JUNE MEETING

News & Notes

June 16, 2009

Aardvark Piano Restorations

65 Rear Sprague Street,

2nd Floor

Hyde Park, MA 02136

Gather: from 6:00pm, food by

Evan Ewing.

Business Meeting: 7:00pm.

Technical presentation by Mike

Morvan: 7:30pm. Replacing indi-

vidual mortises, buttons, and bal-

ance holes, and the reasons for

doing so. Can be done with ordi-

nary shop tools or with a fixture

fabricated by Blackstone Valley

Piano and available to the trade.

Directions: I-95/128 (Exit 14) to

East Street east to Sprague Street

(#65—at the rear).

June 2009

N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e B o s t o n C h a p t e r

o f t h e P i a n o T e c h n i c i a n s G u i l d

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Christine Lovgren: Taking

the Tuning Exam

2

Thanks to Examiners -

Doshie Powers

3

The Prez Says/Upcoming

Events

4

Tech Tip/The Poem Place? 5

Chris Brown’s Innovation:

the Regulation Station

6

News from NBSS/Mike

Morvan to Present Tuesday

7

Classified Advertizing 8

News & Notes Page 2 June 2009 News & Notes Page 2

CHRISTINE LOVGREN : T AKING THE TUNING EXAM

Behind the Scenes Preparation

Did you ever wonder how the tuning exam works? On

Tuesday, April 14th, Christine Lovgren, Certified Tuning

Examiner, gave us insight into the workings of the tuning

exam. There is quite a lot more put into it than we some-

times realize, both in preparation and in examination. Be-

fore a piano can be used as a designated test piano, three

qualified technicians must tune it and, once they agree that it

is the best tuning possible for that particular piano, they re-

cord it into an ETD (Electronic Tuning Device). Behind the

scenes work has thus already employed our examiners for

several hours, and the examinee is yet to arrive. When you

enter the exam room, you will find that the piano has al-

ready been muted off for you, and as you begin tuning, you

will discover that the piano was methodically detuned prior

to the exam. Some chapters have no testing because of a

lack of Certified Tuning Examiners. The personnel required

for a tuning exam is one CTE and two RPT‘s.

The Role of the Electronic Tuning Device

The ETD is used during the exam to take finite measure-

ments that we cannot precisely name aurally. It is not, how-

ever, the final say in your tuning exam. If there should be a

point scored against you, you can defend that note by aural

verification that it is in the proper place. The ETD is used as

a guide, and its accuracy is confirmed by the ear. If the ex-

aminers disagree about a given pitch or interval, that note is

―tossed out‖, and the examinee doesn‘t suffer the point loss.

The Exam in Sections

First, it is profitable to note that there is no averaging in the

exam. If examinees receive a 79 in any section, even if all

the other sections are perfect, they fail the exam. All sec-

tions must be an 80 or above to pass. It is best to tune be-

yond the section you‘re on if you have extra time. As you

see how the exam is divided, this concept will become clear.

For example, if you finish your temperament and mid-

section early, go on to the treble or bass octaves until your

time runs out, rather than getting the examiners in early.

Here is how the exam is partitioned:

Part I A: Tune A to your aural pitch source. 5 minutes.

Anything beyond +/- 0.9¢ = points off. Score A.

Part I B: Tune C3 to B4. 40 minutes, aural only. Score the

temperment. The window is +/- 1¢ and each 1¢ error is mul-

tiplied by 2.5. Then score the rest of octaves 3 and 4 with a

+/- 2¢ window of error.

Part II A: Complete remainder of the piano single strings

only by ear or machine. 1 Hr.

High treble and bass have a +/-6¢ window. Score treble

octaves 5 & 6, point for point - no multiplier. Score high

treble octave 7 (except C8) point for point. And score bass

octaves 1 & 2, point for point, starting on C1.

Each section is scored separately!

Part II B: Stability: test blow C3 – B4 using the

―Thumper‖ (which weighs 16 oz.), then test each note for

stability. There is a window of +/-1¢ for the note to move.

If more than five notes move, you fail the test.

Part III: for notes C3 – B4, the examiners focus on unison

strings being identical. Octaves no longer have any weight.

All three strings are measured using the ETD. Each cent is

multiplied by 2 for a point value deduction.

Since the piano is detuned ahead of time (the extremities of

the piano being more out of tune than the center), if you run

out of time and miss a few notes, it could severely affect

your score for that section. It is sometimes best to quickly

bring one section somewhat into tune and then return to it

for fine tuning. The acceptable range of accuracy widens as

you approach the extremities of the piano. (Continued on page 3)

Pictured below, some of our tuning examiners at the

North Bennet Street School: From left, Jack Stebbins,

Christine Lovgren, David Betts, and Debbie Cyr.

News & Notes Page 3 June 2009 News & Notes Page 3

What the Examiners are Looking For

It is quite likely that you will do well in your temperament

if you have properly beating fourths (@ 1bps) and fifths

(@ <1bps), and properly beating thirds (increasing in

speed incrementally as they ascend chromatically). The

exam allows for quite a few mistakes, even within the

temperament. If you‘re not sure how much 1¢ is, Debbie

Cyr suggests you ―think of the cost of vegetables: 4¢ a

―beet‖. So, if you‘ve got a unison beating once per sec-

ond, your unison is 4¢ out of tune. Therefore, if you miss

5 notes in the temperament, being off by 1¢ each, you will

still pass that section with an 87.5 (2.5 deducted for each

cent x 5 cents). That‘s quite a bit of leeway.

Now, moving on to the octaves, it is important to note

what the exam calls for, due to various stretching prac-

tices. The examinee ought to avoid excessively sharp

octaves in the treble. Far more desirable are pure sound-

ing octaves, which compliment their adjoining fourths and

fifths as they were meant to in the other parts of the piano,

having 1bps fourths, and <1bps fifths. Since there is a 6¢

+/- window of error, some stretching is allowable. It is

the best policy to make sure your octaves sound as pure as

they can be and confirm their position with a Major 3rd-

10th-17th test.

A Note to Examinees

The examination process altogether will take around five

hours – that is, for you. Whether or not you pass, when

it‘s over, you will have learned something, both about the

standards of the PTG and about your own tuning abilities.

Also, whether you pass or not, it should be noted that

those judging your tuning have put in many hours without

pay, and often without recognition from their peers or the

Guild, which many of them have served selflessly for dec-

ades. As one technician recently noted, the examiners are

the lifeline to the PTG. Because of them, the PTG‘s stan-

dards are upheld – making it the respected organization

that it is – and the PTG has the ability, the data, and the

confidence to recognize professional levels of achievement

and mastery. Please be sure to thank your examiners,

technical and tuning alike, who have given the Guild their

time, effort, and skills and received so little in return.

They are an invaluable asset to our organization, and their

recognition is long overdue.

Elizabeth Snow, Secretary

(Continued from page 2)

TO THOSE WHO THANKLESSLY TOIL : HUZZAS!

North Bennet School:

David Betts, Jack Stebbins, Debbie Cyr, and Christine

Lovgren, functioning as a Technical Test Center, have

been taking time from their work to administer tuning

and writing tests and be on the phone and computer

with home office countless years. We humbly thank you

folks for your contributions.

David Nadworny's Shop: There, David, Debbie Cyr,

and Amy Banovich (from Connecticut) have been host-

ing the bench test for 10 years, maybe more, giving up

whole Saturdays to administer bench tests, storing the

jigs and action models, keeping them in good working

order, and coordinating the paperwork with the home

office: again, untold hours in service to our PTG chap-

ter.

These test administrators bring in a tidy sum of money

that helps make our bank account so healthy.

Additionally, there are the RPT's who continue to see

the value in "giving back". Patrick Draine (winding up

his second go-round as Pres), Gary Ford, Joe Morocco,

George Crawford, Jude Reveley, Paul Panek (multiple

Pres terms ‗cause no one else would step up), Chris

Brown. In fact, most of the officers have served many

different offices, multiple times, yet we have 130 mem-

bers, half of whom are RPT's. AND, not all jobs require

RPT. Many Associate members have given ―blood‖ for

our chapter in the past and continue to do so.

More volunteer/office holders, RPT's and Associates

who will have a very soft seat in Heaven: Larry Buck,

Elizabeth Snow, Robin Flint, Toby Stein, RPT, Evan

Ewing, Ria Kittay, RPT. Out of 130, we have about 18-

20 people doing the work. All of it. If you don't see your

name here and feel slighted the author apologizes for the

error. Over the years, other members have put in sub-

stantial time and effort. Thanks to all those who took the

time to give back. We have the best PTG Chapter in the

whole darn world. If you don't believe it, come help

make it true.

Doshie Powers, RPT

News & Notes Page 4 June 2009 News & Notes Page 4

THE PRES SAYS

UPCOMING EVENTS

June Meeting: June 16, 2009

Technical Presentation: Mike Morvan

Topic: Using the new Keybutton/Mortise Repair Kit

Location: Aardvark Piano Restorations

65 Sprague Street

Hyde Park, MA

52 Annual PTG Convention & Technical Institute

Location: Amway Grand Plaza

187 Monroe Avenue NW

Grand Rapids, MI

Register online: www.ptg.org/2009

Phone: 913-432-9975

Hello, Goodbye!

Fellow Boston Chapter Members,

These are the last few days of my term. On May 19, you (those

present) elected Doshie Powers to be our next Chapter Presi-

dent, and re-elected Gary Ford (Vice President), Joe Morocco

(Treasurer), and Elizabeth Snow (Secretary). Several committee

chairs important to the everyday functioning of our chapter

volunteered to continue in their roles: Christine Lovgren, Ex-

amination Committee (and fellow veteran members of the com-

mittee, Debbie Cyr, David Betts, David Nadworny & others);

Chris Brown, News & Notes Editor; Evan Ewing, Refresh-

ments; Jude Reveley, Librarian; and I‘m sure I‘m forgetting

others!

Larry Buck is stepping down from his long tenure as Program

Director, although he is busy with one last major project: a one

day seminar to be held on Saturday, October 3rd, featuring

Nick Gravagne as speaker. The bargain price for this presenta-

tion is $35 for chapter members, $45 for all others! That‘s less

than half of what was charged for our last one-day seminar (Del

Fandrich) 3 years ago! The latest information I have is that

Nick will be presenting on two topics: soundboard installation,

and action geometry. Put this in your calendar NOW! Larry

Buck will be presenting the most current information on this

seminar very soon.

Last week we held an Executive Board meeting to discuss sev-

eral important topics. Funding of our chapter over the years has

for the most part come from several sources: members‘ annual

chapter dues ($30), net income from hosting the NEECSO

seminar (which, because it‘s now rotated between the NE states

& the MARC convention, is happening much less frequently),

and income from membership application and examination

fees. In recent years the application and exam fees have doubled

to amounts more reflective of the many hours expended in host-

ing and supervising these exams. The great majority of exams

are given to NBSS students—the NBSS staff has done a fantas-

tic job of educating their students about the importance of PTG

membership and attaining the RPT credential.

Suddenly, our treasury is flush with funds from these fees -- but

did you know that the examiners are not compensated for any

of their time spent administering these exams? This topic was

discussed during the May 19 chapter business meeting and was

further elaborated upon at the Executive Board meeting.

The upshot is two proposals which were approved by the Ex-

ecutive Board to be voted on by chapter membership at our

upcoming meeting (June 16):

1) A one thousand dollar donation shall be donated from the

Boston PTG Chapter to the NBSS Piano Technology Depart-

ment in recognition of their services to the piano technology

community and, in particular, of their staff‘s long term and on-

going efforts for the PTG and its exams.

2) In recognition of the many man hours that David Nadworny

has dedicated as our head Technical Examiner, the Boston

Chapter shall subsidize his registration fee ($419) for attendance

at this year‘s annual PTG Convention and Institute in Grand

Rapids, MI (July 15-19).

Such grants are not typical for our chapter, but they are meant

to serve as concrete recognition of the truly countless hours that

this very small group of volunteers have donated to the func-

tioning of our organization. The funding for these proposals is

not ―coming out of our dues‖, but rather from the fees gener-

ated through the Examination Committee‘s work.

Please come to our next meeting and participate: discuss,

amend (if necessary), and VOTE! And please volunteer to help

with the examination process or any of the other committees.

I look forward to the leadership of this new slate of officers and

volunteers stepping up to keep the Boston Chapter great!

Best wishes,

Patrick Draine, RPT

Gorilla brand Super Glue "contains tiny

rubber particles which make it impact

resistant."

My first tests confirm that Gorilla Super

glue and Super glue gel have unique

working qualities of value to piano tech-

nicians.

1) Bench top test of pinblock scrap with

tuning pin loose in the hole: swabbed

the hole with Gorilla Super glue and let it

harden, then drove the pin. It felt very

tunable, not "crackling," and after about

25 back-and-forth swings of the tuning

lever (about 45 degree swings), it still felt

the same.

2) Dog chewed corner of ebony pedal

box: made a "mold" by taping gummed

package tape to the box and squirted

Gorilla Super glue gel into the mold.

Sprayed kicker and let it harden for about

30 minutes. Peeled off the tape and pared

it with a chisel to fit the contour. Sprayed

with primer and black lacquer. Good

result.

3) Drilled a 3/16" hole in pinblock scrap,

filled with Gorilla Super glue gel and

inserted a #7 bridge pin, vertical, 3/8" of

the pin sticking out. Sprayed with kicker

TECH T IP

News & Notes Page 5

THE ISLANDER NEEDS THE LOGGING OPTION, BUT

See, how stumps and saplings and left limbs

rough-lawn the hillside down to those rocks above the sea?

The children once walked there in fairy woods,

following a path through wisps of wet grass, invisible.

And here, where sunlight dances off the water over open field,

spruce trees thatched out all but a few bright sequins of this blue.

When conversations meandered under that branch canopy,

imagination hovered cool and dappled as a dream,

unparched by these harsh fires of August afternoon.

Now, we hear that gull‘s complaint on unobstructed wind,

and that osprey‘s cry - is it for the trees of a lost aerie?

That tinder left, however, the cool, the damp, and all the waters

of Penobscot Bay and accompanying downpours

would not stop a lightning-sparked conflagration

from leaving the island cleared to the beaches—and black.

Christopher Brown

THE POEM PLACE?

June 2009 News & Notes Page 5

News & Notes Page 6 June 2009 News & Notes Page 6

CHRIS BROWN’S INNOVATION: THE REGULATION STATION

On Tuesday May 19th, the Boston Chapter PTG met at

Chris Brown‘s shop in Littleton for the unveiling of three

new tools he engineered. I must say, like most PTG meet-

ings organized for our chapter, if you weren‘t there, you

really missed out! These tools are wonderfully designed to

make regulation and action work much easier.

The Scale-Height Template

The Regulation Station, which is 60‖ x 17‖ and has 32 in-

terlocking parts (carefully and accurately manufactured by

Blackstone Valley Piano on their CNC router), sits atop

your workbench and creates a keybed replica for you to

regulate in. A template is attached to provide hammer

spacing, string height and letoff height for the entire action!

The templates can be custom made for a specific piano

(handy when having to execute several passes, as in an ac-

tion restoration or full regulation) or alternatively, generic

templates are available to adapt to any piano.

Based on the old action hammer-string grooves and techni-

cian-provided string heights, Chris can make a template

that reproduces both the string scale and height for accurate

regulation guidance. The Scale-Height Template is quick to

install or to change for another template. By setting it in the

bass to the string height for note 1 and in the treble to that

for note 88, you have the string heights for the entire piano.

Two stops (one is shown in the picture above) are secured

just touching the top of the template at each end. Now, by

lowering the template the amount of your choice for letoff

at note #1 and at note #88, you have the letoff for the entire

piano represented by the lower edge of the template.

The Virtual Keybed and Hammer Square

The Virtual Keybed recreates the plane of the keybed so

that the technician is able to square the hammers at strike.

The surface is squared (by adjustable feet) front to back and

side to side, imitating at a selected height the plane of the

keybed. It extends over the backchecks to support the ham-

mers (so that their tails don‘t touch the surface since tails

may be of variable lengths). Employing the Hammer

Square, the technician can now properly square the ham-

mers, using a heat gun to heat up the shanks and twist the

hammers into their correct position. Now, if your traveling

is vertical and your hammers are carefully filed, the strings

of each unison will be leveled (parallel to the keybed) dur-

ing hammer-to-string fit. And if the hammer arrives verti-

cally to its strings, is not out of square, and the crown

matches the now properly leveled strings, it will set its

strings in vertical motion and bounce straight back. Me-

chanical power, speed of repetition, and tone are all maxi-

mized to the extent that this can be achieved. Here are tools

to help do that.

Squaring hammers is something of difficulty for me person-

ally due to an astigmatism. Therefore, I am constantly

searching for

something to

aid me in the

process. With

Chris Brown‘s

Hammer

Square, dis-

cerning the

hammer‘s

accuracy

couldn‘t be

more easy.

The Virtual

Keybed makes

the results true

to the piano‘s

keybed. And with a guide around all sides of the hammer,

nothing is left to chance and all sides can be clearly judged

and adjusted.

Elizabeth Snow, Secretary

NEWS FROM NBSS

Twenty three students graduated

from the piano technology pro-

gram on May 29, 2009. Of the 23,

all 8 of the 2nd year students

graduated with their RPT designa-

tion. 7 of the 1st year students

also graduated with their

RPT designation. RPT pins were

handed out just prior to the

graduation ceremony. This is a

record number of graduating

RPT's!

There are 3 NBSS students intern-

ing at the Aspen Music Festival

for the summer, 1 at the Tangle-

wood Music Festival for the sum-

mer, 1 at Interlochen for the sum-

mer, 1 at Eastern Music Festival

in Greensboro NC and 1 at Marl-

boro Music Festival in Vermont.

Debbie Cyr, RPT

News & Notes Page 7 June 2009 News & Notes Page 7

Back row, L to R: Jesse Platts, Chris Storch, Jade Hecht, Rodney Yeh, Erik Diehl.

Standing L to R, middle row: Leah Damgaard-Hansen, John Stothoff, Andy

Reach, Matt Pearson, Steve Nazlikian, Matt Quinlan. L to R - front - John

Langston, Beth Harris, Kate Cahill, and Paul Piszczek (seated behind keyboard).

M IKE MORVAN OFFERS A PRAGMATIC SOLUTION TO AN AWKWARD AND PERRENIAL PROBLEM

Come to George Crawford‘s shop on Tuesday eve-

ning to hear Michael‘s presentation on what to do

about balance mortises, front mortises, and balance

holes that need to be replaced.

Periodically, we technicians find ourselves in the

difficult dilemma of what to do when faced with a

key repair that done improperly may leave the key

hard to regulate or aesthetically unhappy to look at

or both.

Mike has come up with an ingenious jig that can be

employed to record the crucial information from

the original mortise or balance hole and then recre-

ate it accurately for the installation of a new insert.

These jigs are available to the trade, as are best

quality, Blackstone-Valley-Piano-made inserts.

Mike will demonstrate with slides and samples

ways to accomplish these repairs both by using

ordinary shop tools and by using his jig.

CB

The three dam-

aged mortises

are located

and marked

(left). Then,

new buttons

and mortises

(below) have

been secured

in the caul

portion, the

base has been

centered, and

the new inserts

glued and

clamped.

News & Notes Email:

newnote@verizon.net

Boston Chapter PTG Officers

Patrick Draine, President

Gary Ford, Vice President

Joe Morocco, Treasurer

Elizabeth Snow, Secretary

Chapter Committees

Chris Brown, Newsletter

Larry Buck, Programming

Jude Reveley, Librarian

David Nadworny, Tech Exam

Chris Lovgren, Tuning Exam

Please get

submissions

in two weeks

before each

meeting

if you can.

And please

notify me when

you no longer

need the

listing.

Thanks,

CB

For Sale: Rosewood Hamburg Steinway According to a well-known Steinway wholesaler, this

piano should sell for at least $27,000, but I am asking for much less, 20 K, for quick

sale. Check my website for an American Rosewood A from 1878 for around $37 K.

Contact: Chris Pleim at 617-783-1030 or through www.chrispleimpiano.com

1927 Mason & Hamlin model A grand piano, new soundboard, bridges, block, strings,

dampers, complete action rebuild with the new Wessel Nickell & Gross composite

action parts, backchecks, capstans, and plate suspension bolts. Ronsen ham

mers. Brown mahogany original finish in good condition. Dampp Chaser system

installed. Awesome large full sound!! $24,000

Contact: Debbie Cyr, RPT at 508-202-2862 (cell) or 617-227-2357 (NBSS)

Wanted: Interlochen Center for the Arts is looking for a Resident Piano Technician (non-

seasonal, 12 month position)

Contact: employment@interlochen.org subject: Piano Technician

Human Resources

Piano Technician Search

Interlochen Center for the Arts

PO Box 199

Interlochen, Michigan 49643

News & Notes Page 8 June 2009

CLASSIFIED ADVERTIZING

All expressions of opinion and all statements

of supposed fact are published on the

authority of the author as listed,

and are not to be regarded

as expressing the view

of this chapter or the Piano

Technicians Guild Inc. unless such

statements or opinions have been adopted

by the chapter or the Piano Technicians Guild Inc.

and let harden for about 5 hours. Pared the top flush with

a chisel and then tapped the pin with a hammer until it

was bent 45 degrees. The glue collar didn't crack or chip.

These glues seem to perform as advertized. They are

strong and more impact-resistant than standard CA. The

"thin" glue is a bit thicker than standard thin CA, and the

gel is "gel." Both take somewhat longer to harden than CA

glue, which I find comfortable. It is easy to carve at first,

harder to carve after a few hours.

I think this glue has good potential for use in piano

work, such as in repairs of music desk hinges, loose key

tops, possibly for loose and popping tuning pins, and

bridge and bridge pin repairs.

Available at hardware and home supply stores. (Wherever

Gorilla Glue is sold!) Use at your own discretion and let us

know how it works.

Ed Sutton, RPT (sent on to us from the

CAUT chat line by Ruth Van Dine, RPT)

(Continued from page 5)