Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Thanks for the laughs

I burst out laughing after reading the "I've worked 40 days" & the "30 year tuning" threads.

I bet in your profession there are lots of funny stories.

We live in a rural area where it seems that just about anything goes for shelter. So dh wanted me to ask, whats the WORST house, home, trailer, teepee, hut, hovel where you serviced the NICEST piano?

Merry Christmas to all!

I can't recall a nice piano in a hovel, but the first thing that came to mind was shortly after I moved to Nashville in 1985, I tuned an old upright in a house that was, shall I say, a bit less than tidy. I had to remove the kneeboard for some reason, and out marched a small army of roaches. I managed to keep my composure and just got out of there ASAP, making a note on the customer's card to never return.

I had to tune a piano in a townhouse where the owner had moved in recently. Every room in the house was filled with boxes from floor to ceiling. It was like a warehouse. The house was new but it was so packed with stuff. I have serviced some of the worst pianos in some of the most expensive houses. I have also serviced many pianos in small, dingy apartments and little country churches without heat or air conditioning. I worked on a beat up spinet in a housing project but it was one of the women's most cherished possessions. It needed so much work that I knew she could not even afford the price of the tuning so I did it all for free.
One of the most spectacular houses I have ever been in has a small grand up on a balcony. The view out the window is floor to ceiling glass and is direct ocean front. The piano is fair but the view is priceless. When I service that piano I plan on a day because I end up looking out the window and then play the piano for 2 hours.
I have found that the people with the smallest houses and the least possessions are the happiest. Many of the super rich do not even give you a glass of water but many of the country folks roll out the carpet, make you lunch, give you coffee and talk to you. This is what makes the job so rewarding along with making neglected pianos playable.

In the early 80's at the same time that Aeolian American went belly-up, a friend of mine, a very good pianist, was given some money for a new piano by his parents. So we went from store to store looking for Mason & Hamlins. For most people, this would have been a question of just finding one, but he plays well enough that the individual piano makes a difference. We ended up going back and forth between two stores, trying their As. Finally, one of the stores asked him how much he could spend, and came down to his budget on their BB.

At the time, he lived in a tiny room over a garage. When he moved it in, he had to sleep under it!

Later he bought a condo. Although he had asked the neighbors if his practicing would bother them and nobody objected, reality turned out to be more than they could take, as he is a compulsive practicer. So he now lives in a tiny detached house.

Two opposites:


some weeks ago: one of the most expensive hotels in Brussels (miles of stars.....),a 10 Years Boston grand.When I lifted the lid,it allmost faled down in,coffee & wine on the sound board, peddal broken, ASO,ASO,ASO.
"How come You can't tune it?"


a (gipsy) familly,in a house falling in parts,not more than 60 sqm all togeter (almost afraid to enter when I've seen the place !).

In the middle of the (only) room, a 60 years old,very good condition.....Bösendorfer Imperial!!!

Still thinking now and then : they're right.If You live for music,nothing else maters.

I once delivered a Steinway B to a music student that lived in a trailer. They actually had to cut out a part of a wall to get it in. I tried to convince her that an L might be better for her, but she refused. She wanted that bass!

One of the great things with this business is you get to see how people actually live. The best house I tune at has two pianos. The upright is downstairs, next to the 30 seat movie theater (complete with box office), which is adjacent to a 1000 square foot dance floor with lights and pa, and a bar. They are down the hall from the pool table room and arcade room. Take the elevator upstairs to the grand piano, which is across the hall from the the indoor olympic size pool and hot tub.

The worst place I've ever tuned at was on Chicago's South side. The grand piano was in an attic of the house, and roaches were crawling on the walls. There was a crowded day care center on the first floor. I felt sorry for the kids.

Bob,

Couldn't agree with you more...one minute you're in a decrepit mobile home, the next minute you're in a castle. And who usually gives better tips....:-)?

I tune a Seiler 180 (5' 10") grand for a very nice lady whose house is on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean on 17 Mile Drive in Pacific Grove. In other rooms of the mansion reside two Fazioli grands (7 and 9 foot), a Steinway D and a B, and a Bozie upright. She has a Fazioli guy come for the two Fazs, a Steinway guy flies up from LA, and I guess I'm the Seiler guy, since the other two techs are too busy to deal with the little feller.

Dave Stahl

Thanks for the interesting stories!l

Happy New Year all.

Dave,

Interesting. I hope she plays! Did you ever ask her "why so many pianos"?

JP

JP,

She plays, though she isn't a great artist by any stretch. She really enjoys it, though.

She's an heiress of some sort, and she wanted a piano in different locations in her house, so that she can find one that suits her feelings when she decides to play, and that there will be a piano nearby when the mood strikes her. The house is large enough that if there was only one piano upstairs and she was in the basement, she'd lose all motivation by the time she arrived at the keyboard!

Some people collect stamps, some people collect baseball cards, some people collect cars. She's an avid collector of our favorite instrument!

Dave