LEARN WITH US ...
Enhance your knowledge with the help of experts with many years of experience in a wide array of topics. Explore all aspects of the trade from basic repairs to advanced methods of solving complex problems.
Timothy Barnes - Gazelle, USA. - 'Grow with Gazelle'
Most piano technicians are amazing artists of their craft but they often struggle to run efficient and profitable businesses. Learn how you can use Gazelle to save time, wow your customers and grow your piano service business. In this class we will bring decades of business experience together to help you grow your business using the tools Gazelle offers such as online scheduling, automated reminders, estimates, online payments, invoices and much more!
Wim Blees - USA - 'Pitch Raising - Myths & Facts' A round table discussion.
A round table discussion on pitch raising, what works, what won’t, and some of the untruths about massive pitch changes. Included will be a discussion of pitch raising techniques.
Kerry Cooper - Australia. - 'How 3D printing can help you in your repair/rebuilding business'
During this presentation we will work through when and how 3D printing can be used in your business and work with a part that is no longer available. We will also look at what 3D printer will suit your needs, what 3D design programs are available and what materials are available to produce the part you want to make.
Les Davies & Bradley Saul - Australia - 'Hot Tips for the old and rundown'
With combined experience of almost sixty years, we'll hope to help solve some of the problems we all encounter with old rundown and sometimes almost unsalvageable pianos. With Les working from Brisbane and throughout Queensland and Bradley from Maryborough and surrounding country Victoria, the temperatures and humidity are in total contrast - which means a total contrast in problems. Come join us, share our experiences, see how we approach our clients, learn a few tricks of and ask some questions.
Luke Ehresman - Gazelle USA. - 'Running a profitable piano service business'
You shouldn’t have to feel broke at the end of the year. Most piano technicians think about profit as ‘what is left over after tax time’. The problem is there is hardly ever anything left when you run your business this way. Profit is a choice and is necessary for the success of your business. This class will teach you how to go from someone who is inconsistently profitable to someone who is running a consistently profitable business.
Wytze Hoekstra - New Zealand - 'A new approach to key and hammer weighting'
Wytze is an ARPT and past NZ guild president and has been exploring alternatives to the use of lead in piano keys with the assistance of a number of NZ piano techs. Here he presents a solution that is non-corrosive, non-toxic, environmentally friendly and requires smaller drill holes.
David Jenkin - New Zealand - 'Fine, fast and fastidious grand regulation'
A detailed grand regulation class using multiple methods for each procedure to really refine, check and raise the accuracy and stability of your work. I will share some different techniques and observations that have served me well over many years. The class follows an imagined full concert or other grand servicing leading to repeat faster servicing in the years following. Attendees should be comfortable with basic procedures to fully benefit from this class.
Lothar Kiesch - Schimmel Germany. - 'Does technology make the job harder ?'
A. Introduction: Schimmel history and today
B. General design philosophy: CAPE, Konzert Concept.
C. Machinery: Plate drilling and shaping, bridge making, ribs shaping, part shaping, keyboard cutting, 3D printing, keyboard making.
D. Features and patents: Mass reduced bridge, keyboard tensioner, gliders, Konzert concept, tuneable triplex, dynamic bar, tension regulator, concert action keyboard down to baby grand.
'Regulation checklist for Schimmel instruments' (presentation & new handouts)
A. Regulating upright pianos. B. Regulating grand pianos. C. Voicing. D. Damper regulations.
Robert Langley - Yamaha Australia - 'Working with retailers'
A technical demonstration and discussion on efficient pre-delivery set-up procedures on new upright and grand pianos. Save time, increase efficiency, and improve the end result via the methods discussed in this workshop.
Terry Miller - USA. - 'Aural Tuning - Mystery & Magic '
As satisfying and engaging as a good detective novel or a complicated RPG, follow the clues, listen up, know how to use your tools and you can offer fully-tailored aural tunings that prove the excellence of your skills and weld your relationship to your clients. ETD-only? Use these techniques to efficiently identify and repair the odd balls that plague every tuning. Terry is available for private tuning lessons throughout the convention. Delegates can register at the registration desk or contact us if interested in this opportunity.
Class I: The Hidden Mechanisms (1 class period)
- The Client’s expectations, and yours.
- You’re hearing too much. Revealing and working with ‘the still small voice’. (I Kings 19:12)
- How characteristics of intervals allow us to tune.
- Resources: 1) Secrets from the Aural Tuning Toolkit. David Andersen 2) Aural Tuning Quick Reference Guide
Class II. Making a Workspace (1 class period, the next day)
- Placing Tuning Truths on the keyboard; efficiency and precision in only one hand.
- Resource: Setting up the Aural Tuning Workspace
Class III. Exercising the Workspace, a workshop (2 class periods, the next day)
- Making the strong, stable structure for the rest of your tuning process.
- But will it fit? The octave proposed, decomposed, rejiggered, and perfected with trapped internal contiguous P4/P5 and P5/P4 intervals.
- The magic of open three-string unisons: crystalline clarity, enhanced stability, and continuous error-trapping.
Julian Morgan-Smith - Piano Technical Manager - Yamaha Australia. - 'Hybrid piano servicing'
Year on year we are seeing an increased ratio of pianos sold with some degree of electronic componentry. In this presentation we will cover the Yamaha range of hybrid pianos in terms of servicing, calibrating, and troubleshooting. Building confidence in this evolving area of piano technology will help allow technicians to broaden their professional scope for new and existing clients.
Yuji Nakamura - New Zealand - 'Practical ways of correcting touch weight problems'
We sometimes get inquiries about touch weight problems. They may involve a lot of causes such as too strong springs, geometry problems, too heavy hammers etc. I will show you how to fix those problems of both uprights and grands. Also discuss about basic theory to understand more depth of the problem for further investigation.
Jeff Ost - Australia. - 'Celluloid Keytop Replacement'
Jeff's class is about recovering key tops, predominantly speaking using celluloid to recover keys using a router and bandsaw, but also using a hand saw and file. Also covered is what glues to use, plastic key tops, removing old key tops and what to be aware of. Also featured is a display of jigs used for photos and measurements.
Nate Reyburn - USA. - 'An introduction to Cybertuner & Reyburn Tools'
Tune Jitsu: Ergonomic Tuning: Before the way of the hand comes the way of the mind. Come learn the secrets of the impact tuning hammer. We'll focus on how the body functions, how to use it effectively with various tools, and how not to use it when tuning.
CyberTuner - Tuning your way with AI Mode: From CyberTuner's Easy Mode to AI Mode, we'll cover recording a tuning with Chameleon, tuning style choices, raising pitch quickly and accurately, and how to get the most out of CyberTuner's many custom options.
Keyboard and Action replacement: When should a keyboard and/or stack be replaced? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different brands of action parts and stack designs? When is installing a new keyboard/action beneficial? A virtual tour through Reyburn Pianoworks keyboard manufacturing shop which uses the latest CAD and CNC robotics.
Michael Ryan - Australia. - 'Hammer-head boring using measuring gauges and jigs'
This will be a hands on class where attendees will have the opportunity to measure the correct hammer boring angles needed to bore hammer-heads in your own workshop using a hammer angle measuring gauge and then set a hammer boring jig to drill the hammer heads. You will then drill the heads yourself using a drill press and mount these heads on an action. This class will also outline the preparations necessary to carry out a professional job every time.
David Salmon - DS Pianos - New Zealand. - 'Practical acoustics'
This class will help piano tuners make decisions about piano placement and diagnosing poor sound in rooms. Internal and external acoustic problems with pianos, different room shapes and construction materials, new technologies in sound isolation and dampening and diagnosing specific frequency problems before voicing a piano.
David Stanwood - USA. - 'The Stanwood New Action Protocol (SNAP) for Grand Pianos'
This simple calculation free workbench approach for balancing grand piano actions addresses the underlying and overriding effect of playing inertia. Pre-setting scaled key front weights with digital scale accuracy lets the action tell you the best choice of matching hammer strike weight scales for any desired inertial playing quality. Smooth scaling hammer and key weighting gives a solid foundation for producing the highest quality tone and touch..
Paul Tunzi AM. - Australia. - 'Establishing a Continuum of Specialist Craft Knowledge and Skills: The Restorative Conservation of an English Square Piano by Frederick Beck (London, 1780)'
Lecture One: A square piano (1780) by London-based maker Frederick Beck is one of two extant instruments in Australia that may have been the first piano to arrive on board the Sirius as part of the First Fleet. Catalysed by the attention surrounding this instrument’s potential provenance and its most recent restoration (2019), my doctoral research focused on the numerous restorations the piano has received over the past 243 years and examined these interventions as inter-generational expressions of value. The nature and extent of past restorative interventions on the 1780 Beck piano have allowed this instrument to maintain its structural integrity, aesthetic appeal and its musical voice. Analysing this work yielded insights into the skills, methods, and motivations of the past craftspeople who worked to sustain the piano’s form and function. In considering these restorations, new discussions are also provoked including the use of rare and endangered materials as well as past and present approaches to problem-solving in the absence of specialist craft skills.
'Informative Silence / Functional Sound: Considering the preservation or restoration of pianos.'
Lecture Two: The decisions we make as piano technicians and what direct action we take to repair or restore an instrument now will be viewed and assessed in the future by those who will follow us. How we arrive at these decisions is primarily determined by factors such as the client’s expectations, the instrument’s conditional state and economic restraints. However, the next generation of technicians who come across our work may not be aware of these issues that influence the restorers’ decisions. Questions that we are faced with as technicians may include what is the appropriate course of action to best preserve the material information and performative integrity of an historical keyboard instrument. In this session, I will present and discuss the issues of whether a keyboard instrument of historical significance should be kept as an object of stored information and not touched or returned to a functional-sounding instrument. Alternatively, there could be other options for the technician to consider.
Dr. Li Yeoh - U.S.A. - 'Establishing a Continuum of Specialist Craft Knowledge and Skills:
Unlocking 'Keys to Resilience'
Delve into the synergy of art and science in piano rebuilding, revealed through Florida State University Piano Technology Master's degree program rebuilding projects. Explore the meticulous steps of grand piano restoration, harmonizing tradition with modern technology.
Most piano technicians are amazing artists of their craft but they often struggle to run efficient and profitable businesses. Learn how you can use Gazelle to save time, wow your customers and grow your piano service business. In this class we will bring decades of business experience together to help you grow your business using the tools Gazelle offers such as online scheduling, automated reminders, estimates, online payments, invoices and much more!
Wim Blees - USA - 'Pitch Raising - Myths & Facts' A round table discussion.
A round table discussion on pitch raising, what works, what won’t, and some of the untruths about massive pitch changes. Included will be a discussion of pitch raising techniques.
Kerry Cooper - Australia. - 'How 3D printing can help you in your repair/rebuilding business'
During this presentation we will work through when and how 3D printing can be used in your business and work with a part that is no longer available. We will also look at what 3D printer will suit your needs, what 3D design programs are available and what materials are available to produce the part you want to make.
Les Davies & Bradley Saul - Australia - 'Hot Tips for the old and rundown'
With combined experience of almost sixty years, we'll hope to help solve some of the problems we all encounter with old rundown and sometimes almost unsalvageable pianos. With Les working from Brisbane and throughout Queensland and Bradley from Maryborough and surrounding country Victoria, the temperatures and humidity are in total contrast - which means a total contrast in problems. Come join us, share our experiences, see how we approach our clients, learn a few tricks of and ask some questions.
Luke Ehresman - Gazelle USA. - 'Running a profitable piano service business'
You shouldn’t have to feel broke at the end of the year. Most piano technicians think about profit as ‘what is left over after tax time’. The problem is there is hardly ever anything left when you run your business this way. Profit is a choice and is necessary for the success of your business. This class will teach you how to go from someone who is inconsistently profitable to someone who is running a consistently profitable business.
Wytze Hoekstra - New Zealand - 'A new approach to key and hammer weighting'
Wytze is an ARPT and past NZ guild president and has been exploring alternatives to the use of lead in piano keys with the assistance of a number of NZ piano techs. Here he presents a solution that is non-corrosive, non-toxic, environmentally friendly and requires smaller drill holes.
David Jenkin - New Zealand - 'Fine, fast and fastidious grand regulation'
A detailed grand regulation class using multiple methods for each procedure to really refine, check and raise the accuracy and stability of your work. I will share some different techniques and observations that have served me well over many years. The class follows an imagined full concert or other grand servicing leading to repeat faster servicing in the years following. Attendees should be comfortable with basic procedures to fully benefit from this class.
Lothar Kiesch - Schimmel Germany. - 'Does technology make the job harder ?'
A. Introduction: Schimmel history and today
B. General design philosophy: CAPE, Konzert Concept.
C. Machinery: Plate drilling and shaping, bridge making, ribs shaping, part shaping, keyboard cutting, 3D printing, keyboard making.
D. Features and patents: Mass reduced bridge, keyboard tensioner, gliders, Konzert concept, tuneable triplex, dynamic bar, tension regulator, concert action keyboard down to baby grand.
'Regulation checklist for Schimmel instruments' (presentation & new handouts)
A. Regulating upright pianos. B. Regulating grand pianos. C. Voicing. D. Damper regulations.
Robert Langley - Yamaha Australia - 'Working with retailers'
A technical demonstration and discussion on efficient pre-delivery set-up procedures on new upright and grand pianos. Save time, increase efficiency, and improve the end result via the methods discussed in this workshop.
Terry Miller - USA. - 'Aural Tuning - Mystery & Magic '
As satisfying and engaging as a good detective novel or a complicated RPG, follow the clues, listen up, know how to use your tools and you can offer fully-tailored aural tunings that prove the excellence of your skills and weld your relationship to your clients. ETD-only? Use these techniques to efficiently identify and repair the odd balls that plague every tuning. Terry is available for private tuning lessons throughout the convention. Delegates can register at the registration desk or contact us if interested in this opportunity.
Class I: The Hidden Mechanisms (1 class period)
- The Client’s expectations, and yours.
- You’re hearing too much. Revealing and working with ‘the still small voice’. (I Kings 19:12)
- How characteristics of intervals allow us to tune.
- Resources: 1) Secrets from the Aural Tuning Toolkit. David Andersen 2) Aural Tuning Quick Reference Guide
Class II. Making a Workspace (1 class period, the next day)
- Placing Tuning Truths on the keyboard; efficiency and precision in only one hand.
- Resource: Setting up the Aural Tuning Workspace
Class III. Exercising the Workspace, a workshop (2 class periods, the next day)
- Making the strong, stable structure for the rest of your tuning process.
- But will it fit? The octave proposed, decomposed, rejiggered, and perfected with trapped internal contiguous P4/P5 and P5/P4 intervals.
- The magic of open three-string unisons: crystalline clarity, enhanced stability, and continuous error-trapping.
Julian Morgan-Smith - Piano Technical Manager - Yamaha Australia. - 'Hybrid piano servicing'
Year on year we are seeing an increased ratio of pianos sold with some degree of electronic componentry. In this presentation we will cover the Yamaha range of hybrid pianos in terms of servicing, calibrating, and troubleshooting. Building confidence in this evolving area of piano technology will help allow technicians to broaden their professional scope for new and existing clients.
Yuji Nakamura - New Zealand - 'Practical ways of correcting touch weight problems'
We sometimes get inquiries about touch weight problems. They may involve a lot of causes such as too strong springs, geometry problems, too heavy hammers etc. I will show you how to fix those problems of both uprights and grands. Also discuss about basic theory to understand more depth of the problem for further investigation.
Jeff Ost - Australia. - 'Celluloid Keytop Replacement'
Jeff's class is about recovering key tops, predominantly speaking using celluloid to recover keys using a router and bandsaw, but also using a hand saw and file. Also covered is what glues to use, plastic key tops, removing old key tops and what to be aware of. Also featured is a display of jigs used for photos and measurements.
Nate Reyburn - USA. - 'An introduction to Cybertuner & Reyburn Tools'
Tune Jitsu: Ergonomic Tuning: Before the way of the hand comes the way of the mind. Come learn the secrets of the impact tuning hammer. We'll focus on how the body functions, how to use it effectively with various tools, and how not to use it when tuning.
CyberTuner - Tuning your way with AI Mode: From CyberTuner's Easy Mode to AI Mode, we'll cover recording a tuning with Chameleon, tuning style choices, raising pitch quickly and accurately, and how to get the most out of CyberTuner's many custom options.
Keyboard and Action replacement: When should a keyboard and/or stack be replaced? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different brands of action parts and stack designs? When is installing a new keyboard/action beneficial? A virtual tour through Reyburn Pianoworks keyboard manufacturing shop which uses the latest CAD and CNC robotics.
Michael Ryan - Australia. - 'Hammer-head boring using measuring gauges and jigs'
This will be a hands on class where attendees will have the opportunity to measure the correct hammer boring angles needed to bore hammer-heads in your own workshop using a hammer angle measuring gauge and then set a hammer boring jig to drill the hammer heads. You will then drill the heads yourself using a drill press and mount these heads on an action. This class will also outline the preparations necessary to carry out a professional job every time.
David Salmon - DS Pianos - New Zealand. - 'Practical acoustics'
This class will help piano tuners make decisions about piano placement and diagnosing poor sound in rooms. Internal and external acoustic problems with pianos, different room shapes and construction materials, new technologies in sound isolation and dampening and diagnosing specific frequency problems before voicing a piano.
David Stanwood - USA. - 'The Stanwood New Action Protocol (SNAP) for Grand Pianos'
This simple calculation free workbench approach for balancing grand piano actions addresses the underlying and overriding effect of playing inertia. Pre-setting scaled key front weights with digital scale accuracy lets the action tell you the best choice of matching hammer strike weight scales for any desired inertial playing quality. Smooth scaling hammer and key weighting gives a solid foundation for producing the highest quality tone and touch..
Paul Tunzi AM. - Australia. - 'Establishing a Continuum of Specialist Craft Knowledge and Skills: The Restorative Conservation of an English Square Piano by Frederick Beck (London, 1780)'
Lecture One: A square piano (1780) by London-based maker Frederick Beck is one of two extant instruments in Australia that may have been the first piano to arrive on board the Sirius as part of the First Fleet. Catalysed by the attention surrounding this instrument’s potential provenance and its most recent restoration (2019), my doctoral research focused on the numerous restorations the piano has received over the past 243 years and examined these interventions as inter-generational expressions of value. The nature and extent of past restorative interventions on the 1780 Beck piano have allowed this instrument to maintain its structural integrity, aesthetic appeal and its musical voice. Analysing this work yielded insights into the skills, methods, and motivations of the past craftspeople who worked to sustain the piano’s form and function. In considering these restorations, new discussions are also provoked including the use of rare and endangered materials as well as past and present approaches to problem-solving in the absence of specialist craft skills.
'Informative Silence / Functional Sound: Considering the preservation or restoration of pianos.'
Lecture Two: The decisions we make as piano technicians and what direct action we take to repair or restore an instrument now will be viewed and assessed in the future by those who will follow us. How we arrive at these decisions is primarily determined by factors such as the client’s expectations, the instrument’s conditional state and economic restraints. However, the next generation of technicians who come across our work may not be aware of these issues that influence the restorers’ decisions. Questions that we are faced with as technicians may include what is the appropriate course of action to best preserve the material information and performative integrity of an historical keyboard instrument. In this session, I will present and discuss the issues of whether a keyboard instrument of historical significance should be kept as an object of stored information and not touched or returned to a functional-sounding instrument. Alternatively, there could be other options for the technician to consider.
Dr. Li Yeoh - U.S.A. - 'Establishing a Continuum of Specialist Craft Knowledge and Skills:
Unlocking 'Keys to Resilience'
Delve into the synergy of art and science in piano rebuilding, revealed through Florida State University Piano Technology Master's degree program rebuilding projects. Explore the meticulous steps of grand piano restoration, harmonizing tradition with modern technology.
