Piano Tech Radio Hour

Bulky pianos have been in this world for ages now. Everything else evolved; our furniture and other technologies became sleek, slender, and aesthetically better, but pianos have hardly changed at all. For example, they have remained thick and bulky even when they are shorter in size. Del thinks there is a whole universe of opportunities for innovation in piano design.

He agrees that large pianos can be incredible, they give excellent performances. At the same time, those are not the pianos everyone can afford or accommodate in the limited space of their homes. That's why Del realized he could create more modern, sleeker pianos that even ordinary people could buy.

Del says that he wasn't reinventing pianos. But he was just creating a design that people preferred; narrower, aesthetically pleasing pianos suited for small living rooms.

Del notes that unfortunately many modern manufacturers know very little about pianos. They’re just copying old designs with not much understanding of the “why” behind the design elements. Thus a manufacturer’s attempt at narrowing pianos and making such drastic changes can lead to the production of poorly performing pianos. Thus Del created Fandrich & Sons to pursue the creation of sleeker pianos informed by solid design principles.

In this episode, Del reveals a world of exploration remaining: better ways to build solid, sustainable soundboards for small and large pianos; the feasibility of manufacturing in China, Central, and Latin America, and much more.

Here's a little bit about our guest Del Fandrich:

Since 1960, Del Fandrich has evolved from a basic service technician to an independent rebuilder, manufacturer, and design consultant. He served as the Director of R&D with Baldwin and has consulted with brands like Charles Walter and Young Chang. Most recently he has been working with John Martin of Wertheim Piano to develop a totally new vertical piano. He has authored numerous papers on topics ranging from basic piano technology to advanced concepts in design and manufacturing. He continues to lecture globally as one of the most forward-thinking minds in the piano industry, maintaining several active research projects in his workshop in Olympia, WA.

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Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/

Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:

• How to tune pianos.
• How to repair pianos.
• How to rebuild pianos.
• How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.

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It's not easy being an expert. Especially because your expertise makes it so only you can tell that you're right! Our guest, Ric Overton, has had many experiences where he warned his customers against purchasing a piano... but then they went ahead, bought it, and found themselves in trouble.

Rick thinks we all should frame our perspective from that of an expert–be it a piano dealer or technician; it's our responsibility to communicate the knowledge correctly. We have to be armed with the correct information to help our customers make the right decisions about purchases, investments or any other expenditure of time or energy.

Our knowledge also dictates how good we do in this industry in the future. To be successful with the right clients, you need to have some specialized skills that set you apart.

Our co-host, David Andersen, also chimes in, saying that, in a few years, only the specialized piano techs will survive. According to him, having high-end clients is something every technician should aim for if they want to last longer in the industry. He believes that staying up-to-date on new trends, techniques, and skills is very important.

Tune into this episode to learn more about what Ric thinks about building a relationship with a customer, providing them with value, being open to communication and making communication more accessible, and listening to the client's concerns while selling a piano.

Here's a little bit about our guest Ric Overton:

Ric has a 40-year history as a piano player, choir director, piano store owner and manager. He is currently the owner of R. Kassman, Purveyor of Fine Pianos in the Bay area, and has a profound knowledge of the entire worldwide piano business.

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/

Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:

• How to tune pianos.
• How to repair pianos.
• How to rebuild pianos.
• How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.

Instagram -Piano Technicians Masterclass (@pianotechmasterclass)

FB - Piano Technicians Masterclasses | Facebook

Spotify - Piano Tech Radio Hour | Podcast on Spotify

Many of us feel pressure while we work, actively concentrating on what we are doing. It's not bad, but over time it can lead to frustration and puts a fence around our work.

Our co-host David Andersen shares his philosophy on piano tuning–just relax and pay attention to your work. Because 8/10 times, your body knows exactly what to do and you can just watch it perform. We just have to let our years of practice flow through us as we pay attention to our actions.

Arlan Harris, our guest, reinforces the concept that paying attention is an aspect of passive observance. When you can passively observe what you're doing, you can quickly become one with your work.

If you're playing/tuning and passively observing what you're doing, you become the piano. You are one with the piano.

In this episode, our guests Dale Erwin and Arlan Harris extensively talk about how you can level up as a piano technician by doing some simple but underrated things like training your ears. Listen to pianos and their tunings and study what you hear. Ask the pianists what they want out of a tuning/piano and listen carefully to their input. As per Arlan's experience, pianists love getting involved in the tuning process, and they are the happiest when we tune their piano just the way they want it to sound. We often get to learn from them just like they learn from us.

Learn more about communicating with pianists/customers, getting vulnerable by asking questions, and levelling up by “tuning” into this episode.

Here's a little bit about our guests:

Dale Erwin:

Dale being a piano technician wasn’t a planned event, he was unintentionally trainedcame by accompanying his dad to countless tunings and soaking in the craft through hours of absorption in a shop environment. His official training began with my Dad & Dick Hamlett in 1972 at the family Yamaha dealership in Modesto.

Dale became a registered piano technician in 1980. He had the privelege to serve as president of local Piano Technician Guild chapter five years, a tuning examiner for 8 years & an instructor at the local, state, and national level. He has had enormous opportunities and has taught many classes at state, local, and national Piano Technicians Guild conventions.

Arlan Harris:

Arlan is a piano restorer and a concert piano technician. After working in the Famous Steinway Hall Basement in the 80’s, where many of the world's most demanding artists arrived almost on a daily basis and working as an action specialist as well as tuner/technician, Arlan honed his skills learning from his superiors, colleagues, and top-level pianists. He is the president of Arlan Harris Pianos and Services and Arlan Harris Production.

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/

Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:

• How to tune pianos.
• How to repair pianos.
• How to rebuild pianos.
• How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.

Instagram -Piano Technicians Masterclass (@pianotechmasterclass)

FB - Piano Technicians Masterclasses | Facebook

Spotify - Piano Tech Radio Hour | Podcast on Spotify

If you are someone who likes a power-packed lecture? This podcast episode with Dale Erwin and Arlan Harris is just for you.

They talk about everything from using B72, using it on low compression, high-density hammer, how B72 and acetone is the best hardening solution, diagnosing the hammers, and what might be needed to do to change the tone of the hammer.

Using different methods to brighten your hammer and how to find what kind of mixture to use to bring out the tone you want. Non-destructive ways to do the needle test on hammers and more.

Learn from Dale Erwin and Arlan Harris, who have worked on thousands of pianos, tried and tested several methods, and are now sharing their knowledge along with David Andersen and Eathan Janney.

Here's a little bit about our guests:

Dale Erwin:

Dale being a piano technician wasn’t a planned event, he was unintentionally trained came by accompanying his dad to countless tunings and soaking in the craft through hours of absorption in a shop environment. His official training began with my Dad & Dick Hamlett in 1972 at the family Yamaha dealership in Modesto.

Dale became a registered piano technician in 1980. He had the privilege to serve as president of the local Piano Technician Guild chapter for five years, a tuning examiner for 8 years & an instructor at the local, state, and national levels. He has had enormous opportunities and has taught many classes at state, local, and national Piano Technicians Guild conventions.

Arlan Harris:

Arlan is a piano restorer and a concert piano technician. After working in the Famous Steinway Hall Basement in the 80s, where many of the world's most demanding artists arrived almost on a daily basis, and working as an action specialist as well as tuner/technician, Arlan honed his skills learning from his superiors, colleagues, and top-level pianists. He is the president of Arlan Harris Pianos and Services and Arlan Harris Production.

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/

Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:

• How to tune pianos.
• How to repair pianos.
• How to rebuild pianos.
• How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.

Instagram -Piano Technicians Masterclass (@pianotechmasterclass)

FB - Piano Technicians Masterclasses | Facebook

Spotify - Piano Tech Radio Hour | Podcast on Spotify

Tune into this episode and hear Owen Lovell talk about his passion for the piano, the state of the piano industry, and his journey into becoming a writer and academic!

If you play your cards right, a role as a university music professor can provide you with all sorts of wonderful opportunities. This episode’s guest, Owen Lovell. Owen is the piano review editor for Larry Fine’s Acoustic and Digital Piano Buyer and an associate professor of music at Georgia College. Interestingly, he has trained as a piano technician under our good friend Sally Phillips.

He found his way into his work with Piano Buyer because, as a teacher at a University, he has the opportunity to come across many pianos and pianists who can develop opinions on them, and have the time and skill to write about them.

In this episode, we learn all sorts of fascinating things about Piano Buyer and how it works, as well as gain incredible insight from Owen’s multifaceted perspective as a player, teacher, technician, and editor at Piano Buyer.

Communication is something that emerged as a very important topic to us in the piano industry. Communication is about listening, not about talking, and pianists and tuners are great listeners.

So we just have to extend that to the relationship side of things. An FBI-trained hostage negotiator talks about listening and asking the right questions when negotiating tough negotiations. At the same time, some of the best concert technicians will take the time to sit back and actually listen to the client play the piano before they have a conversation about what needs to happen with that instrument.

All that to say, use your expert listening skills to enjoy this episode and you’ll get a ton out of it.

Here's a little bit about our guest Owen Lovell:

Pianist Owen Lovell has appeared as a soloist and critically acclaimed chamber musician in seventeen U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Commercial releases include tracks with rock musician Kip Winger (2008, Frontiers Records) and ASCAP award-winning composer Randall Bauer (2016, Albany Records). Owen has performed in live broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio and Austin, Texas NPR affiliate, KUT–FM. He has worked with many prizewinning composers, most notably Lowell Liebermann, Michael Torke, Samuel Adler, Joan Tower, Dan Welcher, Eric Ewazen, David Maslanka, Denis Smalley, and Roberto Sierra. Owen maintains professional two–piano and violin and piano collaborations, delighting audiences in settings ranging from rural community churches to the Kennedy Center.

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/

Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:

• How to tune pianos.
• How to repair pianos.
• How to rebuild pianos.
• How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.

Instagram -Piano Technicians Masterclass (@pianotechmasterclass)

FB - Piano Technicians Masterclasses | Facebook

Spotify - Piano Tech Radio Hour | Podcast on Spotify