You Can’t Get There From Here

Among the many things that I will never understand about this life, one item ranks high: the peculiar incompetence some people exhibit when they are required to give directions to their place of residence.

“Go down the street out front until you get to the old red barn that burned down last year, and turn right. You can’t miss it.”

Pianos are delivered far and wide, in cities and in the country, in neighborhoods and apartment complexes, up stairs and down stairs, over creeks, up mountains and through the woods.

It was near Slippery Rock, years ago, that I braved a winter storm to deliver a console organ out in the country. The owner stood on the stoop and watched as two of us lifted the organ shoulder-high to keep it out of the knee-deep snow. The owner had given us directions to his house, but had failed to mention that we would have to carry the organ across a large lawn – one without a sidewalk.

A lady calls for a tuning from an apartment complex. Access to the complex requires a key code to open the security gate. Where is the key pad located? She didn’t say. One would assume it was near the gate. On this occasion, it wasn’t. It was near another building that I had already driven past. That would have been good information to know.

A gentleman purchased a 6′ 6″ Yamaha piano from me back in the 80s. He gave us directions to his home. He failed to mention that he lived on the third floor of an apartment building, one that had six flights of stairs. The length of the piano required the movers to remove and replace the banisters on the end of each half flight of stairs.

Regarding the barn, the one that burned down last year, that also really happened. I received directions from a lady at the gas station on a country road. I was following the directions given to me by the customer – which means I was lost. So I stopped at the gas station.

“Go down the street out front until you get to the old red barn that burned down last year, and turn right. You can’t miss it.”

“Ma’mm,” I said, “If the barn burned down last year, then I am not going to be able to see it to know to turn right.”

She smiled and said, “Well, everyone from round here knows where that barn is.”

And of course, I am not from here, which is why I cannot find the barn. I wonder how many others she has directed since the barn burned down! They may still be out there driving around.

One more – On one delivery I asked how many steps there were. The owner replied there were none. When I arrived, it was a step out of the sunken living room, a step down to the porch, and a series of small steps down the sidewalk. When I reminded her that she had told me there were no steps, she replied, “Those aren’t steps.”

Why Me?

Why are people sometimes unable to give proper directions to their homes? It might be because they never have people come over. Maybe it is because they lack any sense of direction, or maybe they have always depended on someone else to take them where they needed to go.

Some people do not know north from south. I grew up in a town that had roadways that were built on a spoke system. The map of the city looked like a large bicycle wheel. Every major road went to the center of town, or it went away from it. A North-South bearing didn’t help you much in that town. You either went toward town, or away from town.

Later in life I moved to Chicago. Everything is North-South there; built on a big grid of roads. That was an easy city to navigate. Oklahoma City is also a grid, but it is divided into quadrants. Hard to navigate but not as bad as Tulsa. Tulsa is unique because the city streets are on a North-South grid, but the highway runs through the town like one big X, making all North-South roads 45 degrees out of kilter. I’ve had trouble in the past orienting myself to a North-South bearing after exiting the highway. Local people think it is easy to get around Tulsa. I learned how to do it eventually. Some people are still trying to figure it out, I imagine.

Today I trust no one’s directions. That is the rule. Thank goodness for Google maps. It saves me lots of time. I no longer have to look for burned down red barns, or stop and ask directions at gas stations. In the metropolitan area, people who work at gas stations usually don’t live in the town where the gas station is located. They have no idea where anything is. And yet, people stop and ask for directions to get where they thought they knew how to get to.

I suspect that people who cannot give directions are also the same people who cannot follow directions. In my day, I have helped a lot of people with directions. I have found that people who cannot follow directions are also people who will not listen to directions. They also will not write down the directions you give them. They get back in their car, and they go down the road, and they miss the barn – again and again.

If you ask enough people for directions, you will eventually encounter someone who will answer, “You can’t get there from here.” I love that answer. It applies to so many people. Most people hear that statement and think that there are no roads between there and here. When I hear that answer, I think it means, “You are too lost to ever get there. Go back the way you came. Stop trying.”

There is some truth to that. Maybe the reason people get lost is because they try to find places they don’t really need to go to. Maybe we all just need to stay home and watch a movie. Even if that is good advice, pianos still have to be tuned, moved and delivered. And for that reason, when I ask for directions, I ask a lot more questions that most people ask.

“… And how many steps are there in the home?”

“Not many.”

“How many exactly? The delivery crew will need to know.”

“Well…six or seven.”

“Which is it, six or seven?”

“How am I supposed to know!?”

“You live there.”

And that is the end of this blog. I still do not understand why people cannot give directions to their homes. I will still ask questions, and I will still get lost. It is all part of life I suppose.

America’s Culturally Deficiency

One thought that haunts me from time to time is the horrible state of music arts in America. This view may surprise you. You may even find it based in unsound logic. Let me share some history with you as it pertains to America’s cultural development.

There are over 6,000 brands of pianos in America. Most of them are names of companies that stopped making pianos years ago.

In 1865, our country was populated with very uncivilized, uneducated and uncultured citizens who could only resolve their differences by killing each other. Texas seceded from the Union in 1861.

By 1900, 5% of the population lived in cities. 95% lived in the country, on farms.

We were not unquestionably considered to be a viable country (by European standards) until the 1930s when we built the Chrysler Building followed by the New York Empire State building. Prior to that we had not distinguished ourselves as a unique civilization.

However, with the Great Depression, our economy and our ability to manage the affairs of our nation were once again drawn into question. In 1932, it is said within the piano industry that over 2,000 piano companies went out of business – overnight. There was no Federal bailout.

It was 100 years after the Civil War that we finally resolved our differences over Civil Rights.

1965 is a mere 49 years behind us, and yet we still have to address racial prejudice and hatred throughout America.

Consider also that your values, and mine, were shaped by our parents and their parents who defended the values of the 20^th century.

Consider that in 1965 some parents were arguing for increased funding for education, and that today – 49 years later, our nation is beset by another generation of morons who want to cut funding to education.

Consider how many football stadiums, richly adorned, have been built by school systems in Texas, like so many Towers of Babel, in tribute to what only the barbarians of the Roman Age would consider to be the mark of exemplary virtue and culture.

And yet throughout all these tribulations, American composers wrote some of the world’s most marvelous music. Unfortunately, only 15% of the high schools in America offer a school orchestra program – where aspiring young musicians can gain access to our national heritage of orchestral masterpieces.

Today there are fewer than ten piano companies that manufacture in the U.S.; a tragic chapter in our industrial history that is fairly attributed to management incompetence and greed. The names of the greatest pianos of our past are now just words on decals applied to pianos made in China.

We managed to save Harley-Davidson though.

Within the past ten years, many of our largest professional orchestras have suffered from financial struggles. Attendance is down.

In 2012, Texas Governor Rick Perry “hinted” that Texas might secede again.

Make no mistake about it, America is a nation of proud citizens, but when it comes to the finer arts, the overwhelming majority’s understanding is common and base.  If you are one of the few who do not fall into that classification, do more than thank a teacher; invest your time and your money in the fight to increase funding for the arts in education. Volunteer your time for a local symphony or arts group. Attend more concerts. Employ more musicians for your private parties. Cultivate the arts in your community through participation.

America is still a new country. We have not yet achieved what we set out to do.  As a nation, we get a few things right, but we still have a cultural deficiency when it comes to the arts and education. A nation that is culturally illiterate is not an enlightened nation.  We have come a long way, but we have “miles to go before we sleep”.

 

On Cleaning Out “The Drawer”

Today is cold and grey. That is not so bad except that yesterday was like spring. So now I am spoiled. I have to find something to do. I will wait until it is warm again to plant the flowers I bought yesterday. Instead, I am cleaning out the drawer. As in THE drawer, the one you throw everything in “for now” with the clear intention of putting stuff away later. That day has arrived.

The Drawer. Everyone has one of these, and they all have great surprises in them.

I have this extra piano top (doesn’t everyone?) which I am using as a workbench until I build my hard rock maple workbench. I can’t just DUMP the contents of the drawer onto the table, because there MIGHT be something valuable in there. Instead, I remove items one at a time – and since I have to put them somewhere else, I stack them into groups of similar items.

Part of the challenge of cleaning out “The Drawer” is that there is evidence in there: evidence that might PROVE that you put things off for a very long time!

I noticed a few items that I might be able to throw away. There is the wrench bracket to the wrenches that I found in Bill Scott’s MG that I bought and was going to rebuild. The car is gone. The wrenches are gone. Bill passed away. I think I can throw away the wrench bracket.

On the table I see a violin rosin bag, a pile of extra screwdrivers, a 23mm wrench that goes to the camshaft of a Nissan Axxess, which was sold five years ago or more. A fret saw for the guitar I was going to build ten years ago. A file stuck in a handle I made, which is crooked. A plane blade for a plane I do not have.  There is double-sided tape that is not sticky on either side, a 1/64^th drill bit for drilling holes in banjo necks in order to insert an HO scale railroad tie in order to create a capo for the 5^th string. I have a bag of HO scale railroad ties too – 500 count.

Who needs a scrapbook when you can walk down memory lane in an old tool drawer.

Then there are a few light bulbs to the 1976 Chevy truck I used to own. I better keep those, because you just never know when you are going to own a 1976 Chevy truck again. I see a pair of rubber feet that go with my K & M synth stand, a candle stick for lubing wooden drawers, and a sample pack of Varthane stain. All good stuff. I even have a labeler, in case I want to label something. I don’t want to mention names, but someone called “my daughter” got me that labeler and wanted me to label everything in the shop. So I made a label that read “wall” and another one that read “phone” and I kept adding labels to things like that until she left me alone. I might use that labeler someday, so I am going to hang onto it for now.

And I am going to hang onto a lot of other stuff in that drawer too. Because you never know when you might need an extra pair of venetian blind brackets, a slightly hardened stain brush, a glass cutter, a rusted Phillips stubby screwdriver, or two tubes of hardened JB Weld.

You just never know.

How To Contact 4,320 New Customers

I learned this sales lesson years ago when I was selling automobiles. I have since taught this to many salespeople. Try it for 21 days.

Look at the telephone on your desk. That telephone represents $100,000 in sales each year. The telephone is your friend, even though the voice on the other end will say “No” more often than “Yes.” This lesson helps you manage that important sales asset.

Before I get started, consider this: stockbrokers are just telemarketers. They make hundreds of phone calls everyday. Sales trainers in that industry teach them how to use the telephone efficiently. If you figure that the first two hours of the day are spent drinking coffee, following-up work from yesterday, and catching up on the office gossip, then don’t even worry about making telephone calls then. Stockbrokers work in blocks of time. They will assign two hour segments of time where they do nothing but work the telephone. They do that once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. At the end of the day, they know that they have invested four efficient hours of work. That leaves the rest of the day to attend to the business they created during those four hours.

But you are a not a stockbroker, and my suggestions that follow are a lot more fun and take far less time.

Take out a sheet of paper and create the worksheet below.

Hot

1.

2.

Business

1.

2.

Friends

1.

2.

Associates

1.

2.

New

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Now let me explain each category.

Hot – At the end of each day, fill out your call list. Begin with the names of two people you are most likely to sell something to tomorrow. It is important to fill out this list at the end of the day so you will know exactly what your plan is going to be at the beginning of each day. So now you have two hot prospects on your list. Great!

Business – Add the names of two businesses in town. It doesn’t matter who it is. You are going to call someone at that company and tell them three things, and ask one question. You want them to know who you are, what you do, and where you do it. Then you listen. You conclude by asking if they know anyone who would be interested in knowing about your product. Write down the name and number, and conclude your telephone call. Easy. Write down two names of businesses on your list now.

Friends – Each day you will call two friends and tell them what you do, and where you are located. Ask them if they know anyone who is shopping for your product. Write down those names for tomorrow.

Associates – These are people who are not close friends, but they are people you have done business with in the past; your car mechanic, your baker, your minister. People like that. I usually call members of the Chamber of Commerce, or members of other civic groups where I am a member. Write down two names.

New Contacts – Now write down ten names of people you do not know. It could be names from the telephone directory, a list of teachers, doctors, lawyers, anyone really. Write down their name and number. When you talk to them, tell them who you are, what you do and where you are located. Ask one question, “Can I answer any questions you might have about [your product]? And of course, ask if they know anyone else who might want to talk to you about your product. If they say yes, write down the name and number and then ask, “Is it okay if I tell him/her that you said it was okay to call?” If they say yes, then you have a great introduction – a referral from a friend. “I talked to your friend Bob Smith yesterday and he suggested that I call you…”

When you are finished calling ten people, you are almost done. Take out another piece of paper and make a new list. Over time, you will notice that your new contacts will become your hot prospects, a business contact, a new associate, and even new friends. While it is fresh on your mind, fill out tomorrow’s list. Leave it on your desk. You are now finished. Two hours well-spent!

Congratulations – you just called 4,320 people. That is amazing. Let’s do the math.

Hot =2, Business = 2, Friends = 2, Associates = 2, New = 10. All of that equals 18 calls a day.

18 calls each day times 5 days of work = 90 calls a week.

90 calls a week times 4 weeks = 360 calls.

360 calls a month = 4,320 a year.

The Simplicity of Logic

If you make the calls, you will call 4,320 people a year. You will increase your sales significantly.If you do not make 18 calls a day, you will not call 4,320 people a year, and you will not get any of the sales you might have received JUST BY MAKING 18 TELEPHONE CALLS EACH DAY.

One thing remains.

You must make a commitment.

Go to your boss and tell him or her that you are going to commit to making these phone calls for 21 days. At the end of that period, you are going to analyze your sales figures and review all of the 21 lists to see if new contacts became future customers. It is important to make a commitment to someone else. If your boss says, “Wow! That’s great. Sure, let’s do this!”, ask that he or she covers for you while you make the calls. “Can you cover for me so I can be efficient in my strategy and not be interrupted?” Those interruptions take energy and can really keep you from making telephone calls. Help your boss understand that it is extremely important that you not be interrupted by routine chores.

Two hours a day. 18 calls. 21 days. That is all it takes to become a star in the business of sales.

It works. And the reason people do not do this, why they do not make a commitment, is because it is not easy to become a star.

18 calls. 21 days.

Good luck!

In Search of Down Bearing: Finding the Genius Within

In the previous blog I used Michelangelo as an example of a genius who had an inherent understanding of the science that was used to create his art. His renderings in sculpture met the tests that might have otherwise been imposed and foretold by an architect designer, an engineer, a draftsman and a physicist.

If we move down the ladder one notch, we can see how a variety of different backgrounds, talents and preferences contribute to a person’s brilliance. We will leave the topic of genius and just focus on brilliant people. We all know a few people who we regard as brilliant. There are many piano technicians who are brilliant. They do not always agree with other brilliant technicians, and this phenomenon interests me. If someone is more brilliant than me, why do they disagree with other people who are more brilliant than me? You would think they would all agree. Well, they probably all agree they are more brilliant than me! But if you get them talking about down bearing, you will find that they are each approaching the subject a little differently.

To be a genius technician, you would have to be like Michelangelo: a talented, artistic, architect, designer, engineer, draftsman, physicist kind of guy. Michelangelo had a lot of tools in his bag. Brilliant people do too, but not to the same degree as the everyday genius.  Following that logic, let’s expand the categorization of piano technicians by including just their second strongest skill.

For purposes of this examination, let’s assume that all piano technicians are primarily craftsmen. They like to build things and they are good with tools. They have a natural mechanical inclination. But they each have one secondary skill that influences how they use their primary skill.

Now let me assign the other skills, those possessed by Michelangelo, to the technicians. We arrive at four different types, based on the addition of their secondary skill.

Craftsman Architect

Craftsman Engineer

Craftsman Draftsman

Craftsman Physicist

In each of these classifications, the opinion of each craftsman would be strongly influenced by his secondary skill. The Craftsman Architect would be brilliant as he explained how the whole system of the piano wire, bridges and down bearing work together. The Craftsman Engineer would be able to talk about the ratios, angles, formulas and math behind everything that affected down bearing. The Craftsman Draftsman could draw a perfect blueprint of down bearing and all the relevant components. The Craftsman Physicist would be able to explain down bearing in terms of force, motion, and gravity.

Each brilliant craftsman relies on the knowledge gained from learning, as it was viewed through the lens of his stronger skills. If he had exemplary talents and perceptions in every area of expertise, then he would be a genius. But most of us aren’t genius level. We have a few tools, but we do not have all of the tools.

And because of that, our views of down bearing (and just about anything else) might be brilliant, but our ideas will probably be slightly different than the opinions of other brilliant people. In order to learn about down bearing then, we are going to have to combine the observations, findings and opinions of a variety of craftsmen.

So let me start that project. In the next blog I am going to write about what the Craftsman Architect thinks about down bearing.  I will follow in kind with the other three types. A summation might then reveal everything we need to know about down bearing. In fact, if we can borrow from the brilliant ideas of all four types, we may get a glimpse of something that resembles genius.

It’s worth a try.

What’s Up with Down Bearing? The Genius of Rebuilding.

Down bearing.  What is it?

That question asks more than you might realize. What is it indeed? No one seems to know. Well, that isn’t exactly accurate. Everyone seems to know, but there are as many explanations in circulation as there are explainers who do the circulating.

The perils of poor design can contribute to drastic failure of the piano’s components.

 

The story of down bearing is a mystery. Defined, down bearing is the force felt upon the bridge of a piano, caused by the pressure exerted by the piano wire. Down bearing must be balanced between the force exerted as the piano wire arrives at the front of the bridge with the force exerted by the wire as it leaves the bridge. If too much force is at either bridge pin, front or back respectively, the bridge may “roll” towards the greater force. This can cause problems. The soundboard (which the bridge is anchored to) may develop an indented curve, the bridge glue might fail, or the bridge might crack. From this we learn that there will be force; it will be evident in two places on the bridge, and it must be balanced within a certain range of tolerance. Consider the diagram below. There must be a positive (+) angle on both the front and back bridge pin. While the definition of down bearing is as I have given it, when a piano rebuilder asks, “What is the down bearing,” he or she is asking what the proper angle should be. The answer is not easy to know. I will explain why.

Genius and down bearing go hand in hand.

A technician draws a piano wire across a bridge to demonstrate its path across the bridge.

When someone designs a piano, (let us refer to that person as the architect), he or she will be very exacting in the placement of every component of the piano. It will be the engineer who works out the math, the practical physicist who maps out the actions and reactions which the inherent forces will have on various interdependent parts, and finally, the skilled craftsman who will actually build the piano. Craftsmen will of course introduce an element of risk to the process, so the engineer, with the encouragement of both the architect and physicist, will invent machines which can better manufacture the piano within more exacting tolerances than is humanly possible. The craftsman is thereby displaced if at all possible. But with the piano, the craftsman is still a valuable component of the manufacturing process.

The architect will place his plans in a safe each night, for fear that a competitor will steal his work. The engineer will also place his mathematical calculations in a safe each night. The draftsman will safeguard the blueprints. Less attention is paid to the work of the physicist because, let’s face it, who can understand a physicist? That leaves the lowly craftsman – an artist of the highest esteem, to consider. He works with his hands, his tools and his machines, and after due time, produces a piano that will endure the passage of 75 years, on average.

And the piano grows old.

Enter the rebuilder. He stands by this old piano, grand in its day, broken, ignored, abused and decayed, and begins the long process by which he will restore this piano without the aid of the architect’s plan, the engineer’s computations, the physicist deliberations and cautions, and without the machinery of a distant age. He stands alone, casting his shadow upon the bulk of assembled brass, steel, cast iron, wood and felt, and rubs his chin as he ponders, considers, and plans, until at last he arrives at that question whose answer lies in a crypt no less impenetrable than those of the architect, engineer, physicist and craftsman…

“What is the down bearing?”

A technician measures the crown of an inverted piano soundboard.

For the soundboard has lost its crown, and thus the bridge has lost its height, and the angle has lost its degree, and whatever the down bearing might have been, cannot be known. What it should be, is known only to those who have long since passed. Down bearing is a mystery.

Mysteries however leave clues. And as the craftsman ponders, he begins to parse the clues and unravel the mystery. But he will not likely succeed in an exact restoration. Instead, he will employ his artistic methods, experience, and much good fortune, to find the best possible answer that will lend the best result. But he will not wield that answer through science. He will recreate the piano through art.

Here we have science and art, in contrast. And as you think of that place where they meet, I will tell you how to locate genius, for it is exactly where they coexist.

The Methods of Genius

The architect has her schemes and ideas. The engineer has his calculations. The craftsman relies on his wits and common sense. Each actor has his rules, and it is remiss to ignore those of the craftsman. They are numerous, learned from trial and error or from persistent apprenticeship, and they are all based in common sense. I will provide a few of these rules to give you the flavor of what I speak.

1. If you don’t know how to do it, don’t do it. – How many tasks have been ruined by those who had no business trying to fix something? The craftsman knows that you must know what you are doing before you do it. The catch-22 is that we must learn how to do it before we can know how to do it, and learning includes a starting point where you do not know how to do it. So this rule of the craftsman includes a caveat. It is, “If you don’t know how to do it, and you must do it anyway, don’t let anyone know that you don’t know what you are doing.” That piece of advice will get you through your first attempt, but it only works once: people will find out if you don’t know what you are doing.

2. Measure it before you remove it. If you don’t know where it is supposed to go, make sure you remember how to put it back where it was.

3. Number it. When you remove 88 keys, 88 wippens, or 88 dampers, number them so you can put them back in the same order.

4. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Everyone knows this rule. There is a little bit of craftsmen in all of us.

5. Make a jig first. As you remove screws and bolts, insert them into a piece of cardboard that will record their proper location in the piano.

There are hundreds of these rules. Their teacher is experience.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo did not first rely on an architect to design a sculpture. No physicist warned of the perils of unmeasured forces upon the granite. No engineer drew up calculations that would direct the hand of the sculptor.  Michelangelo simply possessed a level of artistry that permitted him to create within the tolerances allowed by science. He was the practical scientist, who was able to perform his art to such exacting specifications that no architect, engineer or physicist was needed. We cannot know what went on in his mind, but his works indicate that he was all of these – architect, engineer, draftsman, physicist and craftsman.

I have never played a rebuilt piano that sounded better than a new piano. A rebuilt piano plays better than it did before it was rebuilt – nothing more. A bad piano cannot be restored to become a prize.  A rebuilt piano that was subjected to the hand of an inexperienced rebuilder, which is most often the case, might not play better than it did before it was rebuilt. I remember the words of one young rebuilder, “I have never rebuilt a piano, but I have ruined a few.” Some are sacrificed so others can be saved, I suppose.

But it does happen, if only rarely, that a rebuilder possesses the genius required to restore a piano to its former grandeur.

He, or she, does not need the plan, the math, the drawing or the science; these are all part of the artistic ability of the rare craftsman, and they are but the threads that remain after the mystery is unraveled.

What is the down bearing?

The craftsman knows. He just knows.

9 Photos That Explain The Risks of Buying Cheap Pianos

A few months ago I received a call from a new client who wanted her piano serviced. After I arrived I inspected the piano. I refused to service it because of its condition. I advised the client to buy a new piano, which she did, and I acquired her piano in trade.

I am going to explain how I evaluated this piano in order to make a point about what piano technicians often encounter with used pianos. When you buy a used piano, you have no idea where that piano has been or what conditions it has been exposed to during its life. A technician can appraise a piano or simply help you make an informed choice, but few people call until after they have made their choice.

So here are a few photos of a piano that should have never been offered for sale by an owner, and should have never been purchased by anyone at all.

Photo 1 – The action has been removed. The piano appears to be just like any other piano. Let’s look closer.

Photo 2 – Here is a stain which probably marks the location of the home of a mouse. In Texas, our mice resemble rats.

Photo 3 – This is the plate, looking down at the end of the keys. A piano will collect dust over time, but dust does not form as the photo shows unless it becomes mixed with water.

Photo 4 – These are the tuning pins. They have rust on them. Rust is also present on the coils.

Photo 5 – This is the action. All of the bridle straps are missing. As a piano ages, the bridle straps can break – but when they are missing entirely, it is usually because something ate them.

Photo 6 – This is the fallboard, the piece that covers the keys. The veneer has suffered water damage.

Photo 7 – At first glance, this appears to be mold. (That is why I refused to tune the piano.) Closer inspection leads me to believe that this is mouse tracks and excrement.

Photo 8 – The stains here also appear to be mouse excrement.

Photo 9 – A close shot of the dirt/substance in the action.

 

Analysis – This piano was exposed to water for an unknown length of time (or more than once). Long enough to spoil the finish, but not long enough to leave a watermark. It did not sit in water (as would be the case in a house fire), but it was exposed to water in some form. A mouse (or mice) were in the piano for a long time. There are two areas that appear to have been nests. There is also evidence of exposure to water/moisture on the hammers and other action parts.

Repairs – The case can be salvaged by sanding, staining and a few coats of lacquer. (Four hours of labor = $360). The action will require new parts, and may need new hammers. When played, the piano sounds good, so the hammers would be optional. (Add $400).

The rust can be removed, but it is very labor intensive. The strings cannot easily be removed, and new pins would be cost prohibitive. The strings won’t break immediately because of the rust, but over time, they will not last as long as they should. There are some clever ways to make these pins look better, but time is money, so it is important to compare the cost to the market value of the piano before choosing a best action.

The whole piano must be sanitized. The keys must be light sanded to remove evidence of rodents, but the larger concern for me is the retention of bacteria associated with these conditions. It poses more of a risk to me than it would to the customer. The piano cannot be sold unless it is sanitized. That much is certain.

Estimate – Returning this piano to playable condition would cost around $1,200. That is a modest estimate. The market value of this piano is probably $600-$800. The repair cost exceeds the market value.

Decision – This piano needs to go to the city dump. It should have never been sold to my client.

The Ebb and Flow of Talent

I am listening to Robert Culbertson playing the Chapman Stick.

He is talented. No question about that. I play guitar. I have played for as many years as I have played piano. The problem is, I am not a talented guitar player. When I play the piano, I do not think about which notes to play – I just think of an idea, and my fingers seem to know which notes to play. That is not the case when I play guitar. The fretboard makes no sense to me. It never has. Anything above the fifth fret is like a perilous journey into a dark forest. For the few things I can play in 5th, 7th and 9th position, it takes all my concentration to think about where to place my fingers.

As I listened to Robert play the Chapman Stick, it occurred to me that talent is not something that applies to all instruments. You can be a talented pianist, or a talented guitarist, but being a pianist does not necessarily qualify you to become a talented anything!  Talent is specific.

That is an interesting insight I think. You have to match your talent to the right instrument. Conversely, you might find out that there is another instrument out there that you can play better than the instrument you play now. There’s a thought! In fact, (and this is where my thinking led me), you might have talent for an instrument that has not yet been invented. Thousands of people may be leading unsatisfied lives simply because the next-greatest-instrument has not yet been invented. Oh sure, they have the natural talent to play it – it just doesn’t exist…yet.

Talent is not a guarantee. There is an ebb and flow to talent.  Sometimes you have it. Sometimes you don’t. This suggests to me that talent, the seemingly natural ability to perform a task well, is not an exclusive ability. It relies upon, and is dependent upon, the instrument — be that a paint brush, a pen, or a baton. I am not talking about the ability gained from practice. I am talking about a comparison between two artists who have never touched a particular instrument. The first picks it up and makes it sing. The other picks it up and stands dumbfounded. Talent – it doesn’t exist the same way for any two people, and it doesn’t exist the same way for any two instruments. Talent is instrument specific.

The number of known instruments is finite. The expanse of our talents is infinite. There are things some of us might do, for which there is no available instrument. Our talent is untapped, unrealized, because its complement does not yet exist.

People who are very talented are also very humble. They know what they can do well, but they also know they can’t do anything else as well. People sometimes are intimidated by talented players. They say, “I could never play as good as you.” When I hear that, I agree with them. “You’re right!” I say. But I quickly add, “And I will never be as good as Beethoven.”

“If I can’t play as good as Beethoven, should I stop playing entirely?” I ask.

“And if I should keep playing, even though I will never be as good as Beethoven, shouldn’t you keep playing even though you will never be as good as me?”

And as it applies to talent, if you can’t play the guitar, try something else.

I can’t do what others do. I can’t do what a beginner does. This is the humbling part of talent – the ebb. I can do what I do, but I cannot do what you can do. In fact, if not for my preferred instrument, it might be very hard to convince anyone that I had any talent at all. Given a flute, violin or clarinet, (instruments I own and cannot play) I would be hard-pressed to convince anyone that I had any talent whatsoever.

That is humbling.

I can only do what I can do. I cannot do what you can do, no matter who you are or what you play. Your talent is yours alone, just as mine is mine. But our talents are not similar. They are unique brands – ones that are loyal to their complementary instrument.  If not for the instrument, you might never know you had the talent.

It might be tomorrow, or next week, or next year — someone will invent a new instrument.  Hundreds will try to play it, but eventually, one person, maybe two or three, will make that instrument sing.

Everyone has talent. You just have to find your instrument.

2013 Year in Review – A Plan for 2014

What an incredible year 2013 was.

In January I was determined to buy a new home and relocate from Coppell. Wow, there is a lot involved in buying a home! After two months of talking to brokers, realtors and looking at a few homes, I learned it was going to take a monumental effort to buy a home. I was determined though. I now live in Lewisville, 5 miles north of Coppell. I still go to Coppell often. I feel like I just expanded my town instead of moving to a new one.

In March I hit the gym early and started swimming every day. I usually wait until spring, but I wanted to get a jump on the season in order to be in shape for a trip I had to make in May. That trip occurred – it was my daughter’s graduation from college – and I am glad I had the good sense to get in shape first. It was a 16 hour drive to her college, and we had to move her out of an apartment and lug all that stuff back to Texas. Two car loads! Seeing my daughter graduate magma cum laude was a proud moment. It signaled the end of my primary parental obligations to provide her the education she needs to be competitive. She earned two degrees, served as an officer in a sorority, traveled 18 countries in Europe while attending school in Germany, visited China, and graduated with honors. That’s a good start on life! With that trip completed, I returned to the task of buying a home.

I may not be the next to go, but I am the next in line.

 

In July I developed a mysterious illness. So did my dog. I would feel faint during the day for no reason. My dog developed vertigo. My illness was similar and it put a damper on my work schedule. My dog made a partial recovery. Her legs were giving out.  The summer months are slow but when you are feeling poorly, it makes work more difficult. In August my daughter landed a job she wanted. My health was not getting better, but it wasn’t getting worse. In September I turned 60 years old and headed to the doctor for my annual check-up. I passed with good marks. I also made an unusually high sale that month which strengthened my cash holdings. By September my dog had become unable to control her bowels. Thank goodness for dry dog food! By October I was feeling better and searching for homes every day.  Towards the end of the month we made the difficult decision to take our pet of 16 years to the vet one last time. She was in pretty bad shape. It was the right thing to do. We returned to house hunting, found one, closed on it in November. It took four weeks of 12-hour work days to get everything moved out and into the new home. A few boxes remain scattered here and there. I joined the Chamber of Commerce. We spent Christmas in our new home. I also had a record-breaking month at work.

On Christmas Eve, I learned that my Dad (82) was on the way to the hospital with suspected pneumonia following a brief cold. On December 31, the last day of the year, we learned that my father had passed away. I had long suspected that Dad was near the end of his time here, but the timing of his death was completely unexpected. His wife of 43 years had passed away last year, and it is common for the surviving spouse to follow quickly. His health was good, but his stamina could not withstand the pneumonia.  I am the oldest son, and I am now the oldest generation in the family. That is part of life. I accept it. I may not be the next to go, but I am the next in line.

Taken in sum, it was an incredible year. A new home for my wife, a daughter’s graduation, a new job for her, a new shop for me, and my health has been consistently good for months. My Dad’s death is sad, but he lived a good life and went quickly and peacefully. (My Mom suffered for years before passing.) I still walk into the kitchen and expect to see my dog waiting to go outside.

2013 was a good year because I had a positive attitude every step of the way. It made all the difference. I set goals, I stayed focused and I remained determined. I can’t think of a better plan of action for 2014 than that. Life is short. It ends abruptly. But death only wins once, and is not able to steal away any other day of your life – unless you let it. So embrace each day and live your life on your terms.

Now let me jot down some goals for this year.

1. Continue to focus on developing habits that promote good health.
2. Increase business by 15%, and communicate more often with my clients through mailings and social media.
3. Build two work stations in my new shop and install excellent lighting.
4. Plan and take a real vacation.
5. Make a real and measurable impact in my expanded market area.
6. Enjoy each day. Laugh. Have fun!

That will keep me busy. If I can get that much done, I think I will look back and say that 2014 was a good year.

I guess I better get started. I wish for you a happy and productive year.  Set goals. Stay positive. Be determined.

And have fun!

Several Fun Things You Can Do With a Piano

Let’s have some fun with your piano! Here are some insights into the piano you may not have considered. There is no practice involved, no recital and no test. Let’s just have some fun!

How does it sound? – Compare two pianos. How can you easily tell which one is the better quality? Most pianists will sit down and play a few bars of their most prepared piece on one piano and then jump over to the other piano and repeat the drill. Here is another way: play the bottom five notes one at a time. E=D-C-B-A. Listen intently to the tone. The hammer strike will intrude upon the wire and create a sparkle of harmonics that will quickly disappear. What is left is the purity of the fundamental pitch. Now go to the other piano and do the same thing. The piano that has the best sound in the lowest keys is usually the one that is of better quality.

How does it feel? – The key on a grand piano is a little longer than that of the console. A piano key is just the extension of your arm. In fact, the whole piano action is built upon the construction of several fulcrum devices. The key rocks on a fulcrum as it delivers force to the bottom of the wippen. The wippen is anchored on a rail, but acts just like a teeter-totter as it delivers the force to the bottom of the hammer. The hammer is anchored to the front rail and is literally thrown into the piano wire above or in front of it (in the case of the console). The last fulcrum (which is actually the first) is your arm. The contact point is your finger, but the motion is delivered from the arm which acts as a teeter-totter as well. From arm to finger to key to wippen to hammer butt to wire, there are four lever systems at play. Now that you know what the piano is doing, try to play one while being aware of what is going on. Does the key respond to what your arm is telling it to do? That is what it means when we say that a piano is responsive. It is important to know what it is responding to in order to know if it is responding well.

How does it look? – Do you have an ugly piano? Paint it! If it is of little resale value, (under $1000), and you plan on keeping it for many years, paint it red or yellow or any other combination of colors that you might choose. Glue sequins to it. Put extra knobs on it. Be creative! Google ‘colorful piano’ and see what others have done. If you have no talent with a brush, find a friend who does. Since it is already ugly, you can’t make it worse than it is.

Where is it placed? – If your console is placed against a wall (boring!) turn it around so that the back is facing the middle of the room. Add space for your bench (but not against the wall), and you will be able to see the room as you play. The piano will be louder too! If you have a grand, switch it around. The recommended position is to have the piano player looking across the room, but you can do that in any available corner, or centered in a room. Most pianos are squeezed into a room. Forget that! Throw all that other furniture away, unless it is a chair for someone to sit in while you play. Throw a thick rug under your grand piano, especially if you have hardwood floors. A rug will dampen the sound, which you might like, or you might not. Experiment. Have some fun with it!

Take it apart. – You call yourself a pianist and you cannot disassemble your own instrument? Frightening prospect for some, but it is really quite easy to do. Have your technician show you how if you have reservations. Be prepared to find all kinds of objects inside – ones that do not belong there. A few things I have found include pencils, pens, a drumstick, a milk bottle cap from the 50s, the brim of a fishing cap, and a $20 bill. If you have an old upright piano, dating to the 1920s perhaps, look under the keys! For what? For old coins you ninny! Lol. Look for old things that really old people dropped into the piano when they were really young.  Grab a vacuum cleaner and get rid of all that dust while you are in there. Touch the hammers, flick them forward with your finger and watch how they work. Fascinating! Look for dates, names, signatures, initials. Ask yourself, “Who has been here before me?” There are clues inside – signatures of the past. Every piano has a history. Before you put it together, write your name in there = with a message from the past for whoever happens to tread where you have gone before!

That should keep you busy and give you some ideas on how to interact with that wonderful, magical box that you too often ignore. One last tip: take a look at the keys. Get real close. REALLLLL close. See all of that grime and dirt? Clean the keys you pig! Lol. I know – you meant to do that and forgot.

Fun!