Precision
When I was young and growing up, I remember Mom and Dad hiring a piano tuner to come to the house to tune our brown, Baldwin spinet. The man who worked on it was blind and I found him fascinating. He used a tuning fork that rang out with an eery, long-lasting purity. Mom ushered me out of the house so he could work in peace and quiet. It was a big deal that he was there. He didn’t come often and the expense was enough that my depression-era parents considered it extravagant. They loved music though, and put all four of us kids into piano lessons for as long as each child agreed to take them.
A few years later, we fell out of touch with the first man and called another technician to the house. He brought a rectangular box that had a dartboard-looking image on the display and told me it was a strobe tuner. As he turned the piano pins that controlled the tension of the strings, a light danced around until finally settling in the middle of the bullseye.
Surprisingly, I remember these details but I know I didn’t want to stay in the room for the duration like Joel Asher did. Maybe I was intimidated by the craftsman aspects of the job, but I also believe the tediousness of the process probably wore me down. During middle school, I began training myself to listen closer to pitch as I learned how to play flute and much later, began singing with bands. Unless a piano was horribly out of tune, I took it for granted.
Today, I try to imagine what it must be like listening so closely! I wonder if I could bring myself to tune pianos. Visual artists are said to be in training to see more and more. Aren’t musicians in training to hear more? There must be a real satisfaction in listening to those three strings vibrating, locking them in sync with each other. I’d like to think that I could do it but right now, I’m grateful that piano technicians don’t let the “dying art” warnings stop them from practicing and learning how to tune the incredible instrument that is the piano.
Tuning must require ultra-focus on the tone and result in developing a very discriminating ear. No wonder Joel writes such tranquil music. After all the meticulous care he extends to pianos, it seems to me that he deserves to relax, enjoy, and soak up all the piano beauty he wants! Be sure to click on the links at the bottom of his episode and check out two of his compositions—“Reflections” and “September Sunrise.” After you have listened, why not consider buying a piano if you are currently using a digital keyboard. You can’t beat the tone of an actual piano, and with regular maintenance, a piano technician like Joel can keep it in good shape for many years. The best case scenario? Own both a piano and a digital keyboard that you can put in the car and take with you!
