Piano Technicians Guild, Oklahoma Chapter 731

COMING EVENTS:

OCTOBER – The October meeting will be held on Thursday, October 21 at 8:30 AM at the home of David and Barbara Bonham, 10717 Eastlake Circle, Oklahoma City. David will address the general topic of regulating pianos, starting with the concept of how the action is designed to operate and exploring why we don’t encounter pianos working as they were intended to. He will help us learn to evaluate the amount of regulating needed to service a client’s instrument, and he will show how specific adjustments impact the touch of that instrument. He will use action models and both a grand and upright piano to demonstrate these things. One hour will not allow teaching how to do the regulating process, but by focusing on evaluating, diagnosing and strategizing, we should all be better able to conceptualize and communicate about this complex (and often intimidating) subject.

NOVEMBER – The November meeting of the PTG will be held on Thursday, November 18 at 8:30 AM at Albert Evans piano store, 4100 North MacArthur, Oklahoma City. Greg Lynch will present a technical on grand hammer hanging. Albert Evans will be available to answer all those questions you’ve always wanted to know about pianos, but were afraid to ask.

Mark your calendars for these two dates. It looks like we have some interesting and educational topics coming up.

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WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS
Gene Black has had some interest and some registrations as a result of his information in the last newsletter. Remember to contact Gene at mary-gene@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in registering anyone in the new WWII memorial. Gene is a lifetime member and is happy to help register anyone else who is entitled to be.

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YOU WERE BORN AN ORIGINAL…BUT MOST PEOPLE DIE A COPY.

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TECH TIP:
Long ago I had one older upright 2 1/2 steps (-500 cents) below A440. I brought it up in one visit without regard to breaking anything. Just did it because it wasn’t any good where it was. Everything went okay. It must have been another one of those times I just got lucky!

Keith McGavern, RPT
Shawnee, Oklahoma

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WHAT WOULD YOUR RESPONSE BE?
A study of a group of elderly people 95 and older were asked the question, “What would you do differently if you had your life to live over?” The central theme of all of the responses was, “I would have done more with my life.” The three most common answers were: I would have thought more; I would have risked more; and I would have done more things that would live on after I die.

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Since we’re rapidly approaching the holiday season, here’s a helpful hint when buying your turkey…
A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?” The stock boy replied, “No ma’am, they’re dead!”

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ASSOCIATE SEMINAR
After arriving in Kansas City Thursday evening and spending the night in the Drury Inn, I went to the new PTG headquarters building where I began a memorable time of learning from some very capable instructors.

Friday the sessions began at 8:00 AM. The group of twenty-four was divided into four groups and we started the day’s study. There were four learning stations – tuning, grand regulation, upright regulation and, the fourth, repair. Each station included hands on work with “training” models and, in the case of the tuning station, excellent aural work and discussion with the trainer.

We broke for lunch at noon and resumed work at 1:00. During the lunch hour we were treated to a tour of the Piano Museum, which is part of the new PTG headquarters. That is definitely something you will want to visit the next time you are in Kansas City. The afternoon was spent completing the round of the training stations. We had dinner at 5:00 PM and then went back to headquarters for a round table discussion. This lasted for two hours with questions pertaining to all aspects of the piano, both tuning and technical.

Saturday morning began the same with each participant selecting the station he or she wanted to visit for more study. Then, at noon, we headed for home.

This Associates Seminar is a national event to be given annually and it is my understanding that there already is a waiting list. There were people from California, Tennessee, Illinois and all points between and the instructors, who came from as far away as Louisiana (Gary Neie), donated their time and were very interested in helping each person regardless of existing level of proficiency. I consider it a privilege to have been able to attend and I thank Shem for sharing the experience with me.

Dave Scroggins, Associate
Enid, Oklahoma

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There was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly man. The man had just lost his wife. When the child saw the man cry, the little boy went over into the man’s yard and climbed on top of the man’s lap and just sat there. When the boy’s mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

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NEWSLETTER ARTICLES NEEDED
Please remember that contributions for the newsletter are needed each month and will be appreciated. If you would like to share a tech tip, an idea, a question, or write an article, please send them to Barbara Bonham. Email address is: barbbonham@cox.net. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to this month’s newsletter.

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WE SHOULD ALL BE ABLE TO THINK THIS QUICKLY…
A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa. He took his faithful pet dog along for company. One day the dog starts chasing butterflies and before long he discovers that he is lost. So, wandering about he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch. The dog thinks, “Boy, I’m in deep doo doo now.” Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly, “Man that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here?” Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in mid stride, as a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. “Whew,” says the leopard, “That was close. That dog nearly had me.”

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog saw him heading after the leopard with great speed and figured that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here monkey, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine.”

Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, “What am I going to do now?” But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers pretending he hasn’t seen them yet. Just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says, “Where’s that monkey? I just can never trust him. I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard and he’s still not back!!!”

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