client. This is where a car phone comes in handy. I have never regretted, nor haveI ever heard of a piano technician regretting having a car phone. A hands-free phoneis preferred.

To be continued…

Extract from article reproduced with permission from the PTG

Notes*38 Steps … one step beyond Yamaha’s 37 Steps.

Editor: This refers to “Piano Technology the Yamaha Way: Grand Regulation in 37 Steps”by the Yamaha Music Corporation

† Text omitted: Check your telephone personality by the article in the January edition of the Journal.†† Text omitted: along

††† Original text: the JournalAmerican spelling has been changed to British spelling e.g. realize → realise

References to the client have been changed to become gender neutral

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PTA FINANCESANDREW JAMIESON

August 2014 17

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FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCEMY FIRST DAY AS AN EXAMINERBY MARK BEGLIN

So an email came in asking if I would like to be a PTAexaminer. A small part of me thought 'Extra work, nein danke' butthe larger, more foolhardy side of me considered that a casual strollout of my comfort zone would do me the world of good.

After agreeing to "give it a go", my more paranoid side wonderedhow many others had been asked before me and whether they had heeded their smallparts and 'nein dankered' the request. I'm in close contact with my paranoid side and itis he who keeps me on my toes and pushes me to better myself.

I was informed that I would 'shadow' the two examiners on the day at the examvenue which turned out to be the workshops at Steinways...Nice! I'll explain, for thosewho haven't taken the test or for those whose memories are fading, that the test is inthree parts:

1. Tuning2. Repair/regulating3. Viva Voce (Q & A to us non Latin speakers)I arrived at Nine o'clock to find Rick (Ohlendorf) hard at work flattening the pitch

on a Boston upright in one of the practicecubicles. He took me over to where arather clapped out Yamaha had been wellhidden (so as not to sully the rarefiedatmosphere of the Steinway workshop). Welocated the PTA tool case and set to workvandalising A37. We snapped the shank,snipped the tape, snipped the butt springand damper spring, snipped the string (lotsof snipping). By this time Brian (Frost), theother examiner, had arrived (long journeyfrom Norfolk) and we were debating thestate of the Yamaha's butt spring flangeloop cords (I really need to get theterminology right if I'm going to be anexaminer). We decided that it might be offputting to any candidate if the loop shouldbreak whilst the butt spring repair wasbeing attempted. This did indeed happen to a candidate and we did tell them not toworry about it.

We then unveiled the PTA Octavator 2000! It's actually just a one octave modeland it's not really called that. Barry (Caradine) had prepared it earlier for the candidateto locate and rectify regulating anomalies like missing paper keyboard washers, adodgy set off, late lifting damper etc.

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The first candidate was already hereand keen to get started, so we got himinto the booth to crack on with thetuning. The second candidate arrivedin time to start the repair/regulation test.

My tip would be to start with yourweakest discipline. I remember minewas the shank replacement. It took methe best part of an hour. Normally, onthe road, I would take the brokenhammer home and drill it out on mybench drill, so for the exam I hadsplashed out on a new hammer andbutt drilling jig. I should've had a fewmore practice runs! It wasn't thesexiest of repairs but it scraped a pass.With both candidates under way weretired to the Steinway's canteen(kitchen would be a better description) and proceeded to make a dent into theSteinway semi-skimmed and Typhoo budget.

At lunchtime we listened to thefirst candidates tuning markingdifferent sections accordingly.I listened with the others andobserved how they marked anddiscussed what they were hearing.On the next section they asked myopinion first, before debatingbetween themselves..."hmm ...eightout of ten?" They both agreed; thiswas boding well. Brian then had to

flatten the piano again for the next candidate, and Rick and I demolished another noteon the Yamaha, (having already marked the previous repairs). When both candidatesreturned after lunch, we put one onto the repair and subjected the other to the VV.I will say, at the time of writing this, I have seen four candidates, and they all seem toget a little nervous at this. Let me reassure any future applicants that the examiners arepussycats and you'll know the answers (Smiley face/LOL). Sandwiches were procured,more tea was drunk, decisions were made on which questions to ask the next personfollowed by the second round of markings.

As I've mentioned earlier, I've attended a second exam day for two more candidateswith Barry taking over from Brian for this one, and I'm delighted to say that thestandards of the candidates was very good with three of them passing comfortably.

So, before I leave you to enjoy the next article, I'd like to thank Rick, Brian andBarry for their help and patience; Steinways, for allowing us to cause a nuisance intheir workshop; and, above all, the candidates, whose calmness and professionalismmade my induction into the world of examining, a smooth one.

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IMAGES FROM PIANO HISTORY — No 1THE CHAPPELL PIANO FACTORY

Location: Belmont Street, Chalk Farm, Camden Town, north London.Built: 1865-66 for Chappell & Co., music publishers, 50 New Bond St., London.Original occupiers: The partnership of Thomas Mugridge & William Ulph, who madepianos exclusively for Chappell’s.Notable occupier: Friedrich Reinhold Glandt (1840-1902), factory manager 1893-1902.Notable pianos: the range of Chappell grands, designed by F.R.Glandt, in particular theconcert model, often used in the main London concert halls c1900-c1950.Workforce: 129 (including apprentices) in 1881. Declined to only about 10 by 1970.Notable tragedy: 38 Chappell piano makers killed on active service during World WarOne, about one third of the workforce.Output: average of around 30 pianos per week up to 1920; then about 20 pianos perweek until 1930, declining to about 4 per week from 1960.Closed down: summer 1970, when Chappell’s bought out by Phillips Electrical.Shortly before this, the remaining Chappell workforce destroyed all manufacturingdrawings, jigs and templates to prevent other manufacturers acquiring them.Recent history: the building was threatened with demolition, 2011, but saved by a publicenquiry and a campaign by local councillors. Plans afoot to turn the building intohousing or office accommodation.

ADWORDS/LINKSHi fellow Members,

I wonder how many of you in the past have spent, or still are spending onadvertising (other than the PTA).Yes you can pay a lot of money each year with theyell.coms of this world but this could be  working against the PTA!

The internet is now the biggest and most accessible advertising agency on the gowith google “now the norm.”  I ask this because the PTA does not even come up onGoogle when I put in what any ordinary person would do when looking for a pianotuner — “piano tuner and the place.” It'll bring up lots of other Tom, Dick & Harry'sbut not the PTA's own web site and its search for a tuner-the biggest and bestprofessional body of tuners in the U.K. This must be changed. If the PTA came up1st on Google search the general public would then use our  “Search for a Tuner” tobenefit us all.

Imagine if we did come up ' topps everytime ' this would increase people’sawareness. Why then would fellow Members need to spend elsewhere? Youngeraspiring tuners would also want to join up and then become Members themselves; itwill have a knock on effect making the PTA bigger and better.

Google and the Web is now everyone’s best advertising agency, there at the touchof a smart phone, tablet or P.C. Let's turn us from who? — the Parents TeachersAssociation to the PIANO TUNERS ASSOCIATION. Yes Google as words/links areneeded where these tech gurus can put the PTA.org up there 1st-but at a price.If finances were limited I think the present web site should be left as it is but mademore efficient giving us a better web presence. I also wonder if needed, how many ofus would be prepared to invest and pay a little extra towards the monies required to getus top and keep us up there. Yes get your details up 1st on the web! and no otherexpensive advertising needed.

Make the PTA the biggest and best advertising agency — it'll be like having aRolls-Royce Piano Garage there at hand with the best piano mechanics in the business!It needs looking at to get the 'Ins & Outs' worked out, but if administered correctly itwould be beneficial to us all. Let’s get advertised and be known!

David O' Donnell (1230) Newcastle upon Tyne

Note from the Editor:

David had asked for this matter to be discussed at the meeting of the ExecutiveCouncil on 26th July. It was duly discussed and his comments were noted. However, itwas felt that this would be addressed by having good SEO (Search EngineOptimisation) on the new website. Therefore the Council decided to wait and see howwell the new website ranks before committing to advertising with Google.

LETTERS

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PTA COUNCIL REPORTANNE BURTON

The meeting of the Executive Council was held on 26th July at Robert Morley & Co.Ltd., Lewisham.

Present were Brian Frost (President), Matthew Gough (Vice President), AndrewJamieson (Treasurer), Annette Summers (Secretary), Anne Burton, Lewis Flisher, JohnLambert, Andrew Giller, Michelle Rudd, Stephen Venn and Gary Whiteland.Apologies were received from Tania Staite. Observers were Mark Beglin, RickOhlendorf, and John Thompson.

It was agreed to purchase six copies of the paper edition of the PTA History Book.Two of these will be placed in the PTA Library and the others will be kept for referenceand to be displayed at PTA events. An order form for the new book will be inserted intothe august edition of PTA News for those who would like to purchase their own copy.

Genie Dyke has agreed to take over the role as Coordinator of the Mentoring Schemefor Students and intends to re-launch the scheme.

There is to be a fee for PTA Students of only £10 to attend the Yamaha Training Dayat The Piano Workshop in Reigate on Saturday 4th October. This promises to be anexcellent day and partners are welcome to attend an optional early evening meal at alocal eatery in Reigate. Booking forms are on the PTA Website and included in theaugust edition of PTA News.

We welcome three new Members, a new PTA Examiner, and a new Associate, withthe result of one test still pending.

The Treasurer’s report was presented. Expenditure is up due particularly to the costsof the convention, database and website redesign and increased general expenses.

The new look 2014/15 Year Book is ready to be posted. Thanks were expressed to IanSummers for his work on the database.

The new website will contain the new PTA database and if information is correctthere, it will automatically be correct for subsequent Year Books and other mailings.

Google ads were discussed but it was decided to wait and see how well the newwebsite ranks with improved SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) before paying extra.

It was agreed to set up an email address for the organiser of advertising for the PTAYear Book and PTA News. This is: advertising@pianotuner.org.uk

Andrew Giller and Gary Whiteland have agreed to become the co-ordinators for thenew delegated duty of New Membership Promotions. They will also take over theorganisation of ongoing training once Brian and Matthew step down.

Brian is to attend the next meeting of Europiano in France at the training facility inLe Mans in November.

Arrangements for the classes at the Convention in Hereford next year are nearlyfinalised. Hotels venues for 2016 and 2017 have still to be booked.

As Brian and Matthew will be standing down at the AGM next year, it wasemphasised that everybody needs to give consideration as to whether they may be able totake over as President or Vice-President.

Associate John Thompson will purchase a CD of the archives of the Journal of thePTG of America on behalf of the PTA for the library. Anne Burton will enquire about

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11am to 5pm Saturday 4th October 2014PTA/Yamaha Training Day

Sponsored by the Piano Workshop, Reigate and YamahaAt the Piano Workshop, 46b Albert Rd North, Reigate, RH2 9EL

Learn about the Yamaha Silent and Disklavier systemswith Neil Farrar, Yamaha Piano Technical Manager

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 4TH SEPTEMBER 2014 Places are limitedBooking form enclosed

1st November 2014 Autumn Training Day and Dinner

The Stirling Highland Hotel, StirlingMore details soon.

15th March 2015PTA Training Day with Malcolm McKeandat the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:

Mrs Annette SummersPTA SecretaryPO Box 230HAILSHAMBN27 9EA

Tel: 0845 602 8796Email: secretary@pianotuner.org.ukDEADLINE FOR ARTICLES: FRIDAY 19th September

Articles, letters and photos to: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk or to address on page 3.Please email photographs and articles separately .

PTA DIARY

the historic reciprocal publishing permission that she has been told exists between thetwo associations allowing publishing of each other’s magazine articles.

A budget has been agreed for John Lambert to look into the legal implications andpossible financial consequences of having PTA Trustees.

Michelle Rudd proposed and has agreed to look into updating the way that therecommended minimum tuning price is calculated and whether a recommendation isnecessary at all.

It has been proposed that the date of the Council meeting of 28th March 2015should be changed to the 21st March 2015, subject to availability of the venue.

The next meeting is scheduled for noon on Saturday 27th September at RobertMorley & Co. Ltd., Lewisham.

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