During a 10 piano tuning conract with a local institution, I had an interesting experience.

I was tuning my 4th piano of the day, (ETD, aural unisons) and in the blink of an eye, I had tuned from c4-f6 and I did not remember any of it...


I checked all my work and it was great...I know I tuned it, but I did not remember any of it. I looked at my watch, and 24 minutes had passed. It was interesting that it has finally become this automatic

Anyone else have an experience like this?

Yeah, thre are phases when it can become a bit like driving a car in the city. You know the light couldn't have been red at the intersection a minute ago because you are not in a mangled car wreck, but you don't really remember seeing the green light. But be careful, I for one can't perform my best work in this head space.

Hmmm... 24 minutes - you may get to the point where that will be the time for tuning A0-C88!

These "grunt tunings" can be very meditative for me. Breathe, relax, focus on that moment, keep moving...

Don't let anyone convince you that it is impossible to tune both fast and well.

There's something called the "quantum theory of learning."

According to this view, we stay at a certain plateau while we master a certain set of skills; then there's an apparent leap in visible competence.

I think gaining speed in tuning is sometimes that way. It is gratifying to pass these milestones.

I'm not the fastest tuner in the world, but I do sometimes like when my schedule is such that I "have to" keep up a brisk pace. There are all these tiny opportunities to pick up time without sacrificing quality, and they all add up in the end. There's a bit more adrenalin on days like that, more of an intense focus, and keeping time is part of the fun. During a tuning I know how long it usually takes me to get to certain places; so I know if and when I have to speed up, or when I can take a bit longer on something.

Then there are days when I'm not in a hurry. Those days I still try to maintain focus, but will also stop and experiment during a tuning if I want to, maybe learning something I wouldn't otherwise have time for.

Jeff

Excellent post. You have described something I have experienced, but never though about in that way.

Great answers! I have been tuning since I was 12, currently, I'm 51. YIPES! I remember many times, tuning, then going back and checking with that thought of, gee, did I skip it? Or did I tune it? I tuned it. My widdle brain was on auto pilot.

I agree with Ron too in that don't let anyone tell you that you can't do a good job if you do it quickly because it isn't true. Usually those are from people that can't do it quickly and do a good job which is fine.. But, there are many that can..

Been there, done that for years. I'm ALWAYS in the zone while working. It's the best way. You get more done faster and with less stress. The more years spent at this, the greater skill level and confidence the more you hone the subconcious to perform. Ron is right; you can tune fast and well.

I have a zone while tuning aurally where beats are louder than normal. If someone makes a loud noise such as dropping a dish, I'll jump. In this zone I can listen to the tv in the other room as I tune, if I desire, or I can make the tv go away. When I use an ETD, its a different zone, kind of a mindless one, except when doing aural checks. I prefer the aural zone. And - some of my best tunings have been quick ones. Laboring over a tuning leaves me exhuasted.

plenty of times i've been shocked back to reality by noticing the customer behind me while tuning. Where was I? As Confucious said,"At one with the piano". It's another wonderful perk of the best job in the world for me.

once i was tuning halfway, the little boy pull up the back of my T-shirt....weird
I was half embarass and startled, wondering what was he intending to check...
Then after a while he softly shouted, uncle can you quiet, i'm watching my cartoon.... hehehe

Luckiy i haven't zone out to errorland yet, i can't imagine pitch raising halfway and skip out a semitone and accumulating the error till C8

Once while tuning in an assisted living facility, I had a woman come up behind me, poke me in the back and ask "can't you play anything else?"...

Oh, I had a woman in one of those assited living facilities who couldn't get around and couldn't get away from the noise. She said, CHOP HIS ******* head off and get him the **** outta here! I about fell off the bench laughing.

For rough times...
Bring some spare $5.99 cheap mufflers along next time for them to put on.... (those red cheap plastic - hope they're lead free)

Yeah I get people that ask "you tune by ear?" "No, generally I use my hands. Tried tuning with my ear but the headaches were terrible... "

I get that "can't you play anything else" all the time. I tell 'em "no, and I've practicing this song for years. You'd think I'd get the hang of it by now."

In response to: "can't you play anything else" My favorite response is well, this song pays the best...

oh you mean the 45min piano concerto??
with the popeye arm rooting action throw in??