April 2015

PTDAEJohn Thompson, Steve Carroll-Turner, Andy Briggs, Wim Feldhaus,David Stanwood, Dominic Rochford, Ken Forrest, Frans Pietjouw

PTA President Brian Frost appears in Court One in Newark!

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April 2015 3

Editorial — 4President Writes — 5Membership News — 6Book Review — 8Website Update — 9The Piano School Newark — 10Tour of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama — 12Training Day with Malcolm McKeand — 13Students’ Pages — 14PTDAE Day in the Netherlands — 16Piano Plagiarism — 18Concert Tuning in Middlesbrough — 20Images from Piano History — No 5 — 21Hearing Aids and Tuning — 22Job Opportunity with Yamaha UK — 25

Council Report — 26PTA Diary — 27

The next deadline for PTA News is: Friday 222nd May 2015.PTA News is the Newsletter of the Pianoforte Tuners’ Association. All views expressed are

those of the contributors, not necessarily reflecting those of the PTA or the editorial team.Please send items for publication to ‘The Editor’, preferably via email with photographs sent

separately from the text. Posted items can only be returned if accompanied by an SAE.Please obtain the necessary permission before submitting copyright items.

PTA News, 49 South Hamilton Street, KILMARNOCK, KA1 2DTEmail: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

To advertise in PTA News, at very reasonable rates, please contact:Mr Stephen Venn, 96 Anmore Road, Denmead, WATERLOOVILLE PO7 6NT.

Email: advertising@pianotuner.org.uk

CONTENTS

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I hope that you have all signed up by now for classes at theConvention! Unfortunately Convention classes F & G have beencancelled but you can read more about PTD in Ken Forrest’s articleabout the trip to the Netherlands on page 16.

Rick Ohlendorf has reviewed the latest book from Dr Alastair Laurence“More London Piano Makers” (p8). This book is the source of the fascinating series“Images from Piano History” which continues on page 21.

The new website is being launched very soon although the new Forum will arrivesometime after this. More information can be found on page 9.

PTA President Brian Frost with Council Members Gary Whiteland and AndrewGiller visited the Piano School at Newark in February. Read Gary’s report about theirvisit and enjoy the photographs on pages 10, 11 and the front cover.

Although it was Mothers’ Day, a very successful training day was held at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama in March. The report of the tour of the GSMDis on page 12 and the report of the Training is on page 13. Some photos from the dayare on pages 6, 7 and 12.

We are nearly at the end of the serialisation of the article from the PTG in theStudents’ pages; all contributions of articles for this section are very welcome.

Peter Crunden has sent in an interesting article about piano plagiarism (p18) afterreading Dr Alastair Laurence’s ‘Images from Piano History No4’ about the ChappellBlüthner grand in February’s PTAN.

Michelle Rudd has written an account of a long day as a concert tuner (p 20).As some of you may know, Les Sherlock is a hearing aid wearer and as such has had

some problems when tuning and listening to pianos, particularly in the upper registers.His email to the BAA (British Academy of Audiology) is reproduced in full here (p22)along with the Audiologists comments (pp23-24). You may find this informationinteresting and very useful. The article will be published in the BAA magazine in May.

Neil Farrar of Yamaha has sent through information about a job opportunity (p25)that may suit a freelance tuner, newly starting out on a career, who has establisheda good technique, but who is also building up a tuning round. I hope that this may be ofinterest to our younger PTA Members or to Students who have recently finished collegeas currently there is work available.

Please continue to send me items of interest, articles, photographs and other materialfor inclusion in future issues. The usual address is ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk

EDITORIALANNE BURTON

DEADLINE FOR PTAN ARTICLES: FRIDAY 22nd May 2015

Articles, letters and photos to: ptanews@pianotuner.org.uk or to address on page 3.Please email photographs and text separately.

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THE PRESIDENT WRITESBRIAN FROST

When I stood for President in 2013 I said I would take onthe role again for two years whilst we encouraged new Membersto stand for Council and take the Association forward. It seemsthat ploy has worked and I will be standing down as planned at theAGM in May. There will be more vacancies for new Council Members in May — doconsider standing. It can be very rewarding giving back something to an Associationyou belong to.

I have enjoyed my return to being President; it really is a privilege to hold the role.I cannot deny that there have been some very difficult times. A good team makes anyjob easier and Council has worked hard on the various projects and goals we setourselves over the past two years. A special thank you goes to Matthew Gough, PTAVice President, who has shared so many of the jobs and problems we have had totackle during my presidency.

As some of you already know Andrew Jamieson is standing down from Councilat this year’s AGM. He has served 25 years, and as his ‘commute’ to Council meetingsin London has been from Scotland this is an extraordinary achievement. Andrew hasbeen the main Convention organiser for many years and for the past 10 years hasserved as treasurer as well. On behalf of the Association, thank you Andrew for your25 years of dedicated and loyal service.

Finally I would like to apologise on behalf of Council for the delayed launch ofthe new website and forum. Last minute glitches made it impossible to go ‘live’ onthe planned date. These problems are gradually being ironed out and we are workingto have the site live before the AGM and the new forum will follow later.

Brian FrostPTA PresidentApril 2015

PTA TRAINING DAYDate for your diary

Saturday 17th October, 2015Training Day With Mario IgrecAuthor of ‘Pianos Inside Out’

At Steinway Hall, 44 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2DBBooking form with June issue of PTA News

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MEMBERSHIP NEWSANNETTE SUMMERS

An application to become a PTA Member has been received from:Mr Diaconu B TiberiuNr 2 BujoruluiSaftica, IlfovRomania 077016Email: office@pianoservice.roWeb: www.pianoservice.ro

An application to become a PTA Associate has been received from:Mr Bruce J Lamond129 Ferme Park RoadCrouch End,LONDONN8 9SGTel: 020 8348 0560Mob: 07984 922495Email: brucelamond1@mail.com

A warm welcome to new PTA Students:

S370 Mr J Dendy68 Harcourt StreetNEWARKNG24 1RFMob: 07806 770311

S371 Miss C E Groombridge‘Joleen’ Bryn Y BerthenLIXUMFlintshire CH8 8LTEmail: charliegroombridge@hotmail.comMob: 07872 396665

S372 Ms C Garcia Portas22 Rufford AvenueNEWARKNG24 4BDEmail: Cristiportas@gmail.comMob: 07597 742284

S373 Miss H E Burke68 Harcourt StreetNEWARKNG24 1RFEmail: Burke.heather@rocketmail.comMob: 07721 486728

Photographs from the GSMD’s newMilton Court building

Concert Hall

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S374 Mr J P W Johnson26 Roman RoadSOUTHWICKWest SussexBN42 4TPEmail: Jamesjohnson770@hotmail.comMob: 07805 616665

S375 Mr C B Grimes51 Albion StreetNEWARKNG24 4FFEmail: Colinb.grimes@gmail.comMob: 07437 184983

S376 Mr V B Loesch84 Bulkington AvenueWORTHINGWest SussexBN14 7HZEmail: follkey@googlemail.comTel: 01903 867741

S377 Mr J Murphy41a Dornton RoadBalhamLONDON SW12 9NFEmail: johnnymurfy@gmail.comMob: 07938 613876

S378 Mr D M Johnson‘Southway’ London RoadBECCLESSuffolkNR34 9YTEmail: djbeccles@gmail.comMob: 07825 867921Tel: 01502 47018

Please send all changes of address, telephone and email to The Secretaryusing the contact details on Page 27

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BOOK REVIEWBY RICK OHLENDORF

M ore London Piano Makers byAlastair Laurence, published by Keyword Press,2015, 131 pages, paperback. I reviewedAlastair's previous book and finished by saying,‘I’m ending this with a plea to Alastair to writeanother erudite book about more “lost”companies from the heyday of London’s pianotrade.’ And he has!

The makers included in Alastair’s new bookare: Eavestaff, Rogers, Squire, Knight,Chappell and Hopkinson plus mentions ofsmaller firms. The book includes five mainchapters with copious notes and appendices.

As in his previous book, Five London PianoMakers (still available), Dr Laurence draws onhis expertise to give us further informationabout the British piano making industry,including where they sourced their parts,i.e. piano frames from iron foundries in Scotland and Essex. Eavestaff’s development ofthe minipiano is particularly interesting even though their first model is perhaps the mostdisliked piano from a tuner's point of view. It seems it was marketing skill that enticedpeople to buy them.

The book talks about the interrelationship between manufacturers and those withexpertise in the field, as opposed to the general workers. People with particular skills asdesigners and managers were greatly in demand and frequently moved from factory to

factory. Samuel Wolfendengets a big mention as a scaledesigner and as all must know,is the author of several treatiseson piano construction, as wellas being involved with theMusic Trades School at theNorthern Polytechnic, whicheventually became The LondonCollege of Furniture.

The book has many goodquality photographs of pianos,factories, people andadvertisements of the period.The appendices contain familytrees and information on scale

design and the book alsoThe strung back of a Knight model K10 upright, showing the cast-iron ‘surround’ frame. Note the unusual absence of the mid-trebleiron bracing bar. [Sylvia & Michael York’s business archive]

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provides a fascinating social history. In case you missed the first book review (PTANews August 2010) I quote ‘Alastair has collected information for many years aboutBritish piano making and is a foremost authority on the subject. The book containsmany interesting stories and if it wasn’t for Alastair these would be lost forever....Although only a small volume it is a real gem; scholarly, a good read and highlyrecommended.’

This book is available direct from the author: Dr Alastair Laurence, 11 Cliff Street,Whitby, North Yorks, YO21 3DD, £15 plus £2.50 p&p. Also available from Fletcherand Newman. A copy will be held in the PTA library.

WEBSITE UPDATE

The new website will be up and running very shortly and it has been more of anundertaking than first imagined to achieve this. The address hasn’t changed; please dovisit www.pianotuner.org.uk

You should find the new website easy to navigate around using the eight tabs alongthe top. This part is the public face of the website. The top left tab is the “Home” taband is a single page containing various links to other parts of the website for ease ofaccess. The other single page tabs are: Find a Tuner, Tuning Reminder, Gallery,Membership and Contact.

The tab 2nd from the left is “About Us”. Here you will find the briefest History ofthe PTA (26 words!) along with information about the Executive Council, the Secretary’sname and contact details. Hovering the mouse over the “About Us” tab will bring up afurther sub-menu (currently) with 8 more pages. As you move the mouse over a tab, thefont colour changes to white so that you can see what you are selecting. Once you haveselected a sub-menu page and clicked on it, e.g. History in the About Us tab, the tabheading’s font remains white, indicating which tab you have dropped down.

“Your Piano” tab has a further 4 pages accessed in the same way as the About Usdescribed above. This is where the largest amount of text is to be found. There isinformation to help the general public understand what we do as well as help withpurchasing instruments, their care and maintenance.

The Members tab on the top right hand side takes you to the login screen where youhave to enter your username and password. Members, Associates and Students will haveaccess to this area of the site and your login details should have been sent to you insidethe envelope accompanying this April issue of PTAN. Patrons and all those whosubscribe to the mailing list only will not have access to this part of the site. Once yourusername and password are entered you have the option to tick the Remember Me boxwhich will save you having to enter these details in future. Once you have clicked on thelogin button, the menu for the Members Area is in a list on the left hand side of the screen.The cursor (in the shape of a small arrowhead) changes to a hand as you hover the mouseover each category in the list. Notice how the font colour changes from black to brown toindicate your selection. To logout, look up to the ribbon above the eight tabs which areconstantly along the top of the screen. Here you should see the information ‘logged in as:’and your name. Next to this is “logout” in a blue colour. As the cursor moves over, thecolour darkens, the word is underlined and you can click to logout.

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PTA VISIT TO THE PIANO SCHOOL, NEWARKBY GARY WHITELAND

On the 11th February, PTA president, Brian Frost, AndrewGiller, Gavin Crooks and I visited Newark college for a tour ofThe Piano School and to speak to the current students about thebenefits of becoming a member of the PTA. Newark is currentlythe only college in the UK offering training for the piano trade,and offers a three year full time course.

Upon arrival wewere greeted by coursedirector John Lord who gave us a briefhistory of The Piano Tuning School, anoverview of the current course and thebuilding that houses it; a converted policestation and courthouse.

I attended Newark back in theeighties; the course was then located inThe Mount Annexe which wascondemned a few years ago. John andhis staff have worked hard to keep thecourse running and to get the college toinvest in the conversion of the currentbuilding for its present role. We werethen taken on a tour of the Schooltaking in the tuning booths andworkshops which are very well laid outand equipped.

Above: John Lord with Andrew GillerRight: The CourthouseBelow right: Workshop

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After the tour we went to a local hostelry for lunch and to prepare ourselves tospeak to the students. Following lunch weheaded back to the former courthouse and tookour positions where once magistrates had sat tomake their legal decisions. There were about 30students in attendance. After an introduction byBrian we addressed the students in turn,speaking about our personal experiences in thepiano trade and how we felt the PTA hadbenefited us in our profession. We thenanswered questions from the floor on a range ofpiano related matters with John Lord chippingin with observations of his time in the trade.We then had a chance to chat to individual

students who seemed very happy with thecourse and were full of enthusiasm forheading out into the world and establishingthemselves in their chosen career.We managed to recruit nine PTA Studentswhich is a great result.

I would like to thank John Lord, his staffand students for an excellent day and formaking us so welcome. It would be good toreturn in the future to speak to another intakeof students. John has suggested that the PTAcould use the School as a test venue. All inall, a very successful day.

Details of the course at Newark canfound at:

www.lincolncollege.ac.uk/courses/piano-tuning-maintenance-and-repair

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We all met on level -2, one of the bright and open (it has glass walls) publicfoyer areas where coffee and tea was set out to welcome us. James Alexander,Head of Music Administration, acted as our well-informed guide as he led 50or so of us round the Milton Court and Silk Street buildings.

The fact that the Barbican estate, including the GSMD’s Silk Street building,became Grade-II listed in 2001 means that consent always has to be obtained for anyworks carried out in the Guildhall which inevitably complicates matters and made itdifficult for the Guildhall to expand or adapt to the modern demands of a leadingConservatoire. There are, James said, over 900 students (750 music students, 180acting and technical theatre students) at the GSMD, 40% of whom are from overseas,drawn from nearly 60 countries around the world.

The GSMD’s new Milton Court complex is part of a larger development that alsoincludes private residential accommodation mixing living and working spaces withthe performing arts. Opened 2 years ago, this £90 million investment in the GSMDincorporates state-of-the-art buildings including a 608-seat Concert Hall, 223-seatTheatre, up to 128-seat Studio Theatre, a TV Studio Suite and three major rehearsalrooms each with a sprung-floor. In addition, the Silk Street complex houses theMusic Hall, Lecture Recital Room, Theatre, Theatrical Workshops and Labs,Electronic Music Studios and over 40 teaching and practice rooms.

It was most impressive and the adjectives that were used in describing each areaas we entered show just how important the new addition is for the GSMD:adaptable; high-quality; multi-level; state-of-the-art; the latest technology;dedicated…; multi-functional; extendable; moveable; fully-automated; fully-adjustable; and not forgetting: integral piano-lift to the concert platform.

It is not just the musicians, actors, staff, students and theatre technicians but it isalso the public who will benefit from these new comfortable surroundings. It is atruly inspiring place and I was not surprised to learn that the GSMD is rated No.1specialist institution in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2013 and 2014.

Our thanks for a wonderful visit go to James Alexander, Malcolm McKeand,the GSMD, the City of London Corporation and Matthew Gough.

TOUR OF GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSICBY ANNE BURTON

T Hammer with extension

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TRAINING DAY WITH MALCOLM MCKEANDBY GORDON NELSON

Following a welcome from Brian Frost, PTA President, andMalcolm McKeand, Concert Piano Technician at theGuildhall School of Music and Drama, fifty five PTA Members andStudents were given an excellent tour by James Alexander, Head ofMusic Administration, of the two sites that make up the school.

The superb facilities for instrumentalists and singers to gain platformexperience were revealed with justifiable pride. The largest concert hall featuresvariable acoustics, but in practice a choice of four pre-set results is expected to satisfyall but the most demanding! Singers, actors and stage technicians benefit from twotheatres and other practice halls, equipped with traditional and the very latest state-of-the-art stage moving, lighting and sound gear.

An excellent buffet lunch preceded Malcolm's lecture.Malcolm began by admitting to being surprised, at the start of his career, how

difficult it was to achieve a tuning solid enough to survive a concert pounding.He soon realized and was at pains to stress, that to achieve success we must focus onthe feel of the pin, which must never be left in a state of torque (twisted). Turning amodern pin in a portion of modern block such that we could observe both ends of thepin revealed a twist of about 5° before the whole pin turned. See photo at the foot ofpage 12. Differing pin sizes and constructional details make for more or less feel ofthe pin. Pin bushings in particular get the thumbs down! Legendary tuners Malcolmhad known appeared to favour a short-handled tuning crank.

Friction arising from string contact with various parts of the piano was consideredin detail, and a nice distinction drawn between young top quality pianos (tight pins,minimal string frictional resistance) and older pianos (slacker pins and increased stringfrictional resistance). In both cases the advice was to introduce a slightly jerky cranktechnique and strike the key with force similar to loud playing sharing the blow withtwo or three fingers at once; and with older pianos where friction is greatest tend moreoften to approach the pitch from below, rather than a final tune from a point above therequired pitch.

Malcolm  touched on the history of string making and pin styles. Not alldevelopments have made life easier! Lastly he insisted that the techniques he wasoffering were his and not the only way. Our thanks goto Malcolm for so  generously sharing what he haslearned during his very successful career.

Mention must be made of the recital that followedimmediately. It goes without saying that the tuningremained intact, after virtuoso playing by Ashley Frippof a forty five minute Chopin recital. Here was a playerwith the world at his feet!

Our thanks go also to Matthew Gough for arranginga brilliant day.

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STUDENTS’ PAGESPTG Review38* Steps to Endearmentby Sid Stone, RPT, Chairman, Ethics Committee

29. Be a professional repair estimator.First of all, you need to know how long it takes to do certain repair jobs. The time

involved can be discussed at a chapter meeting, but not prices. Even a discussion ofprices among members outside the chapter meeting can be in violation of the ShermanAntitrust laws.

Some technicians make the estimate and then add a percentage to cover any hiddenrepairs needed. Some technicians estimate on the high side so that they can come backwith a final bill lower than the estimate. They think this will make the client happy.Being the devil’s advocate, I would say that with the lower amount the client maywonder what was left out.

When I give an estimate, that estimate is firm. There is no extra charge for neededrepairs I overlooked. Serves me right.You might say why not call the client and explain what extra repairs are needed andthe cost? This sounds too much like what some auto mechanics might do. If you cantell the client their piano needs more work and you can be endeared by so doing, morepower to you.30. Play the piano after tuning.

It seems as though every client believes a piano tuner is also a piano player. If I amasked to play the piano after tuning, I usually reply, “I am a piano tuner and not apiano player” I then sit down and rip off “Glow worm” or some other fancy piece.In fact, I liked “Glow Worm” so much I played it for years after having finished withthe tuning. This performance came to an abrupt halt when one client lamented, “I getso tired of hearing that piece.” Right after that they moved to Florida. I was tempted totell them I knew a piano tuner in Florida who knew “Glow Worm”, but I did not wantto risk what little endearment I had with them.

“I am a piano tuner and not a piano player”31. Ask the piano teacher to check out the piano.

When I first started tuning pianos I was intimidated by piano teachers. WhenI finished the tuning, I would grab my kit and cheque and immediately get out ofhearing distance. Then a startling revelation came to me. Most piano teachers have notbeen trained to tell if a piano is in tune or not. They may be embarrassed to refuse yourrequest to check out the tuning. They may play a difficult piece; but are they checkingthe tuning or exhibiting their skills as a piano player?

I now ask every piano teacher to check the tuning. This way they are less apt to callthe next day or the next week complaining about the tuning.32. Advise clients who move out of the area.

When a client moves to another area, have a list of Registered Piano Techniciansavailable. If the client has been satisfied with your service, they will value your

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recommendation. It makes my day when someone moves to the San Francisco Bayarea and calls me because of the recommendation of a member or PTG fromanother state.33. Schedule the next tuning.

I remember at a PTG Convention several years ago LaRoy Edwards taught a classon scheduling. He made it perfectly clear that we should schedule the next tuningbefore we left the house. I tried that and it did not work. It didn’t work because thepiano I serviced were mostly older ones and the owners were hard to convince aboutregular service. Then I worked for a store that sold a lot of new pianos and then itworked. It worked for two reasons: (1) If the owner was financially able to buy a newpiano, he/she was more apt to follow the recommendations of the manufacturer;(2) The store guarantee may require regular tunings. If I can not schedule the nexttuning then, I let the client know when the piano should be tuned again. I then tellthem I will contact them for the appointment. At least we should write on the invoicethe next recommended date for tuning and ask the client if they want to be reminded.34. Remind the client by mail.

I have had special reminder cards printed and mailed. The effectiveness of thesecards is questionable. A better reminder card is the one Isaac Sadigursky uses. He hasa custom-made card that he asks the client to address. This card is then mailed to theclient when the next tuning is due. They will pay more attention to the card if it isaddressed in their own handwriting and if they requested the reminder. Anotherreminder card is used by Ron Berry. His custom-made reminder cards are addressedand mailed to the piano instead of the client. I am wondering if a card addressed to thechild who takes lessons might also be better than one being addressed to the client.35. Remind the client by phone.

When is the best time to call a client to remind their the piano needs tuning?(This would be a good topic for discussion at a chapter meeting.) Do not count onmuch endearment if you call at dinner time, or while they are watching their favouritesoap opera.

When the phone is answered, you should first identify yourself. This eliminates thesuspicion that you might be a sales person or solicitor.If a lady answers the phone, you might tell her in a cheerful voice, “It’s piano tuningtime again.” Now, if it happens to be the wrong number, try out your endearmentstrategy. Apologise, explain, and manipulate to get a tuning from her. Then, if she saysshe does not have a piano, you might say, “This is your lucky day. We have a salegoing on now.”

If a child answers the phone, have your 3” by 5” card ready with the child’s name.Introduce yourself, then call her or him by name and ask to speak to the mother.You might hear an excited voice yelling, “Mummy, it’s the piano tuner, and heremembered my name.”To be continued…

Extract from article reproduced with permission from the PTGNotes

*38 Steps … one step beyond Yamaha’s 37 Steps.

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PTDAE DAY IN THE NETHERLANDSBY KEN FORREST

On a cool and damp morning at the end of January, 5 intrepid PTAmembers set out for the Channel Tunnel on the long journey to theNetherlands to further their knowledge of the more esoteric subtleties ofthe piano action. Andy Briggs, Steve Carroll-Turner, Dominic Rochford,John Thompson and I were headed to the workshop of Wim Feldhaus in NieuwWeerdinge for the 2015 PTDAE (Precision Touch Design Academy, Europe) day.The driving was heroically undertaken by John and Steve, who faced a 5 hour driveonce Le Shuttle had disgorged us in France. Thanks to the wonders of the Sat-Nav,(despite a couple of disagreements between the two rival systems, much to my glee),we arrived in good time to check-in to the hotel, and drive on to the ‘Meet and Greet’evening at a local hostelry. The local beer left a vivid memory, which we will all enjoyre-visiting if at all possible.

The PTD day was held in a workshop to die for. Wim’s workplace, as you can seebelow, is modern, comfortable and packed with good piano-things, although notpianos, on this occasion. It was cleared to accommodate benches and chairs for the36 participants from Germany, The Netherlands, France, Denmark and other cornersof Europe. The highlight was the presence of David Stanwood, the inventor of theconcept of Precision Touch Design.

David does not stand still, and the PTD day was spent partly bringing us up to dateon his latest observations and research. A session on the new protocol of damperweight brought many interesting new insights, and the long and detailed discussionof the precise balance point of the key in actual operation, and the best way to measurethe key Front Weight has changed our ideas considerably. Even John Thompson, the

most experienced PTD designer of ourgroup, found himself having to workto insert the changes into his familiarunderstandings and methods.

A new method of revealing the“magic line” between the lever centreand key balance point, and the positionof the capstan/heel contact point inrelationship to it, was presented byLeendert van der Waal. This was quitea revelation, turning this difficultrelationship into a simple, easily

available tool, at the same time, being one of those moments when you think “this isso obvious, why didn’t I think of it years ago?”

After an enjoyable lunch at a nearby centre, the afternoon was spent looking at thechanges made to the PTD design programme by Wim and Frans, with Wim de Groot,their Excel specialist. Not having much experience with the design programme, for methis was more of an opportunity to become more familiar with the extreme complexity

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of the design process, and how to manipulate the figures and graphs into an acceptablesolution to the problems of a particular piano.

The final session was spent discussing the PTDAE, and PTD itself, and how bestto spread the word to the many technicians who see no disadvantages with the oldmethods. This is a difficult problem, and probably will only spread slowly as moretechnicians face a piano which does not improve with the traditional panaceas, andhave that moment of revelation when PTD heaves above their horizon to shed its lightupon the deeper subtleties of the mechanism. In the meantime, we 36 apostles of thenew order applauded the end of a tiring and rewarding day, to head to the Chineserestaurant, and then to bed.

In order to make the — for many — long journey more worthwhile, Wim andFrans had arranged a second day of PTD learning, which we 5 Brits had all signed upfor. We had the opportunity to try out the new PTD design programme on our owncomputers, fed from memory sticks which were given a short life, as they had the fulldesign programme on. We measured variousaction models and fed the figures into theprogramme. We could then try out the newfeatures of the full design programme underWim’ and Frans’ tutelage. This was one of themost valuable parts of the 2 days for me.

The measurement of down-weight and up-weight were discussed — a difficult andsubjective measurement, with many of ushaving subtly different methods of revealingand choosing the appropriate weights. We alsolooked at the pivot point of the key in somedetail, trying different cut washers to revealthe very different leverages which a single key and balance rail could give. If you haveever toned a piano, and kept picking out the sharps as a fraction too loud, then closeinvestigation of the difference in leverage between the naturals and sharps could helpto reveal a clue to the problem. A piano fitted with David Stanwood’s SALA system(Stanwood Adjustable Leverage Action) was in the workshop, and we could all playit, adjust it and feel the considerable differences between the settings at the extremes.

With a great deal to absorb, we arranged to re-visit the hostelry that evening andcheck the superiority of the beer. In an attempt to chip away at the isolationism of theBrits, we were all kept moving around, so that we had a chance to discuss the eventswith the participants from other parts of the European piano universe, a fitting end toa marvellous two days.

The morning brought an early breakfast and the 5 hour slog to the Tunnel. Stevewas visiting friends in Brussels, so the other 4 of us piled into John’s comfortablevehicle and indulged in a final long chat about pianos and PTD, not available in theusual way, when you have to watch for the chat-victim’s glazing eyes to judge whento change the subject before losing the communication entirely!

Our thanks must go whole-heartedly to Wim Feldhaus and Frans Pietjouw, whoare the PTDAE, and of course to David Stanwood for giving his valuable time to us.

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Further to Alastair Laurence’s “Chappell/Bluthner Grand” item (PTA News,Feb 15), I am ancient enough to remember an ad’ during the late 1950’s on RadioLuxembourg (208 meters medium wave “Your Station of the Stars”) which as I recallstated “Whatever the music, it will sound better on a Chappell piano.”

Having tuned numerous Chappell pianos during my career I regret that I cannotendorse the above slogan, in fact I have always found them to be pretty average atbest. There have been many pianos made both here and on the European continentwith the names of music publishers on them and in my opinion they all fall into thesame mediocre category. I think this is because they are ‘me too’ instruments, theyare adjuncts’ to the core business which is not piano making!

Charles Gilbey, whom Alastair and other PTA members of our generation willremember, taught at the London College of Furniture in the piano department duringthe 1960’s.  Regarding “plagiarism”, he used to tell the story of how the AllisonCompany “borrowed” a Grotrian-Steinweg upright owned by the Music Technologydepartment of what I think was then the Northern Polytechnic and copied it.

Mr Gilbey was aware of this because he had worked for Allison’s, this particular“plagiarism” occurred before WW1. He had also attended the Northern Polytechnicand was taught by Samuel Wolfenden whom he referred to affectionately as

“Wolfie”. Samuel Wolfenden would also have known of the Allison “enterprise” andindeed he criticises those who copy other pianos in his book “A Treatise on the Artof Piano Construction” published in 1916.

Many Grotrian-Steinweg uprights around this period have a “broken” top bridge,that is to say that the ‘nut’ is not continuous but is in slightly staggered sections.It is easy to see whether a given Allison upright is Grotrian-Steinweg “influenced”because it will exhibit a similar type of top bridge.

I own one of these Allison copies; it was purchased in Coventry for my mother in1919, my maternal grandfather had been involved in munitions manufacture at VickersArmstrong during the 1914/18 war, and I subsequently inherited it from my mother.

Some years ago I renovated its action and discovered that it was definitely awartime austerity piano. The action wood was of inferior quality, bushing cloth hadbeen substituted for the check leather and its fall was of a type usually used in a grand.Allison uprights often have a green frame but in my piano it is a muddy brown, I haveconcluded that at the end of WW1 there may have been a great deal of military paintgoing begging!

The back bracings on many Grotrian-Steinwegs are, ironically, arranged in theshape of a Union Jack instead of the more usual top to bottom. My Allison’s bracingsare pyramidal, a central pillar top to bottom with two others from the bottom bass andtreble corners to the top of the pillar bracing.

My grandfather was excessively patriotic and I just know he would have beenswayed to buy that instrument because of Allison’s slogan “The Great EnglishPiano”. Just as well he never knew that this Allison was copied from an instrumentof German origin!

PIANO PLAGIARISMBY PETER CRUNDEN

April 2015 19

Generally, I find Grotrian-Steinwegs have an excellent tone whereas Allisons, likeChappells, are rather tonally indifferent. However, by some fluke, my plagiarisedAllison has a great tone!

The class of ’65 at the Hoxton annexe, some of the above students arenow PTA members and have probably never seen this photograph. MrGilbey is fourth from left in back row.

One can see the similarity between these two pianos; the right one is the Grotrian,the left, the Allison.

Photos taken before actionrenovation, note that the bassend of the pressure bar hassnapped off due to theupward pressure of last bi-chord, Allison omitted to fita screw to the left of thoselast two strings!Treble section showingstaggered top bridge!

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It can take many years before you get the opportunity to doconcert tunings in top venues, not because of your lack of ability butbecause somebody else got there before you! After over 25 years ofexperience, a few years ago I became a concert tuner forMiddlesbrough Town Hall, which engages the services of topinternational orchestras and soloists. Recently I had to tune a hiredpiano for the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra to A443Hz. Thisinvolved a pre-rehearsal tuning where I had to raise the pitch from A440, managinga very acceptable one-pass tuning thanks to the help of Cybertuner, before the doorswere flung open for the orchestral get-in. I then had six hours to fill and so treatedmyself to a hot lunch, then did a private tuning in a nearby town. Wishing to miss therush hour traffic I was back in Middlesbrough by 4pm. I ate my packed tea whilstlistening to the rehearsal.

At 6:30 I had to do the pre-concert fine tuning in only 30 minutes. The temperaturein the hall had, as usual, been up and down like a yo-yo so the tuning was well outagain. With so little time I usually go for stability over accuracy i.e. solid octaves andunisons are highly important. No one in the audience is likely to hear that one of myfifths is slightly narrow or a third slightly wide for instance. It's not ideal but you haveto do the best you can in the time available. 'Tapping' them in is very hard on the ears!Thank goodness I have musician’s ear protection! These devices are also very good atcutting down extraneous noise. I closed the piano lid to protect it and to prevent thestage lights from warming it up too much and spoiling the tuning. It wouldn't be useduntil the second item in the concert anyway when it would be moved to centre stage.The soloist gave the piano a fair bashing with Tchaikovsky’s piano Concerto No 1 andI was pleased to hear that my unisons held. It helps that the piano was an excellentthree year old Steinway D. They are a fine orchestra too and were highly appreciatedby the venue's largest audience for 10 years.

I had to do a post-concert tuning at 10pm to lower the pitch back to A440Hz(thank you iPad!) before the piano was collected the following morning to go back toSteinway’s depot in Tyneside. (During the concert the pitch had gradually raised itselfto A444 but probably not until the second half).

Whilst I was tuning after the concert the soloist asked me the way to the bus station.I was quite surprised: where's her chauffeur? Why wasn't her tour manager lookingafter her? It turned out that she needed to be back home in London the next morningfor a rehearsal, so had declined the hotel room she had been offered. I gave her a lift;Middlesbrough isn't the best place to be walking alone at 11 o'clock at night!

This was a 13 hour day starting at 10:30 am, but at least I wasn't working all thetime and I got a full day’s takings. Not to mention the pleasure of a free concert bya top class orchestra! A grand day/night out!

CONCERT TUNING IN MIDDLESBROUGHBY MICHELLE RUDD

April 2015 21

Dates: born London c.1879. Died Barnet, Herts,1stApil I 950. One of the greatest technicians everattached to the London piano industry.

Piano Trade background: his grandfather,Edward Barker Gowland (a Yorkshire man, born1821) was works foreman for J & J Hopkinson, andmoved south with the two Hopkinson brothers whenthe latter left Leeds for London in 1846. (Edwardwas in fact the inventor of the 'pressure bar' in theupright piano in the year 1872 – a notablecontribution towards the evolution of the modernupright.)

At Rogers: In 1915, Ernest Gowland, Edward'sgrandson, joined the firm of George Rogers & Sonsin a technical and design capacity – as successor tothe well-known Samuel Wolfenden.

New designs: By July 1920, Gowland hadbecome Rogers factory manager, and was busydesigning a new range of grand and upright models.In the spring of 1924, Rogers took over the goodwill of the Hopkinson business, afterwhich Gowland’s designs may be found in Hopkinson pianos as well.

Chappell’s Appointment: in December 1925, he resigned his post at Rogers, and inFebruary 1926 was appointed manager and technical designer for the Chappell PianoCompany, at the firm's extensive factory in Belmont Street, Chalk Farm, London.

New Chappell models from Gowland’s drawing board: Gowland was to spend therest of his working life designing new models (both grand and upright) for Chappell.The excellent 5' 2” Chappell grand, dating from the late 1920s, is his. However,Gowland brought with him from Rogers a number of his own designs which became'Chappell’s' overnight. And so we can expect that many Chappell models dating fromthe late 1920s (such as The Emerald, The Pearl and The Ruby) appear to be internallyidentical to Rogers or Hopkinson instruments of a slightly earlier date! During the1930s, he designed a wide range of smaller baby grands (between 130cm and 150cmin length) to carry the various brand names which were then being manufactured byChappell: Allison, Collard & Collard, Kirkman and Strohmenger.

Reputation as a money lender: those members of the factory workforce who ranout of money before the weekly pay packet arrived would approach Gowland for ashort-term loan, which he would willingly provide; but then when any indebted workerwas paid his wage, Gowland would charge an exorbitant amount of interest!

Not to be confused with: his older brother Edward James Gowland (born c. 1876),who ran a successful piano and music shop at Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

IMAGES FROM PIANO HISTORY — NO 5ERNEST GOWLANDDR ALASTAIR LAURENCE, JOHN BROADWOOD & SONS LTD.

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Dear Sir,I am writing because of a problem I continually encounter, and

I am baffled why so many audiologists in the UK do not appear toknow anything about it.

I am a piano tuner who had to start wearing hearing aids someyears ago, and immediately encountered the problem that pianossound ‘jangly’ and out of tune in the upper registers when wearingthem. I had to return to the local NHS department several times beforean intelligent audiologist finally referred me to their senior audiologist, who, onwalking through the door said, “I know what the problem is,” and immediately solvedit.I asked them to write down what they had done for me, so during any futureadjustment to my aids, I would know what to ask them to do. They had switched offthe Dynamic Feedback Cancellation (DFC) on a music channel they created in myhearing aids.

Since then I have found, when I meet any of my customers wearing hearing aidsand ask if they have problems in playing the piano, invariably they say “Yes – thepiano sounds out of tune and jangly at the top.” I always tell them my experience andsuggest they ask their audiologist to make this change for them. Recently I returned toan elderly lady with this problem to whom I’d previously explained my experience,but she said when she told her NHS audiologist what I’d said, he replied that it wasrubbish, and wouldn’t do anything.

This email is triggered by yet another of my customers ringing me up yesterday,having just had hearing aids, and asking what he can do because his piano now soundsso bad at the top. I gave him the same explanation; but why am I running into thisproblem so often? Why do audiologists not know about it, or how to solve it? I realisethat different hearing aids will have different software programs to adjust them, and sothe DFC on my hearing aids may be different on others. Two or three years afterhaving my NHS aids, because I was not getting as much help with speech as I needed,I bought some private hearing aids, and, having the same problem with them, told theaudiologist about DFC; and while it was called something different on the program shewas using, she was able to identify what needed to be done and made the necessaryadjustment. Problem solved!

Had I not had the good fortune to be referred to the senior audiologist I mentionedearlier, I would now be unable to work as a piano tuner because the noise my aidscreated made it impossible to tune. For other people the problem may not have suchserious repercussions; but never-the-less for piano owners, their enjoyment of playingis ruined because many audiologists do not appear to understand or know how to dealwith it. This may be a minority of the population of hearing aid users, but to them it isan important part of their lives. I realise cancelling DFC creates a greater likelihood offeedback and squealing, but if it is on a music channel in the aids, this problem can beconfined to when a piano is being played, while at other times the music channel is not

HEARING AIDS AND TUNINGBY LES SHERLOCK

April 2015 23

needed and the DFC can do its work. I also realise that there are many different kindsof hearing aids, and there may be some in which this change cannot be made. In thiscase I ask why are manufacturers unaware of the problem and giving peopleequipment that, while helping them in one way, is creating a major problem in another.

I very much hope this matter can be publicised in the audiology world, so thatpeople presently struggling in this way with no realisation that there is a solution, canbe helped.

Yours sincerelyLes Sherlock

Comments from Pauline Smith, Clinical Scientist (Audiology)

Musicians or keen listeners of music often require audiologists to pay very carefulattention to their hearing aid programmes. This response to Les Sherlock’s lettersummarises my current suggestions for clinical practice for these groups of people.

There are two key pieces of information that the audiologist requires:1. What music does the patient want to listen to?

Patients will have different listening needs depending on what instrumentthey play, whether they play alone or in a band/orchestra, whether they sing,alone or in a choir, whether they listen through headphones, or speakers, athome or in a concert hall, whether they need to listen to speech as well astheir music (e.g. conductor of the orchestra or choir) etc.

Listening needs should all be documented as part of each patient’sindividual management plan, and the audiologist should ascertain as muchdetail as possible concerning the patients’ concerns about listening to music.

If the patient is already using hearing aids, and is being seen because theyhave particular problems with music, additional information will be availableabout what exactly their problems are in different music situations, which canbe used to guide the programming.2. What features and programmes do the hearing aids offer?

All of today’s hearing aids will have the following features: noisemanagement, directional microphones, feedback cancellation and widedynamic range compression. The audiologist needs to have a goodunderstanding about how these features work in different listeningprogrammes, and how much these features are accessible and can be changedin the hearing aid software.

Most music programmes will (at least) reduce or switch off the feedbackcancellation, but not all hearing aid software offers a music programme as anoption.

Once the audiologist has ascertained the above information, it is necessary to thinkthrough the individual patient’s acoustic requirements.

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It is preferable to create a separate programme for music, so that in other situations,speech will continue to be prioritised by the aids.

In very general terms, anyone listening to music through hearing aids will prefer:1. Feedback cancellation turned OFF or (if the aids are feeding back) set to a

slow or low setting if that is possible in the hearing aid software2. Omnidirectional microphones3. Noise cancellation (all types) turned OFF or set to low (Chasin, 2009).

Bandwidth is probably best left wide, and it is important to ensure a smooth frequencygain response, verified by real ear measurements, (Dillon, 2012).

Compression, gain and MPO settings are not so obvious. High input levels of music(compared with speech) can easily lead to distortion in hearing aids, so logic suggests thatlower gain and MPO is appropriate, however, different hearing aid manufacturersimplement different regimes here, so there is a need to look at the individual programmesettings. If patients are listening to music through a hi-fi system, it may help if theyreduce the volume of their system, and increase the volume in their hearing aids in orderto reduce possible distortion, (Chasin, 2013).

Because music has such a wide dynamic range compared with speech, it may be thatsome patients prefer a more linear response, but this is not universally agreed, and someprefer WDRC to linear.

Logic would suggest that frequency-lowering algorithms are not best suited tolistening to music, although there is some suggestion in the literature (Uys et al, 2012)that they may contribute to greater listening enjoyment. It may be worth trying forselected listeners.

In conclusion, I would suggest giving musicians and keen listeners of musica separate programme for music, understanding what this programme does, and adjustingas indicated by self-report at follow up. Just occasionally, music sounds better to thediscerning musician with the hearing aids in their boxes.

In the case of dissatisfaction that you are unable to resolve, it is always worth seekingadvice from the manufacturers’ audiology team. There is certainly room for CPD pointsto be gained from working with different manufacturers’ audiologists and understandingsomething else about their software that you hadn’t tried before.

ReferencesChasin, M. (2013). Setting hearing aids for music, BSA News, issue 68, April 2013,

p21-23

Chasin, M. (2009). Hearing aids and Music, Chapter 10 in Hearing loss in musicians,Prevention and Management, Plural Publishing, p107-116

Dillon, H. (2012). Prescribing hearing aid amplification, Chapter 10 in Hearing Aids,second edition, Boomerang Press, p322

Uys, M., Pottas, L., Vinck, B and Dijk, C. (2012) The influence of non-linearfrequency compression on the perception of music by adults with a moderate to severehearing loss: subjective impressions. S Afr J Commun Disord. 59: 53-67.

April 2015 25

WORK OPPORTUNITY WITH YAMAHA UKFOR ONE OR TWO TUNERS, BASED AT THE MOUNT FARMWORKSHOPS, PIANO SELECTION CENTRE, MILTON KEYNES

We’re currently seeking a highly experiencedFreelance Piano Tuner

to join our dedicated Piano Technical team based at our Piano Selection Centrein Milton Keynes.

Ideally, you will be self-motivated, hardworking, able to work on your owninitiative and capable of completing six tunings per day. You will be tuning newYamaha and Kemble upright pianos prior to delivery and what with learning aboutYamaha’s unique manufacturing processes and set-up techniques it will be an excitingand rewarding venture for the right enthusiastic candidate.

Other duties to include removing case parts, checking voicing and regulation, casere-assembly and reporting on any quality issues.

If you feel you have the skills and experience and work to Yamaha’s high standardsthen please send your CV and rates to:

Lauren Bynoerecruitment@gmx.yamaha.com

26

The meeting of the Executive Council was held on 21st March at Jaques SamuelPianos, Edgware Road, London W2 2DZ.

Present were Brian Frost (President), Matthew Gough (Vice President), AndrewJamieson (Treasurer), Annette Summers (Secretary), Anne Burton, Lewis Flisher,Andrew Giller, John Lambert, Michelle Rudd, Stephen Venn and Gary Whiteland.

Apologies were received from Tania Staite.The Training Day organised by Matthew Gough at the Guildhall School of Music

& Drama with Malcolm McKeand on Sunday 15th March was a great success with55 people in attendance. Profits will be used for PTA Funds.

The next Training Day is on Saturday 17th October 2015 with Mario Igrec atSteinway Hall in London. More training days are being planned.

It was agreed that an insurance policy would be purchased to protect the PTA andits Council from legal action.

The Treasurer’s report was circulated. Andrew Jamieson said that as the PTA yearend is 31st December, the Association is showing a loss of just under £5,000 due tothe necessary spending on the new Yearbook, Database and Website. He said thatfinances will need to be very carefully monitored since we have been running at a loss;however, they should improve from now on as the unusual spending patterns subsideand our reserves build up again.

A Membership application has been received from Mr D B Tiberiu, Romania.An Associate application has been received from Mr B J Lamond, London.Student applications have been received from: Mr J Dendy, Newark;

Miss C Groombridge, Flintshire; Ms C Garcia Portas, Newark; Miss H Burke,Newark; Mr J Johnson, W Sussex; Mr C Grimes, Newark; Mr V Loesch, W Sussex;Mr J Murphy, London; Mr D Johnson, Suffolk.

Nearly all current Members, Associates, Patrons and Students have renewed theirsubscriptions in record time! Annette will follow up on the few outstanding payments.

It was decided that the old PTA record book will cease to be updated.A proposal to change Rule 35 (a) (i) was passed and will be put to a vote at the

AGM. The new wording is in italic.35. (a) Any candidate for the position of President, Vice President or Trustee must (i) have been a member of the Association for at least 4 years and a Memberof the Executive Council for at least two years unless lesser periods be permittedby majority vote of the Executive Council.The rest of Rule 35 remains unchanged.

The PTA had a very successful visit to Newark College on Wednesday11th February with Gary Whiteland, Andrew Giller and Brian Frost attending; 9 newstudent applications resulted. John Lord has offered the facility at Newark as a testor training day venue.

Michelle Rudd will produce a hard copy for reference of important Councildecisions of the past few years.

Brian Frost will attend the Europiano meeting in Frankfurt from 16-18th April.Paul Fox has now updated Europiano details on the current website.

PTA COUNCIL REPORTANNE BURTON

April 2015 27

Convention 14th to 16th May; AGM 11.30am 16th MayConvention Lunch 12.30 for 1pm, Saturday 16th May

Three Counties Hotel, Belmont Road, Hereford HR2 7BP17th October 2015

PTA Training Day at Steinway Hall, London with Mario IgrecBooking form with June PTAN

Convention 2016, 11 to 14 MayThe Barnstaple Hotel, Barnstaple, Devon

Convention 2017, 10 to 13 MayMercure Shrewsbury Albrighton Hotel & Spa, Shrewsbury

For enquiries, PTA goods, changes of address or contact details:Mrs Annette Summers. PTA SecretaryPO Box 230HAILSHAM BN27 9EA

Tel: 0845 602 8796Email: secretary@pianotuner.org.uk

PTA DIARY

The official PTA Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pianotunersassociation) isproving a great success in positively promoting the PTA and its events. Links have beenmade with big names in the industry through the site e.g. the Yamaha job opportunitygained c350 views. Thanks were given to Andrew Day and Matthew Gough for settingup and administering the site. After Matthew steps down in May, Andrew will take onday-to-day responsibility administering the site. Another Administrator, drawn fromCouncil, will then be required.

Classes F and G have had to be cancelled at the Hereford Convention. Non-PTAtuners in the Hereford area will be contacted and invited to pop in to the Convention.

The new website is going live on 24th April with the Plist being retained until allupdates to the Forum are completed. The login details for Members will go out with theApril PTA News.

The font size will be increased from 7pt to 8pt in the A-Z section of the Yearbook.Advertising co-ordinator, Stephen Venn, having contacted all advertisers in the

Yearbook and PTAN, is waiting for some artwork to come in.New adverts have been drawn up for this year’s PTA advertising at no cost to the

Association.It was decided to buy the back catalogue of PTG Journals for the PTA Library as

and when they are issued.Thanks were given to Andrew Jamieson for his 25 years on Council. Thanks were

also given to both Brian Frost and Mathew Gough for all their hard work over the pasttwo years as President and Vice President.

The next meeting is scheduled for after the Convention Lunch on Saturday 16th Mayat the Three Counties Hotel, Belmont Road, Hereford HR2 7BP

A full copy of the Minutes is available from the PTA Secretary.