Sacramento Bee portrait of Antonio Bombal

The house smells of parchment, of lotion, of culture, of memories, of loneliness, of disappointment. Listen. There is the barely perceptible cry of a dying chord, so sweetly plaintive, so exquisitely formed. Antonio Bombal, who walks with a stoop, goes into his spacious library. The walls are lined with books. Bombal speaks five languages, reads Latin and Greek. read full article

On the back of this card:

The Busiest People you know — Presidents, Industrial Leaders, Scientists, Doctors, Have Wide Interests, share many hobbies. And the One that is Cherished Most of All is Playing the Piano.

And Good News! You're never too old to learn. Thanks to Modern Teaching Methods. Drop in and let us show you... Soon.

John Legget's piano moving demo

Answering machine weirdness

This message was on my answering machine today..

Business card inside piano

Just in case the owner moves back... to Iran

Many of us depended on Western Piano for last-minute piano parts, and lamented its passing six years ago. But did you know that it lives on as River City Piano Company at the space above? It's at 1609 Dreher Street Unit B. Call them at 916-444-7090 or 916-837-3630(cell).

ugly pianos for sale on ebay

"Five incredibly vile pianos worth $1.2m"
Read article

Pianoteq – True piano modelling

A company called Pianoteq has made a breakthrough in digital pianos — true piano modeling. This piano does not rely on samples; instead, it is a computer simulation of a piano. This has two advantages. First, it demands much less computer power than a large sample set. More intriguingly, it allows the full range of piano effects that samples cannot, including: open strings vibrating sympathetically, "catching" chords with a late pedal, "ghost" notes with sostenuto, half-pedaling, detuning of unisons, changing hammer hardness, changing inharmonicity, and so on. To find out more, click below.
Click here to look at site

Piano falls in Battery Street Tunnel

Traffic through Seattle's Battery Street Tunnel was briefly blocked Wednesday afternoon by a piano...
Read full article...

Twilight Zone piano story

Thanks to San French, here is a link to a Twilight Zone episode about a strange player piano.
The link is
http://tv-links.co.uk/link.do/1/106/269/3669/6243
For some reason, it only works if you paste it in your browser window. I haven't been able to make it work as a regular link.

How to Never Lose a Thing Again

This is one of the oldest organizing truisms around, but it is probably the most important of all: a place for everything, and everything in its place.Why is it so popular? Because it works. Read below to find out how to form this habit and never lose a thing again...
For full article, click here.

An Extreme Humidity Control Problem

Since we all drive....

Remove Car Dent With Airduster - More bloopers are a click away
Thanks to Terry Miller for this video!

Mr D found my tuning antics worthy of recording

As I was tuning, I felt I was being watched... I looked to my left and saw my customer stealthily videotaping me... so I took his picture :)

From the police novel "The Choirboys"

"The tired eyed woman had called them to report that her teenage daughter had threatened to run off with a forty-nine year old piano tuner who lived next door." —p. 180

Checking the tuning

Moments like this keep me tuning pianos after three decades!

Piano Dropper part deux

Here is a picture of the incident.

Preview of May Technical

Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano dropper

Read article here.

The technician before me attacked the problem of a cracked bass bridge by putting blocks of wood on top of the bridge and underneath the strings. That couldn't have been easy to do.

Piano tuning on the Amazing Race

On a recent episode of The Amazing Race, four pairs of contestants had to tune a string on a piano. (One of them broke it!) Click here to read more.

Tom & Jerry cartoon - "Piano Tooners"

Piano Tooners (1932)
Thanks to San French for telling me about this cartoon

Playing Piano with Balls

Good comedy and amazing juggling skills.

Frank French on Historical Temperaments

Click here to read the outline of Frank French's April technical.

The Coupled Motion of Piano Strings

A fascinating lecture on piano acoustics by G. Weinrich.

the piano

Lovely wordless animation combining music and the memories of a life.

(Most of the piano-related videos on YouTube seem to be virtuosic solo performances of music from video games!)

Adopt-a-Piano

I just heard about this site for finding or advertising a free piano: http://www.pianoadoption.com
I would still use the Free section of craigslist first.

Pacific Northwest Conference

Have you registered yet for the Pacific Northwest Conference (PNWC)?

Here are some things you might not have considered, but should.

There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

You get free continental breakfasts and free goodies during the breaks.

Activities include:

…a special JAZZ night opportunity to hear the amazing Ron Carter Trio on Tuesday night if you want to come in early (tickets are only $26.50), contact Vince Mrykalo at 801-375-1987.

…a conference opening reception sponsored by Renner on Wednesday night held at Rick Baldassin’s new piano store

…the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal, with us as their special guests, on Thursday night

…a performance of the world traveled American Piano Quartet at our banquet on Friday night

…an organ recital and tour of the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Organ on Saturday at noon

...activities planned for your spouse. Call Roberta Kopp 801-235-8077 for details and to make arrangements.

…one day class taught by Renner

…a full day hands-on Mastering the Fundamentals

…PTG tuning and technical exams

…classes taught by truly world class instructors. Several classes are being offered for the first time. You must visit www.pnwcptg.com to see who will be there.

…and for fun and money, we will have a Tools for Sell or Exchange table. Bring your extra tools along and trade or sell them. You might find something you can’t live without to buy. There will be no charge to participate.

Do you realize you only have until March 20^th to register to avoid late registration fees?

Online registration at the above mentioned website or contact:

Skip Livingston at 801-756-9400 or skipl@afcity.net

See you in Salt Lake City,

Keith Kopp, RPT

Student needs help

Mark,
One of my recent tuning jobs was on a baby grand that will need new felts in
the dampers. I would like to watch one of the RPTs do that so I can be properly
ready for the job. Could you put a note out to the members for them to call me
if they can show me that work? I will not be able to go to the meeting tomorrow
night.
530-822-0134

Thank you very much for your help.

Don Pitter

A laser pointer is great for showing your customer something inside their piano. This is a combination pointer/LED flashlight/pen I got at Walgreen's (where I get everything).
A laser point is also the best cat toy.

Tips and tricks for your cell phone

Click here for full article. Thanks to Roxanne Miller.

CSUS Technician position open

CSUS is listing the piano technician job again. To see the whole ad, click here.

Cool web gadget

Find any chord or scale!

Piano playing cat

Space-age player piano

This is an early bit of consumer gadgetry from the sixties. It's a player piano — but the controls are electric and mounted to the left of the keyboard. Atomic!

If you want an 1856 Steinway square grand, call John Cendana at 916-689-5456. Motivated seller!

Bill Shull on early Steinways

Bill Shull at Music Exchange

Brian Bode and family

Brian Bode family photos

Some of us remember Brian Bode from the late 80s. He was studying under Brad Larson. Now he lives and works on pianos in Michigan with his wife and four kids.

Dave passed too!

Congratulations to Dave Reitz, who passed the tuning test yesterday.

Congratulations! Two pass the tuning test

Congradulations to Mabel Chan and John Scrofani for passing the PTG Tuning Exam.
Two more of Peter Clark's students. Many thanks to Peter Clark as well.

National convention

Dear PTG Colleagues,

You will soon be receiving a brochure full of information about the

upcoming 50th Annual PTG Convention and Technical Institute and the

special events planned to celebrate the great accomplishments of our

organization and our industry.

We are thrilled to be part of this 50th Anniversary celebration and sincerely hope

that you plan to join us June 20 24, 2007 in Kansas City.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Catch a sneak peek at the 2007 PTG Convention & Technical Institute by visiting

the convention website at www.ptg.org/conv/2007. The Institute searchable

database includes a full listing of classes, instructors, days and times.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It will be hard to choose between the tremendous educational opportunities

available to all of you. You especially will not want to miss the premier of the

Manufacturers Showcase and Panel Discussion.

Continuous displays of pianos - Pianos built from 1957 to 2007 were chosen

to represent the most unusual and greatest pianos of the last 50 years.

Mini-concerts - 10-15 minutes long and scheduled during class breaks from

Wednesday through Saturday afternoon.

Panel discussion - Led by experts representing a variety of manufacturers and

featuring an interactive discussion of innovations in piano technology of the

past 50 years.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 24 NEW classes, the return of last year's popular skills stations, a new set

of the multi-session (and even multi-day) classes, fast and to-the-point Mini-Tech classes,

and more of what you need for your continued professional development. Many of the

most fascinating offerings have limited enrollment, so register early!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLUS, a free Golden Hammer Banquet ticket comes with every paid convention

registration! >From the Tuesday night spectacular opening to the array of free

concerts with nationally known artists to the special historical touches, this is

an event that will never come again.

Start planning now and when your brochure arrives, be one of the first to

join us. Save money by registering before May 15. See you in KC!

The Institute Team

Malinda Powell, Institute Director

Melanie Brooks, Assistant Director

Ward Guthrie, Assistant Director

Jeff Hickey, Assistant Director

--

They're here!

The long wait is over — Young Chang replacement action brackets are back.

Last California State Convention Update

This will be our final email regarding the California State PTG Conference, February 8th - 11th, 2007

at the San Francisco Airport Marriott. The Conference Web Site is: www.santaclaraptg.org We hope you will be able to attend. This will be another great CA Conference!

 

The Exhibit Hall will feature all tool vendors from A - Z (which includes B,F,F,J,J,P,S,S,T,R,R,R,V ), almost every piano manufacturer, and the usual number of interesting additional trade related vendors. The Institute Class List is extensive with 3.5 days of classes and over 40 Instructors. For a complete list of everything visit: www.santaclaraptg.org (the specific class schedule is now posted)

 

While we are past the Marriott Hotel group rate cutoff, you could call the Marriott local phone number

1-650-692-9100 between 9:00am and 5:00pm and see what they can do for you. Or, check the Marriot online reservations at: http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/SFOBG 

 

We have arranged overflow hotel booking for Wednesday through Saturday at the Clarion Hotel, 1/4 mile from the Marriot, at the same $96.00 Group rate until Jan 30 (Regular rate: about $110.00). Parking is $5.00 per day, and they have complimentary wireless for your laptop in the lobby. Clarion at: 650-777-7771, 9:00am-5:pm PST, Group Code PTG.

 

Most other questions may be answered on the web site and committee contact information is also available there.

 

We hope to see you in February!

 

Regards,

The CA State Conference PTG and Santa Clara Valley Chapter Conference Team

Elton John's birdcage

Used from 1969 to 1972, Elton John and Bernie Taupin used this instrument to co-write the music that made them famous. Read more....

February technical

Early Steinway Grand Research Project Update

The February meeting will be held 7:30 pm on Tuesday the 13th at Music Exchange, 2245 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA

The technical will feature Bill Shull who will present his "Early Steinway Grand Research Project Update". This will be a supplement to the all-day class given back in 2005.

Preview of February technical

Hi, Gene,

how about an "Early Steinway Grand Research Project Update" of my all-day
class I gave back in 2005?

I'll have a handout on the three early Steinway families, and we'll talk
about the 1857 8' Steinway we documented in October in New Hampshire, and the
6'8" Monitors I've documented since the Sacramento class of a year and a half
ago. We'll cover approaches to use when encountering older instruments.
We'll look at important undiscovered early Steinways to be on the lookout for:
_http://www.shullpiano.com/html/undiscovered_early_steinway_gr.html_
(http://www.shullpiano.com/html/undiscovered_early_steinway_gr.html)

And I might have a story for you all about the discovery of one of the
long-lost 1869 Monitor prototypes - the amazing "Iron Grand." I may have found
one, as the result of contacts made at NAMM this weekend!

I'll have an 1860s Steinway grand on hand.

Bill

iPiano

Is a referral fee a bribe?

I've often pondered whether it is ethical to accept (or give) a payment in return for a referral. (I never do.) Here's a podcast on the subject from a professional ethicist. (It's the second item, so be patient.)

Anyone do organ key repairs?

More on Young Chang action brackets

I called Young Chang today(866-798-6979: same as before). They have the action brackets on backorder and are taking the names of everyone who needs them. And they are still willing to pay for the parts and labor on the repair!

Update on the State Convention

The Santa Clara Valley Chapter proudly presents The California State PTG Conference, February 8th - 11th, 2007

at the San Francisco Airport Marriott. The Conference Web Site is: www.santaclaraptg.org We hope you will be able to attend. This will be another great CA Conference!

The Exhibit Hall will feature all tool vendors from A - Z (which includes B,F,F,J,J,P,S,S,T,R,R,R,V ), almost every piano manufacturer, and the usual number of interesting additional trade related vendors. The Institute Class List is extensive with 3 .5 days of classes and over 40 Instructors. For a complete list of everything visit: www.santaclaraptg.org

We would like to remind everyone who is considering attending the conference that: the Airport Marriott Hotel Group Rate is $96.00 plus tax if you make your Hotel Reservation by Jan 18th 2007. We encourage everyone to make hotel reservations early. We may not be able to get this cut-off date extended and the regular rate is $229.00. All Hotel links and information are available at: www.santaclaraptg.org The Marriott room block booking is currently about 92% full but we have also made overfill arrangements at the Clarion Hotel next door (.3 miles) to the Marriott. If the Marriott room blocks are full, and the Marriot will not add more rooms to our room block, you should be able to book rooms at the Clarion.

If anyone is trying to book a Wed and/or Thurs room along with Fri Sat nights, the Marriott Hotel online registration system (and the after hours phone people that use the same system) may state that there are no rooms available. You have to back up and change dates and try again, or tell the phone person to back up and try again. The system (and possibly the phone person) is not smart enough to tell you that Wed is not available but Thurs Fri and Sat are, or that Fri and Sat are. [hard to imagine in this age of internet technology] We have arranged Wed and Thursday overflow booking at the Clarion Hotel (next to the Marriott) at the same group rate for those needing Wed and Thurs rooms if not available at the Marriott. All details and links are available at www.santaclaraptg.org

Most other questions may be answered on the web site and committee contact information is also available there.

We hope to see you in February!

Regards,

The CA State Conference PTG and Santa Clara Valley Chapter Conference Team

Our own Scott Johnson is featured in this week's Sacramento News & Review in connection with Veterans for Peace. Read the whole article here.

I was talking to Dan Dannenfelser about Dampp-Chaser installation and suggested he get a 1/4" nut driver bit. It makes driving those little hex washer screws (that come with the Dampp-Chaser kits) very easy — they are self-tapping in fact. If you try to put them in with a slotted screwdriver you'll drive yourself crazy.
I also use these screws for repairing piano benches when the bottoms have fallen out. These screws are a lot better than nails or staples for reattaching the bench bottom.

Reminder about the California State Convention

The California State Convention is in northern California this year (South San Francisco). Associates especially should avail themselves of the educational opportunities that a nearby convention presents. The room group rate cut off date is January 17 and the early registration deadline is January 23.

The importance of a keyboard cover

A piano that was attacked by a vicious dog.

Young Chang action brackets are back

You can get action brackets from Young Chang again! Call them at 310-637-2000 or 866-798-6979. If that doesn't work, Jim Davis has a few at his Samick warehouse. Call him at 800-592-9393 x110.

This book was written by a piano rebuilder turned massage therapist.

I love a piano

From the second PostSecret book. Postsecret is "extraordinary secrets of ordinary people" — if you don't know the site, click here. It's one of the best and most popular blogs on the Web.

It's a Baby Baby Grand Piano

From the country which became a byword for miniaturisation now comes a very very small piano, but it's still a grand and it still works.

Japanese toymaker Sega has unveiled what it is calling the world smallest fully-functioning grand piano.

Measuring just 25 centimetres in width and 18 centimetres in height, it poses a bit of a technical difficulty to pianists, especially those with larger fingers, as each key is only 4 millimetres wide.

But the piano has a full-range of 88 keys and makers are saying they've hit the high notes with this invention.

The inpiration behind the tiny piano was quite simple.

"Few households in Japan can afford a huge grand piano so we had to cut it down to this size for people who live in a small space," Yoshiyuki Endo, one of the developers of the mini piano said.

While serious musicians might turn up their noses at this undersized creation, which is a six time reduction of the original grand piano, Sega says big isn't always better.

The piano is set to go on sale in Japan on April 1, for some $400, and though it's just a toy, it's seems to be as entertaining and at times challenging as its full size cousin.

Graphite and balsa

This article describes new violins and guitars made from graphite, balsa, and other new materials. The same ideas could apply to piano soundboards. It includes an interactive graphic showing how violins behave and how researchers are analyzing them.

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

There is a new movie where the hero is a piano tuner.

A tuner in literature

The whole way home he says “maybe” “maybe” “maybe” to himself, like a piano tuner at work, depressing the same key over and over again until it seems to vary slightly with each iteration, until the note starts to sounds subtly different, either because the string inside changes slightly or perhaps the world around it changes slightly at the moment the hammer strikes. Each time different connotations of the word emerge like secret frequencies revealed from a deep, rich vibrato. He takes a shower, smokes a cigarette, puts a pot of water on for farfalle, and the whole time he is making a song out of the one note.
—Charles Yu, “32.05864991%”

I hope this was someone's very first stringing job. 

Book about Ben's mom

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle reviews a new book about Jessica Mitford, the famous writer whose son Ben Treuhaft (above, right) we know from his Send a Piana to Havana.

In a back hall at the Radisson, a chart to guide business ethics. 

Jerry tunes pianos at Pianodisc

click on image to see other photos

Jerry says, "I've tuned some bad pianos before, but these are the worst."

Bob Proul tuned this piano before me. On the service record, note the gap between the last two tunings: 1972 to 1991. On the last tuning, he said that it had been so long that he needed to "soak the keys." He took the keys home and soaked them in who knows what. 

This label was inside a customer's piano. The idea of a piano dealer/recording studio evokes an era long past. 

A really ancient keyboard chart. 

Singer's piano car up for auction

Read article

HoustonChronicle.com - Police nab piano-playing burglar

"Sept. 28, 2006, 1:11PM

Police nab piano-playing burglar
Reuters News Service

AMSTERDAM, Netherands - A burglar who broke into a house in the Dutch town of Tiel on Wednesday night could not resist playing the piano he found there after ransacking the living room, police said Thursday.

Unfortunately for the 20-year-old thief, his music woke the owner of the house, who called the police.

'The owner didn't register whether the playing was any good or not. He was more worried about the state of his house,' a police spokesman said."

Iran News - Iranian artist: No support for piano production

LONDON, October 12 (IranMania) - Iranian music teacher Hamidreza Rezaii complained over the lack of official support for the mass production of his invention, a quarter-note piano, MNA reported.
[read full article]

Building a Profitable Piano Tuning and Repair Business

A guy selling a course in how to succeed as a piano technician.

icWales - Mystery man has no name, age or nationality

AN alleged burglar, dubbed "the new piano man", has baffled police who have been unable to work out the man's name, age, nationality, or even his language...

read entire article

These are imitation ivory heads from www.webpiano.com. I got these on eBay but you can order them directly from their website. They sell them in different lengths and colors. These six cost me $4.50 (including shipping) and they are good enough for average repairs. 

The best thing ever for cleaning key tops (watch out for painted sharps, though--- it will take the paint off). 

PianoDisc warehouse burns

Read the news article about the disaster here.