February 2014

PTA Convention 14-17th MayShanghai Music ShowTool Review

Remember Last Year? Come to the PTA Convention in Bolton this May!!Send your Booking Form in by 1st March

February 2014 3

The next deadline for PTA News isFriday 21st March 2014.

PTA News is the Newsletter for the PianoforteTuners’ Association. All views expressed are those ofthe contributors and do not necessarily reflect theviews of the PTA or the editorial team.

Please address letters intended for publication to‘The Editor’, preferably sent via email, computer diskor typed. If by email or disc please send photos

separately to the text. Items can only be returned ifaccompanied by an SAE. Please obtain the necessarypermission before submitting copyrighted items.

PTA NewsCobblestonesChurch LaneGreat HollandFRINTON-ON-SEAEssex CO13 0JSptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

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

Copy may then be emailed to the Editor at:ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

Editorial — 4President Writes — 5Membership News — 6Steinway Training Day — 8Chris Cook and Richard Webb — 9

Book Review — 10PTA Convention — 11Students’ Pages — 12Shanghai Music Exhibition — 14Trade News — 16Sketches Of Piano Tuners — 17Tool Review — 18Electronic Tuning Devices — 19Clive Benson — 21Codeword Solution — 23Council Report — 24Letters — 25PTA Diary/Photo Finish — 27

Who has made this digital piano?Find out on Page 15

4

Can it really be time to thinkabout which classes to attend atour biggest event, the 2014Convention in May?

It doesn’t seem like a year since wewere looking forward to our CentenaryConvention in Bournemouth. What agreat event that was. I’ll never forget thesuperb dinner with all our friends fromthe trade followed by an amazing auctionraising £1800 no less!

This year we have a new Hotel to try,as we go to Bolton for the first time. Inyour brochure you’ll find plenty ofexcellent classes for you to brush up yourskills as well as to try new ones.

It’s always a friendly affair and theevening entertainment this year includes aconcert on a player piano by professionalpianolist; that’s not Paul Fox who runsour own ‘pianolist’ – that’s someone thatplays the Player Piano!

To warm up for the great event, whynot come to our Steinway Training Day atSteinway Hall on the 8th March (Seepage 8). These new PTA Training Daysare excellent value and of great benefit.Steinway are even sponsoring an earlyevening dinner at a local restaurant forthose that want to take advantage, socontact Annette now to make sure to bookyour place for the day.

We were very sorry to hear of thepassing of two very big names within thepiano trade. Chris Cook was Chairman ofFletcher and Newman, a Company he hadbeen with since 1966. Richard Webbfounded Intermusic in 1986 and openedup the supply of new pianos to manydealerships across the country. They areboth remembered on page 9 and ourthoughts go out to their families andfriends.

The updated PTA History by LesSherlock is reviewed on Page 10 and it is

a superb record of ourAssociation. Personally I feel everyoneshould buy one but I know some peopleare put off by the technology, since atpresent it is only available as an ‘ebook’for use on a Kindle, Computer or iPad etc.

I too was unsure but found that it wasvery easy to load the software free from

‘Amazon’ and to read it very simply andclearly on my computer. So please don’tbe put off, the added supplements areworth the small cost alone.

Colin Crawford’s report on the pianoexhibition at the Shanghai Music show(page 14) is amazing. You should take acopy around with you to show to anycustomer or friend who tells you thatyou’re in a dying trade. Real pianos arevery much ‘in’ over in China and are theheight of fashion, being made to look likecars, planes and temples!

Nigel Donovan writes about his latestElectronic Tuning Device on page 19,making clear this is his personal view.Well balanced personal views areimportant to us and whether it is abouttuning levers (John Thompson’s ToolReview, page 18) or the merits of variousETD’s I would be doing a disservice toyou if I didn’t bring you balancedopinions about products we have tochoose from. After all anyone can write inwith a balanced view of any piece of kitthey use and suppliers are at liberty towrite in with news of their own products.

Wishing you well until April anddon’t forget that Convention form………

HappyTuning.....

Editorial Matthew Gough

February 2014 5

The President WritesBrian Frost

One of the duties I carry out as PTAPresident is to represent our Associationat the annual general and delegatemeetings of Europiano (EP) and I thoughtyou might be interested to see how thesemeetings work.

Last November I attended a delegatesmeeting hosted by the Swiss Piano Tuners’Association in Arenenberg, which wasabout an hour’s drive from Zurich.Delegates congregated from all overEurope at what turned out to be the Swisstraining facility for their apprentices.Many of us were met at Zurich airport byMembers of the Swiss Association andtransported to Areneberg with theexpected Swiss efficiency.

Areneberg is situated on LakeConstance and is a stunning location for atraining college. All trainee pianotechnician students are trained underapprenticeships in Switzerland and sent tothe college at Arenenberg for blocks oftraining lasting up to 8 weeks at a timeover a 4 year period. The facilities wereexcellent, and in addition to the pianocourses they offered there were also organbuilding and brass instrument trainingfacilities as well. Most of the musicalinstrument training takes place over thesummer months as in the winter thecollege offers training for agriculturalworkers – when their work on farms isless hectic. It was quite surreal to seetractor maintenance facilities alongsidethe more familiar paraphernalia of themusical instrument industry. The collegedoes not offer any full time training at alland most of the teachers are brought infrom industry for the duration of the shortcourses held throughout the apprenticestraining.

A new schedule forthe delegates meetingwas trialled at thismeeting. We were split intoworking groups: Web design, EPMagazine, EP Degree, EP Congress andContact between the Associations (thegroup I was in). We met for 2 sessions inthe smaller groups and then held a fulldelegates meeting in the afternoon. Theformat seemed to work well and a lot ofground was covered.

There still seems to be some disquietabout those countries not taking their fullquota of EP magazines, such as the PTA.The magazine has improved enormouslyand maybe those of you who do notcurrently subscribe could reconsider.There is always the possibility that the‘opt out’ I negotiated some years agocould be withdrawn.

The 1st level of EP ‘Degree’ will notbe changed as it is felt to be working well.Plans for the second level degree includea written examination which would beheld at the same time throughout Europe,followed 6 months later by the practicalexamination. The practical examinationwill involve constructing a one octaveupright model, including a bridge repair.

A new web team of 5 people has beenformed and hopefully the under-utilisedEP Website profile can be raised. Amember of the Dutch Association,Michael V.d. Loon, will be the ‘WebMaster’ and he will coordinate ideasgenerated from within Europiano with anexternal web design company. The sitewill be mainly in English with Germanand French translations.

Various ideas were put forward both toimprove communication betweenAssociations and with the piano ‘world’ in

Europiano Delegates Meeting9th November 2013, Switzerland

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Membership NewsAnnette Summers

A warm welcome to a new PTA Associates:

A94 Mr Shaun Anthony Wickendon1 The Brae, Glen Road, Grayshott,HINDHEAD, Surrey GU26 6NFTel: Home 01428 602997 Work 01428 607413

A93 Mr G Rhun (Previously S292)His address should read:Bryn Dedwydd, Trawsfynydd, BLAENAU FFESTINIOG LL41 4SW

His Email is : grhun@btinternet.com

and to a new PTA Student:

S357 Miss C V Byrne,48 The Grove, Gosforth, NEWCASTLE, Tyne and Wear NE3 1NJTel: 0191 2852013 Mobile: 07402 982440Email: claire.v.byrne@gmail.com

general – including social media andproducing a leaflet for music collegepiano students. The leaflet could informmusic students about various aspects ofpiano care and maintenance which couldbe followed up by talks in music collegesby EP Members. It was also suggestedthat European Associations could offersubsidised attendance to fellow EPMembers at their own Conventions – thiswould be limited to lecture andConvention fees and would not includehotel costs. The French delegate reportedthat the Le Mans training college wasworking hard at networking with othertraining facilities throughout the world.They had identified 25 such trainingfacilities.

Regarding the EP Congress inMoscow between 16th and 20thSeptember 2015, it was reported that thecost for the 2 night programme would be1000 Euros, although this would involve

arriving early on day one and leaving lateon day 3. The cost of a 5 nightprogramme will be announced in duecourse. There will be a full partnerprogramme and the IABPT will beholding their conference in Moscow at thesame time. Delegates will need visaswhich will need to be purchasedseparately. Concerns were raised aboutthe high costs, especially from theGerman Association as they always holdtheir AGM at an EP Congress. If you areinterested in attending the MoscowCongress let the PTA Secretary know andshe can put interested parties in touchwith each other.

Although time consuming I enjoymeeting up with my European colleaguesand it is always interesting to see howother Associations are run and how weare all faring as piano manufacture inEurope slowly dwindles.

The President Writes Continued

February 2014 7

Applications for PTA Membership have been received from:

S328 Mr Gavin Crooks184 West Street, Warsop Vale, MANSFIELD, Notts NG20 8XL

S322 Finlay FraserFlat 2, 146 Lower Clapton Road, LONDON E5 0QJ

An Associate Application has been received from:

Mr R A Webb 48 Grosvenor Terrace, Camberwell, LONDON SE5 0NP

Please note the following changes:

H819 Mr Des Smeaton 26 Poplar Way, HARROGATE North Yorkshire HG1 4PRTel: 01423 465663

Continued Overleaf

8

Membership News ContinuedS336 Mrs Lorraine Bolger

6 Ridgeway-on-the-Hill, Ambergate, BELPER Derbyshire DE56 2LAEmail: lorrainebolger@pianotunerverse.com

1010 Mr G Harris – His address should read ‘Somerset’ not Avon

1141 Mr M Felton – His mobile number should be: 07747 317844

1145 Mr P Metcalfe has new telephone numbers, Email and website:Landline: 01661 832221 Mobile: 07703 574868Email: randmtuning@btconnect.comWebsite: www.pmpianotuning.com

S340 R Michishita is Ms and not Mr

A16 Mr D S TremellingChy an Chy, Park an Forth, ST IVES, Cornwall TR26 2EZ

1141 Mr Mike Felton – His Telephone Number should read 07747 317844

Changes of Email or website Address:

1228 Patrick Symes Email: psymespianos@hotmail.com1069 Mr M Robertson Email: moray.a.robertson@gmail.com1022 Ms Michelle Rudd Website: www.pianotuningyorkshire.com886 Mr M Hodsdon Email: mallin1@btinternet.com

Please send changes to The PTA Secretary using the contact details on Page 27

Saturday 8th March 2014At Steinway Hall, London

Common problems and how to deal with themDiscussions on useful tools

The opportunity to ‘have a go’ in a hands-on sessionAn early evening meal

ONLY £45 FOR ALL PTA CATEGORIESOTHERS WELCOME AT £65

Contact The PTA Secretary to Book Now!!! (Page 27)

PTA/STEINWAY TRAINING DAY

February 2014 9

Christopher Paul CookH.J.Fletcher and Newman

1947 –2013Chris Cook Chairman of Fletcher and Newman passed away

suddenly on 1st December 2013 at the age of 66.Chris Joined F&N in 1966, and gained 'hands-on' experience

in most areas of the company with his responsibilities includingextensive overseas travel and visiting customers throughout theworld. He became Managing Director in 1981 and was appointedChairman of the Company following the death of Geoff Newmanin 2002 . He continued an active role in the company until his

retirement due to ill health in 2006. He will be greatly missed by his children Edward,Emma and Stephen and his Grandchildren Barnaby and William. His legacy in thebusiness lives on as Fletcher and Newman continues under the leadership of hischildren Emma and Steve, the 4th generation in the family business.

Emma, Steve and Family

Chris Cook

Richard Dennis Webb20th January 1944 – 5th January 2014

PTA Members will be sorry to hear that Richard Webb, aPTA Patron since 1998, passed away earlier this year. It wasmost unexpected, indeed 16 members of the family had a one-week skiing holiday in Austria immediately before Christmas.This was in honour of his forthcoming 70th birthday, whichsadly he did not quite reach, but was a lovely memory for thefamily having spent quality time with him so close to his passing.

The private, family funeral took place on Saturday 19th May,followed by a service of celebration and thanksgiving for his life at St James ParishChurch, Poole: a large building with a balcony that had to be opened to accommodatethe huge congregation. Tributes were given by James Foulds (son of my former Derbyboss, Philip Foulds), who said that next to his father, Richard had been the mostinfluential and helpful person in guiding him in his business life; John Turner, an oldfamily friend; and Peter Wilton, Richard’s brother-in-law. David Rushworth, ofRushworth and Dreaper, Liverpool, gave the reading from the well-known passage onlove, 1 Corinthians 13. Mike Brent, who managed the piano showroom inBournemouth when I worked for Minns Music, played (appropriately since Intermusicsupplies Bechstein pianos) the church’s Bechstein grand during a time of reflection.Afterwards there was an open invitation to the Royal Motor Yacht Club at Sandbanks,

Continued Overleaf

Richard Webb

A tribute by Les Sherlock

10

close to Richard’s home; an invite taken up by so many the room was crammed withpeople standing shoulder to shoulder.

Richard partnered his father Sydney in running Minns Music, a company thatexpanded from the approx. 17 shops when I worked for them in 1973 to over 50, untilgoing into receivership during a recession in the 1980’s. It was after this that Richardfounded Intermusic in 1986, a company that became highly successful, supplying asignificant number of retailers across the UK with pianos. He and his nephew, SteveHammett, attended a number of PTA Conventions, giving talks on the piano industry –the first time was in 1999 – and several times covered the cost of pre-dinner drinks fordelegates, the last occasion being our centenary event in Bournemouth last year.

Richard leaves his wife Ann, and five children: Hannah, Oliver (who, with SteveHammett, will continue to run Intermusic), Tom, James and Victoria.

Book ReviewJohn Lambert

The Pianoforte Tuners' Association1913 - 2013" (Kindle Edition),by Les Sherlock

Available as adownload from Amazon for£7.20 inc VAT andtransmission. (Someoverseas Members mayhave to visit their localAmazon Website ratherthan Amazon UK - try itand see.)

How does one review a book thatmost of us have already, and that hasalready been reviewed?  Les firstproduced his excellent history of the PTAin 2006, and for starters, it has beenbrought bang up to date.  Not only thehistory, but the appendices of officers andduties are all complete to 2013.  Similarly,all the "categories" of PTA folk areupdated - Members, Associates, Studentsetc.  Also, there are truly fascinating newappendices. Before today, I had no experiencewhatsoever of e-books.  My wife, Annie,however has a "Kindle" and had notrouble at all locating the book anddownloading it.  Many of you will befamiliar with this technology, butdoubtless some will be in the same boat as

me.  I must say that it ischildishly easy to handle and presentssome useful features, for example, onecan toggle easily to and from "references"and the like which are so often annoyinglyplaced at the end of a chapter in a "real"book.  One very clear advantage of theKindle is that many of the photographs arenow in colour.  The format also meansthat the presentation is very professional.The other advantage of an e-book is thatany revisions and updates willautomatically be added to your "copy"every time you sync your e-reader. It is easy to assume that not much hashappened in the PTA since 2006, but thisis not the case, and I found the newhistory pages a very good read.  Les hasalso been very scrupulous in hisresearches into officers and delegatedduties — these have been added to, and itis good to see recognition given to allthose who work so hard behind the scenes. One of the new appendices is thewhole 1872 diary of John Bird Burgess assupplied by Paul Tucker.  We have allread excerpts of this as published before

February 2014 11

in "PTA News" but it is all the morefascinating to read through in its entirety.The other major addition is Gill Green'sdissertation on the history of piano tuningfrom the beginning until 1913.  She givesthe reason for stopping at 1913 as thefoundation of the PTA.  I had long wantedto read this, as I have often wonderedwhere piano tuners fitted into the schemeof things in bygone times.  One passagewhich struck a chord was a reference totuners in the 1890's complaining about the

huge number of old wrecks they wereexpected to perform miracles on.  Plus çachange.........

Another addition is a brief section onvarious relatives of PTA folk from the19th Century.

Well done and thanks to Les.  Thisnew edition is well worth splashing out ameagre £7.20 on – and you even get thereader FREE for use on your laptop,smartphone, tablet or computer fromAmazon!

****PTA CONVENTION 2014****Deadline for Booking- 1st March

Wednesday 14th May – Saturday 17th May 2014

Mercure Last Drop Village Hotel, BoltonLearn new skills with a choice of

classes and hands-onworkshopsEvening EntertainmentCheck out new tools and

equipment from our suppliers in theExhibition areaPick and choose which days and classes

to attendTalk shop or not with piano

tuners and technicians fromacross the UK and beyond

Enjoy the annual PTA lunch and AGM

Send back your form to the PTA Secretary by1st March or phone 0845 6028796 for details

12

STUDENTS’ PAGESIf you’re a student, graduate, or are just starting out, then

this section is for you

ROCK ‘N ROLLERTHE DECEMBER 2011 STUDENTS’ PAGES EXPLAINED ‘ROLLER REMOVAL’. NOWHERE’S ONE MAN’S BATTLE TO PREPARE THE NEW ROLLERS FOR ACTION

Just to recap on the December2011 article: use a Stanley knife toease the glue joints and then adjustthe opening gap on your RollerRemoving Pliers and squeeze untilthe old roller eases out.

There may be a bit of rollerwood left in the slot so use aStanley knife to cut that out andthen file the slot checking that thewidth of the new roller fits nicely.

The new roller will probably betoo high. I use the removal pliers tocut it down to size.

A final run along a file ensuresthat the new roller will be nice andsnug in its slot. It will also flattenthe bottom of the wooden partnicely for a good fit.

February 2014 13

I’m a bit old fashioned so stilluse hot Scotch Glue. A length ofthick gauge piano wire fits nicely.

Don’t rely on the nap mark.Check the jack will run ‘with thenap’ not against it, to minimisefriction.

Leave to dry. Stacking theshanks like this avoids the gluemessing up the rollers.

Once they are dry you canclean off the glue with your StanleyKnife.

Perfect and ready for action!

�Subs now overdue. This editioncould be your last!!�PTA Convention in Bolton 14th

-17th May. Learn loads and attend aslittle or as much of it as you like.�Well done to those Students who

have applied to take the PTA Test tobecome Members. If you are eligibledo give it a go. The benefits areenormous and it’s a friendly process.�Contact Annette Now! (See P.27)

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Shanghai SurpriseColin CrawfordThe Music China

2013 exhibition inShanghai took place in earlyOctober, and I was lucky enoughto be invited jointly by Renner andShanghai-based AXL MusicalInstrument Corporation to jointhem for the event.

It was a splendid opportunity to catchup with friends in the trade, and get anidea of what is happening in a growthmarket for pianos. The vast piano halls ofthis exhibition were constantly teemingwith people, both trade and public, andthis show really has to be witnessed firsthand. It is quite evident that the Chineselove pianos. They love pianos in the sameway that we loved pianos in England inthe late Victorian era, and there areparallels with that era in their rapidevolution into consumerism. Thenew emergent Chinese middle classappear to have a home, a car and apiano as their priorities, in that order.This may have something to do withthe single-child policy, and a desirefor that child to have the bestpossible education in order to get agood start in life, but whatever thereason, pianos are popular. Verypopular. A trip on the ShanghaiMetro (far preferable to a dice withdeath in one of the thousands of clappedout VW Santana taxis which compete forfares in the city) and you notice pianos inrailway stations; pianos in adverts; advertsfor pianos; adverts encouraging you totake piano lessons. The opportunities fortuners here must be staggering. It was nosurprise then, that a large proportion ofMusic China was devoted to pianos.Recent items in our National press hailingthe death of the piano are somewhat

exaggerated it appears, becauseif pianos are dead in Europe, then Chinais the afterlife, and the vast majority of theinstruments sold here are brand-newtraditional acoustics. In fact digitals werenoticeably less prominent, although therewere some surprising exceptions, ofwhich more later.

Most major piano makers wererepresented at the show, and lavish standsfrom Blüthner, Steinway andBösendorfer dominated, the latterimporting a couple of entire drawingrooms onto their stand with faux-fireplaces and Italian leather sofas but itwas perhaps the outrageous displays ofChinese piano brands which were themost intriguing to the Western visitor.

Candy-pink uprights; pianos shaped likeaeroplanes; pagoda shaped pianos; tinychildren's pianos; vast perspex pianos;leather clad pianos with inbuilt TVscreens and drinks cabinets. I kid you not.The pictures don't lie. Where the pianowas less glamorous, the supermodels tookover, as if it were a motor show in 1950'sDetroit, posing for photographers withfixed smiles as plastic as the polyesterfinishes.

February 2014 15

What also became evident is that aswell as this glitz, glamour and modernity,a great emphasis is put on traditionalbrands and heritage, some of it anamusing distortion of history. China iswhere you will find the old lost brandnames of long ago. Many of us will havetuned Chinese-built instruments withold names like “Steinberg”, “Gors &Kallmann” and “Feurich”, but thereare countless other names that mostof us have forgotten about, beingreinvented for Chinese consumption.Sometimes the heritage gets a bitmixed up, like “Chappell” which isnow a traditional German brand (!),and old British names are beingadvertised with mock-ups ofRoutemaster buses, pictures of fishand chips shops, and BuckinghamPalace. The Chinese appear to lovethe England of thirty years ago as much asthey do pianos. Good support for alliedtrades was also in evidence, with manytuning tool makers, stool suppliers andaction manufacturers appearing to bedoing good business. Some of the Chinesetools appeared to be of decent quality, andI'm certain that some European supplyhouses will already be sourcing tools and

materials from Chinesemakers. As a Fujan fan Inoted with interest thatJahn are now supplyinga tuning lever systembased on a Fujan design,although they informedme that it is made underlicence in Germany.

Obviously it was awonderful chance to seethe latest from familiarmakers such asSteinway, nowmarketing a student

instrument under the “Lang Lang” brand,Fazioli being as understatedly stylish asever (Paolo himself quietly slipping in andout of the proceedings) and Blüthner withtheir e-Klavier digital range, which wasthat surprising exception I mentionedearlier.

Blüthner appears to be one of the fewwestern manufacturers to be playing theChinese at their own game. On their standwas a range of digitals, one of which wasstyled in a fetching combo of blackpolyester, chromium plating and pinkleather. If this wasn't sudden enough foryou, a grand was available trimmed insimilar materials with a transparent

16

Shanghai Continuedacrylic lid, chrome-plated Queen Annelegs and an automatic playing mechanism.The ensemble was finished off with a pairof matching black and pink stereospeakers from which was playing the

orchestral accompaniment to the piano. Idetected a slight uneasiness fromChristian Blüthner-Haessler when Iquizzed him about the item soliciting avery sage response, which summed up

much of the show: Theoutrageous styling was exactly toChinese and Russian tastes, and itwas pitched at a price that onlythe wealthiest could afford. Thedigital pianos were aimed more ata mainstream market, at thoseclients for whom the Blüthnerbrand name and quality are veryimportant, but so is the price.These instruments made itpossible to buy a brand newBlüthner, because the one thingthat won't sell in China is asecond hand piano.

Trade NewsFirst of all our heartfelt condolencesgo out to the Families of Steve Cook ofFletchers and Sons and Richard Webb ofIntermusic who have both died suddenly.Page 9 of this issue has a tribute to each ofthem.

Thanks to Malcolm Hodsdon who sentin a Newspaper article about the demise ofthe Paris piano maker ‘Pleyel’, after 200years. Chopin was a fan and the companyalso supplied Liszt, Debussy, Grieg, Raveland Stravinsky.

Their last workshop, which employed14 people and was based in Saint-Deniswas due to close last year.

They have been trying to concentrateon high end, tailor made pianos but froman annual production of about 1,700pianos in the year 2000, the company hasonly been making 20 per year recently.Sad indeed.

Renner now have their new 2013 to2014 parts price list available in Excel

format; if youwould like acopy please e-mail David or Catherine,david@renneruk.co.uk orcatherine@renneruk.co.uk

They have also announced a new KeyTouch Weight class for 2014 to be held inStuttgart on 26th to 28th of this month. Inthis new RRT class the technicians willexamine the complexities of down and upweight, fitting key leads and repairingkeys damaged by oxidised leads. Toenquire about last minute places pleasephone David 07796 293274 urgently.

Steingraeber have announced theirlatest ‘Piano Time’ calendar for eventsand concerts in Germany. Go towww.steingraeber.de for moreinformation.

At this years ‘Musikmesse’ inFrankfurt in March, their ‘SteingraeberBoothe’ will be showing off their newknee lever; a classic muting device! MG

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Piano Tuners At WorkSketches by Ronald Stein

Artist Ronald Stein shares hissketches of Piano Tuners atwork. Ulrich Gerhartz at The Anvil, Basingstoke

Ulrich Explained: This was the final pre concert tuning after the rehearsal ofPierre-Laurent Aimard playing Brahms piano concerto (for the first time) with the

Philharmonia Orchestra at The Anvil in Basingstoke. I had just modified the action ofthe resident Steinway D in my workshop a few weeks before in preparation for thisconcert and another at the beginning of the autumn season with Radu Lupu and the

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Both pianists wanted a light, fluid touch. I did notknow about being sketched until it was too late...

18

Tool ReviewJohn ThompsonTuning levers are quite

simply the most important toolthat a tuner will ever have.

They come in all styles and quality.Have a look on the web and you will seecheap copies and old used ones still withlife. They need to be of high quality aswell as versatile. Some tuners will neglecttheir levers, leaving them rusting in thefootwell of the car, others will have thebest money can buy. I have had aSteinway type lever since I startedtraining in Newark College in 1992.I upgraded to the master lever 8 yearsago but I use my old Steinway lever inthe workshop. Some of us can getemotionally attached to our tools.There are many different makes oflevers, like Wantanba, Fujan, Schaff-Hale, NewOctave Globa, Faulk,Fletcher & Newman to name a few.You can also get custom made leversfrom Heckscher.

At the convention, there was a talkby Eric Shandall on piano tuning andtoning. I remembered his comments ontuning levers. They should not flex so thatyou have full control and feeling of thetuning pin. I read a bit more about thissubject and decided I should invest in abetter lever. I decided that a Carbontuning lever was what I wanted. Readingthe posts on Piano World and otherwebsites, Carbon tuning levers are verylight but also very strong. Being lightmeans you can move it about easier frompin to pin. They don’t flex which astandard lever does so you have morecontrol. The carbon levers are also longer,giving you more torque at the pin endwithout needing more muscles. So Ibought one made for BAUMGÄRTELwith Wantanba heads. It wasn’t tooexpensive and would give me less flexthan the lever I had. I purchased the lever

with a 10 degree head, arosewood top and mediumlength body. There are manytips, head lengths and angles etc. to pleaseanyone I guess.

The Fujan has a larger tuningend/attachment which is said to improvecontrol but it’s just personal taste at theend of the day.

Once it arrived, I got a bit confused asto how the tip would not just comeundone by tuning but my fears went afterthe first tuning. Having had the F&N typeheads, this was different. The lever is verylight but feels solid enough due to theridged carbon body. The parts are wellengineered and overall, very professionallooking. The first piano, a cheap Chineseupright, didn’t convince me that there wasany difference. But the second, a YamahaC6, did! I found the head was morecomfortable on the pin and I found I hadmore control of the pin, moving it in smallcontrolled amounts. I have now beenusing this lever for many months and willnot go back. My old lever has become thespare kit in the van as it also has anoblong head for that very rare occasion. Afriend said that changing the heads onthese requires a bit of force but it would

February 2014 19Continued Overleaf

be better if I get a few heads and fit thetips to them instead. Bit of an expensiveexercise but might suit some people.From other research, a lot of tuners likethe Jahn tuning tips, which I believe aresold with the Fajan. But be warned, thereare many different threads so make surebefore ordering.

Carbon levers are being considered atHeckscher and Fletcher & Newman, butare available from Baumgärtel and Jahn.As well as from American suppliers.

Heckschers sell the Wantanba headsand tips which fit Steinway pattern levers.

As always, check before ordering.

Electronic Tuning DevicesA personal View by Nigel Donovan

I've come to realise it must bethe seven year itch.

It is almost exactly seven years sinceI started using the Reyburn Cybertunerfor Pocket PC. It was such a desirablemachine when I first saw it demonstratedat the Convention in 2006 and it seemedto be far in advance of the bulkymachines I had seen others usingpreviously. It cost nearly $1000 plus thecost of the necessary iPaq to run thesoftware on but, as I worked out I hadtuned roughly 24,000 pianos by ear, I feltjustified in taking things a little easier byusing a machine to tune to; this wouldalso enable me to carry on working intomy dotage when undoubtedly my earswould be unable to function to therequired high standards of aural tuning.

Easier? Not necessarily so! It took awhile to get used to the machine and atfirst I would struggle to get a decent finetuning in under 90 minutes but throughperseverance and surrender to the higherability of the software to produce somereally first class results, I got my timedown and by my own standards I haveproduced a string of good tunings over theyears. But there was always somethingniggling about using a machine, evenbefore I took the plunge to buy it,something which is all too often voicedby my own customers, two words which

simultaneously make me feelannoyed, defensive, andunmasked. “That's cheating!”

My reply is, of course, “No, it's notcheating, can't you see I'm an aural tuner,see how I turn my gaze away from themachine when I'm tuning unisons, you'recasting doubt on my professionalism, anddo you condemn the surgeon when heuses the latest technology to fix you up onthe operating table? I suppose you'dprefer it if the sweep still sent a small boyarmed with a brush up the chimney!” Inmy head. In reality, with a shrug of theshoulders, “Well, actually, I am still usingmy ears as I'm just using the machine as aguide and it produces good tunings.” Butwhat if she (actually, it's more often 'he')is right? Is it cheating? Is it really enoughto have become a tuner of unisons whilethe computer does all the hard work? Theaverage client hasn't a clue that the realskill of the tuner is in his hands ratherthan his ears; that the listening is the easybit and that a tuning can be judged byhow well the pin is set, crucial to itsstability. So, whilst it is true that it mightbe classed as cheating, I can forgive theignorant clients for they know not whatthey say. The real problem must lie withinme and the reason why I so dread havingto be defensive over my modus operandi.

20

Electronic Tuning Devices ContinuedBut I think I may have found a solution.Or at least a compromise.

There is now an even more desirablemachine for tuning software in the formof an iPod Touch. For those not keepingup, this is a seriously sexy gadget like aniPhone without the phone bit. Thedifference between the old iPaq PocketPC and iPod Touch is seven years, a verylong time in the evolution of technology.With an iPod, I now have a choicebetween re-purchasing ReyburnCybertuner (iRCT as it is now called) atan eye watering £700 (no discount forexisting users), or trying one of the others,namely Verituner or TuneLab at £400 and£200 respectively (*prices quoted as ofDecember 2013). I examined all optionsvery thoroughly and decided on changingto Verituner which is what I have beenusing for the last two weeks. I needed achange from staring at RCT all day andthe TuneLab seemed just too cheap. Well,it has been a pretty steep learning curve.Especially as I picked what is probablythe worst time of year for pitch change;October when most pianos are sharp afterthe lovely summer we had. It goes againstthe grain to pull the pitch down but I dolike to leave a piano at A440 if I possiblycan which is really quite easy with theRCT Smart Tune function. Using this Ihave been able to pull the pitch whereverI like, up or down to 12 cents or so in onepass, without the need to for an initial'rough' tune. This Smart Tune function isso clever that for years I have been able toput the strings exactly where it tells me to,in the knowledge that, by the end, thepiano will be pretty spot on pitch.

Not so with the Verituner. Whilst Ihave found the Fine Tune to giveexcellent results, the nearest equivalent toSmart Tune, the functionally named 'finetune with pitch raise' is very different. It

requires the user to input percentageoverpulls for three areas of the compass,namely wound strings, tenor, and treble.At first I really struggled with this, havingbeen spoon fed all this technical stuff byRCT; I have to confess to glazing over atthe first sign of any approachingmathematical equations and jargon suchas percentages and cents. My inner auraltuner responds more to beats and 'thismuch' stretch which has always served meso well. It struck me that sticking tomerely three defined areas of overpull isjust wishful thinking and that real pianosaren't like that. I know instinctively whento increase the stretch in the mid trebleand when to ease off a little, like aroundthe breaks, as we all do. So what I amlearning to do when shifting the pitchmore than 'just so', is to use the machineas a rough guide and let my brain do whatit does best, navigate the rememberedcomplex sonic landscape as revealed bythe study of piano tuners' brains a whileago. I have found this old/new approachstimulating in the way that only someonewho has been tuning for 35 years or morecan appreciate. Suddenly I feel re-connected with my tunings, yes, 'my'tunings. Is accuracy to within onehundredth of a cent absolutely necessary?Isn't it better that it 'feels' right? I'm prettysure my old tutor, Cyril Marris, bless him,would agree. So thanks, RCT, for the lastseven years of perfect tunings but theVerituner and I can work on our own fromnow. The machine has evolved into myservant and guide rather than my masterand dictator.

All of which reminds me of the oldchestnut; is piano tuning Science or Art?It is quite possible for a completebeginner to buy iRCT and, supposing helearnt how to set the pin, produceacceptable tunings by following exactly

February 2014 21

what the machine tells him. He's notreally learnt the art of piano tuning hashe? The same would also be true ofVerituner but only for fine tunings andhow lucky would we be to always findpianos needing just a fine tune? We areconstantly altering the pitch and Veritunercan only help here, not govern. I have hadto learn what 10%, 28% and 36%overpull actually means in terms that Ican understand and then play around withthem, altering them as I go along,matching them to my instincts. So I'm

really pleased to have woken from thespell of the magical machines and whilst Inever stopped tuning aurally, especiallyfor the old bangers, I have rediscoveredmy internal 'roadmap' and will continue towork in partnership with Verituner. It'scertainly more satisfying using the oldskills and when the client accuses me ofcheating, it will be a more honest denialwith an assertion that I really am tuningaurally even if it doesn't look like it. Andso it will be, at least maybe for the nextseven years.

Continued overleaf

Would anyone who uses the Cybertuner or another make of ETD care to write toPTA News about their own experiences? Details Page 3.

I was going to cycle straight tothe hotel so as to have time to restbefore going out.

I could just as easily buy the things Ineeded in the morning. When I got toHolborn though I weakened, and insteadof turning left, cycled straight on. Theshop wasn't that far out of my way and itwas preferable to know whether or notthey could help me. I had the little grubscrew in the hip pocket of my jeans. Theelderly assistant in the shop peered at itfrowningly, then disappeared behind theshelves, where various other men couldbe heard in conversation. When exactlyhad they taken over this shop, and whathad made them think they'd be able tomake a go of it? 'If they can't then no onecan,' I had thought. And they had made ago of it, or at least it was still going.

The grub screw was one of ten thatwas unaccountably missing from thepiano. It was the only thing I couldremember about the piano. I had assumedI was in the clear as it was months since I

had sent the quote. Thenjust before Christmas thelady got in touch and asked if Icould do the work in the first week inJanuary. It would be an exaggeration tosay this ruined my Christmas, but I rangall the suppliers to no avail. The shop onClerkenwell Road was thus my only hope.In any case on the 6th January I had takenmy bike to London, with my tools in onepannier and a change of clothes in theother. (To be on the safe side I hadbooked a room at the County). The pianowas an old Steinway grand in a kind ofvault of the church, down a narrowstaircase and across a small courtyard. Inthe end it had taken me all day just toclean it.

The shop assistant reappearedscrewing a nut onto my screw withdifficulty, which presumably was a goodsign. He then called out to one of hisyounger colleagues who put a box ofscrews on the counter. They weregleaming new and exactly the right length.

Long Live Clerkenwell Screws!Clive Benson

To the naked eye they looked slightlylarger but it was the best they could do.As he was putting them in a bag, I said'This is a great shop', hoping it mightencourage them to keep going. Heshrugged with a shy smile. Then it wasback to the County and out for a pizza.

In the morning I went first to thehardware shop on Shaftsbury Avenue fora length of one-inch dowel. Only thenwas I able to proceed to the church, where,after another conversation with the lady,I went back down the dark staircase andacross the courtyard to the strange room.As calmly as I could I tried one of thescrews in a damper body. It fitted.Obviously this was a huge step forward(I had brought some blu-tack just in case).I was then free to proceed with the nextworrying job, which was to make a pedallyre support rod. I did this by cutting andchamfering a length of the dowel with myknife, and stained it with some shoepolish I found in the room with thecassocks. I managed to get the lyre backon (for the second time in my life) and

this just left the making of a music deskrunner, which I did by splitting andshaping a length of the dowel. (I wasbeginning to feel like some kind of RedIndian.)

It was going as well as could havebeen expected but the time was runningaway with itself and it was 2 o'clockbefore I clamped the broken lever, whichsomehow led to a series of associatedbreakages. In fact I had never worked ona piano without clamping a broken leverand then chasing my tail with associatedbreakages. There wasn't enough time forthe glue to dry and I was determined to bein the pub at the end of the road by6 o'clock, drinking a pint of their amazingorganic lager. Working back mentally inthe number of hours I would need to leavethe piano in some kind of workablecondition, a certain decisiveness wascalled for, which meant no bottom note.Or top note. But I managed it. I tellmyself I must never get involved in thesejobs but the piano was clean and I hadmore or less broken even.

22

Clive Benson Continued

Books by Clive BensonIf you enjoy Clive’s stories you might like to know that he has written

two books.His new book is called ‘The Invention Of Pianos’ and is a memoir.

It is free but Clive has kindly asked for donations to the PTA GeneralFund instead.

His first book ‘The Relevance of Sofas’ is also available. Althoughthe subject of this book isn’t a laughing matter, being about hisexperience of going through cancer, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the stylebeing unmistakably Clive!

Both books are available from Clive by writing to him at:6 Winstonian Road, Cheltenham, Gloucester GL52 2JE or email him at: crfbenson@yahoo.co.uk

February 2014 23

Codeword SolutionBob Morgan

Well done to Bill Kreis who emailed the answers the same day! I really enjoyeddoing the Codeword, although I got stuck for a while having entered ‘Bord’ on thesecond line instead of ‘Boyd’. Great fun Bob, please can we have another one?

24

The meeting of the ExecutiveCouncil was held on 25th Januaryat Morleys, Lewisham.

Present were Brian Frost (President),Matthew Gough (Vice President),Andrew Jamieson (Treasurer), AnnetteSummers (Secretary), Anne Burton,Lewis Flisher, Paul Fox, John Lambert,Nigel Polmear and Tania Staite.

Apologies were received fromRoberta Caradine and Stephen Venn.

All is in place for the PTA TrainingDay at Steinways on Saturday 8th March.Another is set for 1st November inScotland with Kawai. Next year there is tobe a PTA Training Day at The GuildhallSchool of Music in London with MalcolmMcKeand. The date has been booked forSunday 15th March 2015.

Following a letter to the Governmentabout the lack of an apprenticeshipscheme for our industry, a positive replyhas been sent from an MP local to thePresident. The MP promises to follow thematter up.

There is a vacancy for a StudentMentor coordinator. Offers for the rolewould be most welcome.

A letter of thanks has been receivedfor our donation of £900 from the MusicBenevolent Fund. Their name has nowbeen changed to ‘Help Musicians UK’.

Annual changes regardingremuneration and expenses were agreedfor the PTA Test Examiners and the PTANews Editor. These were largely in linewith inflation.

The advertising budget for this yearwas agreed. Last year it was

approximately £4,500 because ofpublicity surrounding our successfulCentenary year. This year it is back tonormal at about £3,500.

Three possible PTA Tests are in thepipeline and we have also had anapplication for Associate status.

56 Members have not yet paid theirsubscription. Those who have not paidrisk being left out of the Year Book andwebsite listings.

Following Matthew Gough’s decisionto hand over the reins, Anne Burton hasoffered to take over as Editor of PTANews. This was unanimously approvedand her 1st issue will be in June (theConvention issue).

The next Europiano Meeting will bein Frankfurt on 14th March attended byour President.

Brochures and Convention forms forBolton in May are almost ready to go.2015 will be at Hereford and 2016 couldbe in Northampton.

Council approved a design for ournew website and this is now to beconstructed.

The updated ‘Code of Conduct’ isalmost ready to be put to the Membership.

The date of the next meeting is onSaturday 29th March at 12pm at Morleys,Lewisham.

A full copy of the minutes is availablefrom the PTA Secretary but it may needto be edited for reasons of legality andconfidentiality.

PTA Council MeetingSummary by Matthew Gough

Would you like to come onto the PTA Council?Why not come along to the nextmeeting as an observer to see how it all works? The PTA could not run at allwithout a Council and a Council can’t exist without people willing to stand.

5 meetings a year in London and one at the Convention is the only commitmentnecessary plus some help with other tasks if you are able. We really need you!!!Please contact the Secretary if you would like to try out a meeting or join Council.

February 2014 25

LettersStuck For AnswersVictor Kee's letter on the final page of

the October 2013 PTA News asks forcomments about the 'ethics' of fixingsoundboard cracks/splits with modernexpanding glue....i.e. doing the job simplyand cheaply without de-stringing, etc, etc.

Well, the letter answers its ownquestion really. If the piano isn't worthmuch and there's nothing to be lost, whynot give it a go?  It wouldn't countas  good craftsmanship on a qualityinstrument but as Mr Kee says "Not allpianos are worth the full monty".

My only proviso is that on some reallybad splits, the soundboard may havebecome locally detached from the ribscausing a nasty rattle or buzz.  Not havingused Gorilla (or any other) expandingglue, I've no idea whether it would bondthe two together.  My inclination wouldbe to insert white glue (or better stillCascamite) between rib and SB, neatlyputting in some small screws either sideof the crack to hold things together.

My usual approach to customers thesedays is to suggest a better piano because Idon't much like fiddling about with less-than-satisfactory jobs with uncertainoutcomes!

 That said, I recently had to do a bitof an emergency botch...but it seemed towork.

It was a concert tuning on a BechsteinModel B which was going to be used by apiano trio that night by what I describe as'music club circuit' professionals.

Alas, since I last tuned it, it had beenbanged up against a radiator and amassive crack had developed in the S/Bresulting in an awful buzz in the middleregister.

Panic.  I had just 1 hour to fix, pitchraise and tune.

I resorted to the old trick of cutting upa hammer shank into six bits, shaving oneend of each into a fine wedge, sticking

some white glue on theends and tapping theminto the crack fromunderneath.

It completely cured the buzz.  Whilstit's definitely a panic measure, it'ssomething that can easily be undone inthe (unlikely) event of the owners payingfor a proper soundboard repair.

I'm not claiming I invented thisparticular botch. I've seen it done before,but either as an emergency measure or away of 'fixing' a piano that isn't worthmuch, there's not a lot to be lost by trying.

Adrian Carpenter (1057)

Hope this may be of interest (not tosay support!) with the problems of acracked soundboard (October 2013).

In reply, I don’t feel there is a betterway to fill a gap than with a soundboardshim. I too have in the past shimmedfrom the back of the soundboard; this isfairly easy to do: open the split betweenthe ribs (you can usually manage to getbehind the back posts). If, when the shimsare fitted in place, you can remove themagain and cut off the over-width, thenapply glue and tap into place.

With this method, you may be certainthe soundboard vibrations will carryacross (no need for a 'sound propagatortester thingy gadget'!).

If Victor does end up using 'Gorillaglue', I’d be interested to know how wellit would hold the soundboard togetherunder extremes of heat and humidity.

There is also a need to considerwhether the glue, in joining thesoundboard together, may cause a loss oftone and also fail to support the crown.

Shimming has the advantage ofhelping the soundboard not to collapsefurther and thus maintain the crown andtherefore the tone quality.

Graham Cantrill (981)

26

Spinet with Added UmphI read your article about spinet tuning

with interest, and it was good to know thatyou had enjoyed the experience.  Withregard to your query about the dividedsharp keys at the bottom of the keyboard;this is known as a 'broken octave', and issimply a device for adding extra noteswithout lengthening the keyboard

compass. In thisparticular spinet,the lowest key (Bnatural) would betuned down to G,the front part ofthe divided sharps

to A and B as you described, and the backpart to the expected notes C sharp and Dsharp. In this way the scale can beextended to the lower G, although it doesmake fingering that octave a bit of apuzzle!

The other interesting point in the storywas the reference to Making a Spinet byTraditional Methods by the late JohnBarnes.  In Scotland, John was for manyyears the leading exponent of earlykeyboard instruments, both as a makerand a researcher. The book which you sawwell illustrates this combination.  Ascurator of the Russell Collection of earlykeyboard instruments at EdinburghUniversity, John produced a number ofdetailed working drawings which Ibelieve are still available to makerswishing to copy an original harpsichord,spinet, or virginal.  He maintained animpressive private collection of his ownwhich  amounted to more than 20 squarepianos and 10 historic grands as well asplucked instruments, so that a visit to hishome was an unforgettable experience.On top of all this, John was the Scottishagent for Zuckermann harpsichord kitsand probably distributed hundreds ofthese.  His wife Sheila is an accomplishedartist and has painted many beautiful

designs on harpsichord soundboards.(Their son Peter is also a distinguishedmaker of  keyboard instruments).

I have vivid memories of John tuningthe harpsichord during the interval at theNew Year Messiah in Edinburgh. Now, ithas long been a tradition at this event tohave an extended interval for the audienceto consume packed lunches they hadbrought, some of these being quite grandaffairs consisting of three courses withwine.  Most of the audience remained intheir seats while eating, so that the crashof plates, cutlery and glasses mixed withthe general roar of conversation filling thehall, produced the perfect storm for anytuner. I felt for him at the time, littlerealising that a few years later I would bein the hot seat myself.

Regarding Stephen Keene, I onlyknow that he lived from about 1640-1720,worked in London, and that a goodnumber of his instruments have survived.One of his virginals is in the RussellCollection, well worth a look if anyone isvisiting Edinburgh.

Roy O'Neil (1158)

Letters Continued

A soundboard painting by Sheila Barnes

February 2014 27

Please note these dates:

PTA Subscriptions Due Now!! Pay now to be in the new Yearbook and Website

PTA/Steinway Training DaySaturday 8th March - Steinway Hall, London

Contact the PTA Secretary now to book your place!

***PTA Convention 2014***Wednesday 14th to Saturday 17th May

Mercure Last Drop Village Hotel, Bolton**DON’T MISS OUT!! DEADLINE FOR BOOKINGS 1ST MARCH!**

PTA/Kawai Training Day and Scottish LunchSaturday Ist November, Stirling- More info. soon

For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:Mrs Annette SummersPTA SecretaryPO Box 230HAILSHAMBN27 9EATel: 0845 602 8796E-Mail: secretary@pianotuner.org.uk

DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES: FRIDAY 21st MarchArticles, letters and photos to: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk or to the address on page 3.Please email photos separately to articles.

PTA DIARY

Photo FinishIt’s been far too long since we heard

from Eri Onami and her cuddly friendsfrom Hong Kong!

This is Cha Cha who is just sooooocute. Cha Cha is getting used to fame

having made a previous appearance inPTA News. Who cares about the action!