Since this blog is a newsletter as well as a source of announcements, it would be nice for some of you to write stories that have to do with pianos. For example, I traveled to Ukraine and tuned some Russian pianos while I was there. I will write a short story about my experience with those pianos and post it on the blog. You can do the same. It can be funny, dangerous, or just everyday. Please be thinking of something you would like to tell the rest of us about and be apart this newsletter.
Please send your stories and pictures to vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you.
Greg Moore
Secretary, VT PTG
Thursday, November 13, 2008
November Meeting Update
With a substantial turnout for the third straight meeting in a row, Vermont Piano Technicians gathered to hear Lowell Wakker lead a class on the Verituner with Allan Day presenting his expertise on the CyberTuner. There was quite a diverse group ranging from aural tuners, Accutuner users, Verituner users and CyberTuner users who were all interested in the strengths or weaknesses of each system. With the latest advances in ETD technology tuners are able to create tunings that are customizable to their individual tastes or the preferences of the customer with greater ease than ever before.
Next meeting will be in January with the subject being RPT skills. More will be posted as the time gets closer. Have a great holiday season!
Next meeting will be in January with the subject being RPT skills. More will be posted as the time gets closer. Have a great holiday season!
Piano Sales Blog
With at least 5 dealers in the State and many more technicians in used sales or commission sales, there may be a need to help buyers and sellers connect. Nothing would be better than to have an area in which we can list pianos we have for sale where others including clients can look. With that in mind, I decided to give it a try and see what the response would be from all of you. Because this is a test at the moment, I would like some feedback from you with comments, suggestions or criticisms.
Pros:
1. Ease of matching pianos to customers
2. Helps clients sell their pianos
3. Gives a broader range of pianos to choose from
4. Even "Free" pianos can be listed (buyer beware)
5. It would be fun to sell a piano :o)
6. Good way to advertise your pianos to the rest of the technicians
7. You can even upload pictures, slide-shows and videos of your piano
8. Site can be developed further
9. If you own a store, you can advertise it and point to your web page, email or telephone number at the same time.
10. Your comments
Cons:
1. None that I can think of.
2. Tell me what you think. You can either e-mail me or place a comment in the comment box below this post.
Here is the blog site http://vtpianosale.blogspot.com/
Comment, the piano that is listed is a piano I am trying to sell for a client. This is something like what your ad could look like.
Respectfully,
Greg Moore RPT
Secretary, Vermont PTG
LVPianos (at) gmail (dot) com
Pros:
1. Ease of matching pianos to customers
2. Helps clients sell their pianos
3. Gives a broader range of pianos to choose from
4. Even "Free" pianos can be listed (buyer beware)
5. It would be fun to sell a piano :o)
6. Good way to advertise your pianos to the rest of the technicians
7. You can even upload pictures, slide-shows and videos of your piano
8. Site can be developed further
9. If you own a store, you can advertise it and point to your web page, email or telephone number at the same time.
10. Your comments
Cons:
1. None that I can think of.
2. Tell me what you think. You can either e-mail me or place a comment in the comment box below this post.
Here is the blog site http://vtpianosale.blogspot.com/
Comment, the piano that is listed is a piano I am trying to sell for a client. This is something like what your ad could look like.
Respectfully,
Greg Moore RPT
Secretary, Vermont PTG
LVPianos (at) gmail (dot) com
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
November Meeting
Lowell Wakker RPT will be presenting a technical this month on the Verituner. The discussion is meant to explain strengths and weaknesses of the machine, and hopefully provide time to experiment with the spectrum display in evaluating tone.
For those who may be new to the area or to the Guild, our meetings are usually on the second Tuesday of every month. We usually go out to eat after the meeting.
Date: Tuesday, November 11
Time: 3:30 PM too 6:00 PM
Place: Ed and Emily Hilbert
40 Pleasant St.
Bristol VT 05445
Contact info: (802) 453-3743
or vtptg.now (at) gmail.com
For those who may be new to the area or to the Guild, our meetings are usually on the second Tuesday of every month. We usually go out to eat after the meeting.
Date: Tuesday, November 11
Time: 3:30 PM too 6:00 PM
Place: Ed and Emily Hilbert
40 Pleasant St.
Bristol VT 05445
Contact info: (802) 453-3743
or vtptg.now (at) gmail.com
Monday, October 13, 2008
Between Artist and Technician
“Between Artist and Technician”
October 16th, Vermont PTG Meeting
Steve Brady and Judith Cohen
In this class, an experienced concert technician and a concert pianist team up to discuss the interaction between artist and technician before, during, and after a piano concert. Topics covered include communication, priorities, and the psychology of the pianist versus that of the technician, as well as specific tips and techniques for concert work, all illustrated with examples drawn from Steve’s and Judith’s respective careers. Copies of Steve’s new book will be available for purchase.
Steve Brady has been a piano technician since 1973, and served as head piano technician at the University of Washington from 1978 till 2003. During those 25 years he tuned and prepared pianos for approximately 5,000 concerts and recitals, and worked with most of the leading pianists of our time, including Murray Perahia, Alfred Brendel, Andras Schiff, Garrick Ohlsson, Emanuel Ax, Peter Serkin, Richard Goode, Claudio Arrau, Alicia de Larrocha, Andre Watts, Vladimir Feltsman, Lang Lang, and Evgeny Kissin.
Steve served as editor of the Piano Technicians Journal for six years (1995-2000). In 1996 he received the PTG “Member of Note” award, and in 1999 PTG published his book, A Piano Technician’s Guide to Field Repairs. His second book, Under the Lid: The Art and Craft of the Concert Piano Technician, was published in March of this year. In his spare time Steve enjoys cooking, tending his wine cellar, and dancing Argentine tango. He lives in Seattle with his wife, the concert pianist Judith Cohen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
October Meeting
This month's meeting will feature Steve Brady RPT from Washington State. Steve has recently published a book called Under the Lid - The Art & Craft of the Concert Piano Technician. The topic will be "Between the Technician and the Artist" featuring a discussion between he and his wife who is a concert pianist. This is a meeting you won't want to miss. More information on the topic will follow.
Date: October 16th
Time: Out of State 4 PM to 6 PM
Time: Vermont Technicians 3:30 PM to 6 PM
Place: Ed and Emily Hilbert
40 Pleasant St.
Bristol, VT
Contact: Hilbert Pianos
802-453-3743
hilbert@middlebury.edu
Please RSVP as soon as possible.
Monday, September 1, 2008
September Meeting
Attention all Piano Technicians!
While completing piano performance studies at San Diego State in 1979, Don apprenticed with a piano rebuilder. As an independent piano technician in the San Diego area Don divided his business between normal tuning, concert piano preparation, rebuilding, and providing warranty work for dealers and manufacturers. He held the position of National Service Manager for Young Chang Pianos from 1990 - 1995, then was Manager of Technical Support for Kawai Pianos in the US and Canada, and now serves as the Director of Technical Training for Kawai and Shigeru Kawai Pianos. Don and his wife Patty are the editors of the Southern California Combined PTG newsletter. He teaches regularly at regional technician seminars, PTG Annual conventions, and at PTG chapter meetings. He has prepared articles on a variety of technical topics for the Piano Technicians Journal.
Announcing a Free All-Day Technical Seminar
Saturday, September 27th, 9am to 4pm
Sponsored by:
&
Hilbert Pianos
Don Mannino RPT
Presenting technical seminars on 3 topics:
- “Action Centers: The Secret to Consistent Touch”
“Introduction to the Shigeru Kawai Piano and Millennium-III Action”
Barbecue Lunch Included!
Free All-Day technical seminar by Don Mannino!
Where: Hilbert Pianos
40 Pleasant Street
Bristo
When: September 27th, 2008 9am - 4pm
What’s Included: 3 technical seminars plus lunch!
Don Mannino RPT, Director of Shigeru Kawai Field Services and Director of Technical Training for Kawai America, will be making a visit to Vermont to present 3 very popular technical seminars September 27th. Don is well known for his seminars at PTG conventions, as well as for technical articles in the Piano Technicians Journal. Don’s seminars have a reputation for being interesting, thorough, and applicable to the technician’s every day work.
“Action Centers: The Secret to Consistent Touch” is Don’s seminar describing the importance of well fit action centers to the performance of fine piano actions, and demonstrating a method for repinning action centers that is fast and extremely accurate.
“Introduction to the Shigeru Kawai Pianos” is an overview of these new, hand-built pianos from Japan in which Don describes why Kawai is building these instruments, what is different about them as compared to other Kawai pianos, and some of the research and development process involved in creating them. Included will be photos of the factory as well as extreme slow-motion films taken during the development of the Kawai Millennium-III action in Kawai’s R&D department.
“High Performance Grand Action Regulation” is a new seminar on getting the best performance from Kawai grand pianos. Included will be discussion and demonstration of factory style regulating techniques, the trade-offs of various regulation specifications to meet different needs, service pointers for getting the performance back into worn actions, and a full top-to-bottom regulation process. Although this class will feature the Kawai actions, much of the class material is applicable to all fine grand piano actions.
Don’s seminars are usually presented to packed rooms at PTG seminars - don’t miss this chance to see him locally!
To attend, please call Ed and Emily Hilbert at (802) 453-3743 , or E-mail him at: hilbert@middlebury.edu
You may also e-mail or call Don Mannino at Kawai: (800) 660-5607 ext. 883, or E-mail: tech@shigerukawai.com
About the Meal: This is a potluck meal, so please contact the Hilberts ahead of time to make sure you bring the right thing. Chicken will be provided. This will help with food preparations!
Out of State: If you are coming from out of state and are planning on staying overnight, please let us know ahead of time so we can help you make arrangements.
Vermont Members, if you have accommodations you can offer please let us know. We will try to match you up with out-of-state guests.
We hope to see you there!
While completing piano performance studies at San Diego State in 1979, Don apprenticed with a piano rebuilder. As an independent piano technician in the San Diego area Don divided his business between normal tuning, concert piano preparation, rebuilding, and providing warranty work for dealers and manufacturers. He held the position of National Service Manager for Young Chang Pianos from 1990 - 1995, then was Manager of Technical Support for Kawai Pianos in the US and Canada, and now serves as the Director of Technical Training for Kawai and Shigeru Kawai Pianos. Don and his wife Patty are the editors of the Southern California Combined PTG newsletter. He teaches regularly at regional technician seminars, PTG Annual conventions, and at PTG chapter meetings. He has prepared articles on a variety of technical topics for the Piano Technicians Journal.
Friday, May 16, 2008
June Meeting
The next Vermont PTG Chapter Meeting--
We're very fortunate and excited to have Marcel Lapointe as a featured guest from Quebec City. Marcel will spend the afternoon with us in a voicing class you won't want to miss. The extra time
will give plenty of opportunity for some hands-on experience with some of the many innovative voicing techniques that Marcel has developed over the years. Marcel has a well-earned reputation within PTG for his skill, enthusiasm, generosity, and good-nature.
Looking forward to seeing you all with Marcel Lapointe, at the Hilberts' in Bristol, 2:00 pm on June 10!
The following is Marcel's "bio" and class description, in his own words:
********
Bio.
ML,
Born by curiosity, ( direct translation from French) at 4 years old, I decided
to become a tuner.
After a small detour studying the saxophone at Quebec Conservatory for 7
years, (before I was too small to pull the tuning hammer).
I started learning in the old French way as master and apprentice with the
Conservatory tuner.
I started being a real tuner at 18 years old. My first factory training was at
Mason Hamlin in Boston, and 15 years ago studied in Hamburg at Steinway.
I discovered PTG 25 years ago and since that time spended all the possible time
at the conventions Nationnal or regionnal.
There not only you can learn zillions of things, but best of all, you will meet
friends for life.
I tune and voice mainly for concerts for the last 20 years.
Piano is an endless quest for Graal for someone born by curiosity.
Class.
We will explore many different ways to eliminate false beats, some are
unorthodoxes, some are old ones forgotten.
Maybe we will find a new one altogether, who knows?
Thanks to the readings of pianotek list for almost 10 years, many fine PTG
members drove me on the path of finding many differents solutions. They will
not work all the time, ( differents causes), but you will have many more tricks
in your bag to find solutions.
I will show a cross / breed way of sanding the hammers
(German/French/American) .
I will give a demonstration of hammers/strings mating , with accuracy and
speed. All the tools needed are very easy to do yourself.
WILL START EARLY, at 2 PM.
Tuesday, June 10
We're very fortunate and excited to have Marcel Lapointe as a featured guest from Quebec City. Marcel will spend the afternoon with us in a voicing class you won't want to miss. The extra time
will give plenty of opportunity for some hands-on experience with some of the many innovative voicing techniques that Marcel has developed over the years. Marcel has a well-earned reputation within PTG for his skill, enthusiasm, generosity, and good-nature.
Looking forward to seeing you all with Marcel Lapointe, at the Hilberts' in Bristol, 2:00 pm on June 10!
The following is Marcel's "bio" and class description, in his own words:
********
Bio.
ML,
Born by curiosity, ( direct translation from French) at 4 years old, I decided
to become a tuner.
After a small detour studying the saxophone at Quebec Conservatory for 7
years, (before I was too small to pull the tuning hammer).
I started learning in the old French way as master and apprentice with the
Conservatory tuner.
I started being a real tuner at 18 years old. My first factory training was at
Mason Hamlin in Boston, and 15 years ago studied in Hamburg at Steinway.
I discovered PTG 25 years ago and since that time spended all the possible time
at the conventions Nationnal or regionnal.
There not only you can learn zillions of things, but best of all, you will meet
friends for life.
I tune and voice mainly for concerts for the last 20 years.
Piano is an endless quest for Graal for someone born by curiosity.
Class.
We will explore many different ways to eliminate false beats, some are
unorthodoxes, some are old ones forgotten.
Maybe we will find a new one altogether, who knows?
Thanks to the readings of pianotek list for almost 10 years, many fine PTG
members drove me on the path of finding many differents solutions. They will
not work all the time, ( differents causes), but you will have many more tricks
in your bag to find solutions.
I will show a cross / breed way of sanding the hammers
(German/French/American) .
I will give a demonstration of hammers/strings mating , with accuracy and
speed. All the tools needed are very easy to do yourself.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Meeting update
May 13 found PTGers arriving at Frederick Johnson Pianos in White River Junction; some an hour early! Now that's dedication. As was anticipated, we had a gathering of 8 including a new face: Helen Weston, from Bristol who is contemplating entering the other side of the piano world. It was also good to see Michael Lynam, a new comer visiting a second time. We were all treated to a class with Dale Howe as he taught on tuning. With about 40 years of tuning experience, it was a challenge to fit all his knowledge inside the time alloted. However, he persevered and gave us a chance to get a good meal at a local restaurant before heading home.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Meeting Notice
Our next meeting will be at
Frederick Johnson Pianos Inc.
in
White River Junction.
Date: May 13
Time: 4:30
Phone: (802) 985-5406
Map
E-mail: vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail (dot) com
Dale Howe will do a tuning technical. We will go out to eat afterward. Hope to see you there!
White River Junction.
Date: May 13
Time: 4:30
Phone: (802) 985-5406
Map
E-mail: vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail (dot) com
Dale Howe will do a tuning technical. We will go out to eat afterward. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
This Month's Meeting
Allan Day showing us some unique and interesting projects he is working on.
1790 Longman & Broderip square fortepiano
Allan demonstrating the way this thing works
We had a good-size turnout -- nine in all
Ed Hilbert explaining the effect of swelling and shrinking of wood over 2 plus centuries
Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of the Steinway action which Allan is working on. Thanks, Allan, for leading the discussion and showing us your one-of-a-kind instruments.
1790 Longman & Broderip square fortepiano
Allan demonstrating the way this thing works
We had a good-size turnout -- nine in all
Ed Hilbert explaining the effect of swelling and shrinking of wood over 2 plus centuries
Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of the Steinway action which Allan is working on. Thanks, Allan, for leading the discussion and showing us your one-of-a-kind instruments.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
NEECSO
The New Hampshire Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild proudly presents our finest offering ever:
NEECSO 2008
“ART, CRAFT, & INNOVATION”
April 24 to 27, 2008
Highlights include:
35 classes by 29 instructors
13 brand spankin’ new classes (that’s 37 %!)
Thrifty Thursday, with 5 one day classes by nationally known instructors – yours for only $50 more!
A 9 class series “Grand Action Restoration – Raising the Bar”
“Rib Crowned and Supported Soundboards – Towards A New Paradigm?”
Two days of classes on soundboard design and construction by Ron Nossaman and Terry Farrell
“Of Mics and Men (Women and Pianos) – The Art of Recording the Piano” presented by NYC studio piano technician veteran Barbara Pease Renner and 11 time Grammy winning recording engineer Jack Renner
Other instructors include: David Anderson, Steve Brady, Kent Webb, Wally Brooks, Don Manino, Andre & Christian Bolduc, David Stanwood, and many, many more!
Special seminar hotel rate of $99 per night at the Radisson Hotel.
A pdf. of our brochure, class descriptions, other highlights, and online registration are available on our website at www.ptg.org/neecso. Or contact:
Air travelers can fly into the Manchester, N. H. airport and take the free Radisson limo service directly to the hotel.
This will be the only Region 1 Conference prior to the Annual in Anaheim!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Meeting notice
The next meeting will be at Allan Day's shop on April 8th. He is restoring a 1790 Longman & Broderip square fortepiano from London and an 1876 Steinway A.The Steinway got a new back action to replace the old screw-in damper wires. The old sostenuto used a cord that got snagged by metal tabs on the top flanges. That system has been scrapped and a modern sutenuto bar is now being adapted to the old action. Come and
see the work in progress.Meeting Date: April 8th
Meeting time: 3:30 PM
Technical: 4:10 PM
Host: Allan Day
Address: 8 Lincoln Rd.,
WILLISTON, VT 05495
Phone: 802-879-4338
Email: Pianomanday@comcast.net
We will go out to eat at a local restaurant following the meeting.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Websites
To all Vermont piano technicians who see this and have websites which they want posted, please send an e-mail to vtptg (dot) now (at) gmail (dot) com, or leave a message in the comment box below.
This Month's Meeting
Lowell Wakker RPT teaching the group about using tools properly and safely. 
Everyone paying close attention as...
...Lowell demonstrates how to handle a radial arm saw.
This is a jig for safely guiding a thin piece of wood through a table saw.
Click the picture for a closer view. These are Lowell's sketches on how to properly sharpen twist drills - otherwise known as drill bits. Thank you, Lowell, for the great job teaching this class.
Lowell Wakker Presents: Safety & Savvy
Power Tool Basics; Safety & Savvy: Led by Lowell Wakker
Lowell Wakker, RPT, will be giving a technical presentation on how to use power tools safely.
Be sure to come. It will be a time of fun and learning.
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Meeting Time: 3:30 PM
Technical Time: 4:10 PM
Place Ed & Emily Hilbert
40 Pleasant St.
Bristol, VT
Welcome
Welcome to the Vermont Chapter of the Piano Technician's Guild! This will keep everyone informed of the latest news. So come back soon to check for updates!
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