First and foremost…thanks to everyone who read my blog and special thanks to those of you who replied. I think that there should be more of this kind of thing on the net and I encourage piano technicians everywhere to get busy and share some of your wealth-of-knowledge that you’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve found that it’s extremely rare that I talk to another tech without learning something new that I can put to use in my business. Gotta keep an open mind!
On to pianos and music. It’s almost the first day of spring and getting close to the optimum time to have your piano serviced. When there are major changes in the weather you’ll find that your piano will go out of tune unless it’s in a totally environmentally controlled room. Being made mostly of wood a piano is vulnerable to changes in the relative humidity more than it is the temperature. It’s simple…wood swells when it gets wet and shrinks when it gets dry. You may not be able to see it but there’s a whole lot of movement going on inside your piano and that movement affects the tuning, voicing, and regulation. Notice that your keys are getting stiff and sluggish? It’s probably due to the fact that when the wood shrinks the key bushings press more tightly against the balance rail and front rail guide pins. It’s an easy fix for your tuner…perhaps half an hours work that will make a big difference in how much you enjoy playing your piano. This is especially true with Chinese and Korean pianos because they don’t age the wood long enough to make it stable.
I’d also like to introduce you to my friend Steve Huie, arguably one of the best technicians in the greater Seattle area. He has undergone much of the same training as myself (actually, even more) and I highly recommend him to anyone in that area. He’s on the web at: www.stevehuie.com.
You might also want to hear what your piano could sound like if you don’t call your tuner every now and then go to www.stevehuie.com/pianomusic.htm. You’ll have to type this in yourself as it won’t work as a link on the blog. I think you’ll find it worth the time if you like to laugh. There’s also a little video there that I’m sure you technicians out there will find both gratifying and amusing.
If you’d like to listen to what I consider to be one of the most outstanding performances I’ve ever heard go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMjWRV1ufEM. Jorge Bolet was one of the lesser-known but nonetheless greatest pianists of the 20th century. Be sure to listen to both parts of the post. I’m a classically trained pianist and I can only sit and listen in wonder whenever I listen to this amazing rendition of one of the most difficult pieces in the classical piano literature.
Lastly but by no means less importantly I urge you to get out and support your local jazz community. If you want to learn more about playing jazz piano I suggest you visit Scot Ranney’s excellent website: learnjazzpiano.com. If you live in the Bellingham area as I do you can also consult Judd Sherwood’s Jazz Project website…www.jazzproject.org… for dates and venues of live jazz performances in Whatcom County. Live jazz is becoming more and more difficult to find and it’s hugely important for those of us who love it to support it lest it should die out completely.
Even more lastly…remember to support your piano technician by giving him your business. In this economy it’s little things like getting your piano tuned that drop to the bottom of the priority list (understandable when you’re wondering where your next house payment or bag of groceries is coming from) but remember, your tech has to eat too. And sleeping in your car really isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be!
Bye for now.
