registered piano technician

[Karl kaputt]

thanx RicB for these information. I think the American way is a good one: 
let everybody do the job, but test him before he is going to be a registered 
technician. What I appreciate at the German way is that the training is 
reasonable. You learn, but you are trained on the job and the employer 
benefits too. Therefore it´s okay to get a small salary for that. And I 
appreciate that an apprenticeship takes a few years (differs between 2 and 
3.5 years, depending on the profession).

But how it´s in Norway? Everybody may market himself as tech, but how to 
become a tech? How to learn a complete rebuilding? Are there schools which 
you have to pay for?

Gregor



>From: RicB <ricb at pianostemmer.no>
>Reply-To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
>To: pianotech at ptg.org
>Subject: registered piano technician
>Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2006 21:49:57 +0100
>
>Hei Gregor.
>
>I'm that Norwegian fellow you refered too.  Actually there are a few that 
>follow the list and sometimes throw in a comment or two. Myself I am born 
>american and became Norwegian a couple years ago after living here for the 
>past 25 years.
>
>I started my piano tech life in the US and continued it here so I have a 
>pretty good familiarity with both countries.  And after having joined 
>associations in both the US and Norway and being active in both I've come 
>to know quite a few techs in Europe as well.
>
>You are going to no doubt hear a lot of different opinions about how 
>education and certification of pianotechs should be.  Many, especially in 
>america, but not limited to them, are of the firm belief that no 
>certification should be required and that any government involvement will 
>just make matters hopeless.  These will argue, and correctly so, that 
>having a certification does not guarantee that workmanship will be of good 
>quality.  The certification can yield a false sense of authority and 
>dependability and even sometimes unrightfully protect a technician who 
>produces shoddy results.
>
>The flip side of this coin however in my view is even worse.  You allow 
>anyone to market themselves as a pianotech and allow the market place to 
>rule.  A kind of chaos really... with its own particular filtering devices 
>for both technicians.... and customers.  Further, I would point out that 
>while requiring a formal education and state approved certification does 
>not guarantee any degree of workmanship... it certainly does leave the 
>technician no excuse for not performing acceptably. It strikes me that when 
>a baseline of ethics, standards and practices are formally drawn up the 
>customer is far better protected, the industry at large is far better 
>served, and the piano technical community will be far better informed and 
>equipped to support the market as a whole.
>
>So I side up on the side of those who adhere to the way things were in 
>Germany a couple years back and still are in Switzerland.  I say this in 
>full admission of being one of those who came up through the grasses on my 
>own.  I think back many times about how many years I wasted wallowing 
>around in the semi dark without any formal education and how much more I 
>may have been able to accomplish in my career had I started on that 
>educational journey back then instead of roughly 10 years ago.  You get so 
>far on your own... and no farther. And indeed I got about as far as one 
>could expect on ones own.
>
>In the US, and in Norway, as in most places on this planet... anyone with 
>no more then a freshly purchased tuning hammer and fork can legally market 
>themselves as a pianotech and take money for the "work" they do.  It is in 
>my mind no small wonder we see such a depressed and confused market with 
>customers expecting the most incredible of unrealistic things from their 
>instruments and a public that in general looks at us all to often with far 
>less then the respect we deserve.
>
>To become an RPT, you must demonstrate enough knowledge and ability that at 
>least you know a reasonable amount about what you are doing.  But the pass 
>levels are low enough that it is not what I would call more then a 
>beginning  journeyman's (at best) level. And the US test is probably the 
>best around of the private associations in the piano world.
>
>You ask a question that really demands more of an answer then our forum can 
>give you when it comes down to it. But I hope this and some of the other 
>answers will at least give you pause and food for thought on the matter.
>
>Cheers
>RicB

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