SOUTH BAY CHAPTER
October Meeting: (2nd Tuesday) Board Meeting:
Date: Tuesday, October 10,
2017
Time: 7:30 pm 7:00 pm
Location: Kawai America
2055 E. University,
Dominguez Hills 90220
Hello piano people . . . Dennis Brown here. I'm one of the newer members getting into the saddle as chapter secretary - really more deputy secretary. Ha!!
Our last meeting started with some news about this past PTG National conference held in St Louis. The structure of governance for PTG has changed. Members are encouraged to go onto the PTG-L discussion boards on my.PTG.org to take part in discussions about current PTG goals as we look into the future.
Michael Cahn demonstrated some of the finer points of veneer repair from a class given by Don C. Williams, author and retired furniture conservator for the Smithsonian. He makes use of the birefringence (light refraction) of the wood so the patch matches the original. Another highlight was from Norm Cantrell's class on servicing uprights, where it was shown that a lot can be accomplished in minimal time. Two memorable tips were: eliminate false beats in the high end by seating strings gently on the bridge without removing the action. He also demonstrated adjusting key dip by shimming the balance rail.
Bruce Stevens demonstrated a unique way to precisely determine how much lead to remove from a key to create a desirable balance-weight. He went into much detail, more to come in a future class. Thank you, Bruce!
Newsflash! Westpac 7 is coming to Anaheim April 19 - 22, 2018. More information will be available soon.
Don Mannino has a new program for us this month, “Octave and Unison Tuning: Basic Concepts, Artistic Results.” The old dog still manages to come up with some new tricks! Don will present a discussion/demonstration on tuning concepts, reviewing basic ideas such as where beats come from, why octaves have so many different beats and why they are never actually in tune! But he will also give guidance on tuning your octaves in styles that work for you and your customers, and also some exercises to be done by ear or with an electronic aid to tuned octaves in particular styles and listen to the results. Finally, Don will talk about unison tuning and the subtleties that can make a piano really sing when you are done. And yes, this means a discussion of "concert" unisons that are (technically speaking) not in tune (what sacrilege!). Come take part in a fun and interesting session with Don, and if he bores you into slumber at least you can wake up for a piece of pie afterwards.