Obviously many of us have suffered many a heartache because of piano
tuners.  It is always a nail biting time when one has to change from an
older trusted tuner to another one.  This might come from a recommend
or the Yellow Pages.  It is a fact that piano tuners seem to have a
down on player pianos -- they seem to think they are the scum of the
earth of the piano world.

Some piano tuners seem to run away with the thought that if you have
a player piano that (a) you are not very musical and (b) you certainly
do not know when it is in tune or not.  They certainly couldn't be more
wrong.  Luckily my pianos, having tight pins, seem to stay in tune for
a reasonable time.

Over here in the U.K there used to be a tuner called The Professor who
went round doing general tuning.  Obviously some of the pianos he came
across were old bangers, but he got them going with the aid of an oil
can on the action.  I can here you all cringing, but that is how it
went.

They actually showed him on TV, and obviously the camera was mounted
behind a screen of him doing just that, but I suppose the old lady that
got her old piano working again was very happy at the time -- 'till
about a week later; then we all know what happened.  But I understand
that this man is long gone.

So it is quite important to have a young tuner with a keen ear,
especially for those top notes.  Luckily I have got that in my tuner.

How do the rest of you rate your piano tuner?

Peter Tallent
London