Piano Tech Radio Hour - How A Piano Teacher Sees Pianos w/ Owen Lovell

How A Piano Teacher Sees Pianos w/ Owen Lovell

12/21/22 • 56 min

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.

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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!

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.

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

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

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

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

Previous Episode

The Piano And Tuner Are One w/ Dale Erwin and Arlan Harris (Part 2)

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/

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

Next Episode

Your Mentors And Network Build You w/ David Andersen

In this session, David Andersen talks about the power of having people that inspire you to be unafraid, put in the hard work, and be resilient to failures. You want your mentors and the technicians you hang out with to embody the right attitude that inspires you.

David further discusses how our fear of “being bad at” something prevents us from taking action toward our goals. Listen as David goes on to share about one of the massive mistakes in his career--how he killed a piano. But went on to survive and thrive!

Tune into this episode to learn what David did that made him lose one of his clients. And gain a valuable life lesson that defines him today.

Here's a little bit about our host David Andersen:

David Andersen, owner of David Andersen pianos in Los Angeles has been a professional musician, recording artist, and piano technician/consultant for nearly four decades. He has overseen the restoration and maintenance of hundreds of Steinway and Mason & Hamlin pianos during that time. Beginning in 1975 he apprenticed for two and a half years under Jack Cofer in Atlanta, Georgia; during the 1980s he studied at Steinway facilities both in New York and London.

JOIN US FOR MORE GREAT CONTENT❗❗

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