chopin b minor sonata

There are several movements to this sonata but here is a sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPm7Cd9IMaw
My workmate Douglas often plays this, and  there are magical mornings when I pull up to the shop, get out of the car look at the view, and hear this coming from one of our pianos that is almost ready to leave our care.
For the first time in almost 10 months, Rhys and I came back to the shop after lunch and dug around to find a CD of this piece. And he explained to me why various parts were good to test out how a piano was voiced. Somehow, all the tedious work doesn't seem tedious, and we realize why we are doing it. And count ourselves lucky to be given the chance. There is a job satisfaction in piano restoration work that I have never experienced before. I am working on a 100 year old Steinway at the moment that belongs to a church. I have the feeling it has stories to tell.

moebius, perfect wear for cold shops

Do I look serious with my glasses? You might note I also have my ear buds installed. I have discovered music helps the tedium, I've been polishing all of those pins. But I don't like to tune everyone out so I only listen when I am by myself in the shop. And this week that only happened for about 45 minutes this Friday afternoon. Most weeks I have hours to myself, but for unexplained reasons not this week.
Weather shift in the shop, I'm wearing shoes and extra layers. We do have heat, but it is loud, and not terribly efficient. If someone is tuning, voicing, or just trying to play a piano it  gets turned off. I noticed a client playing with fingerless gloves on this morning, so I guess it was a bit nippy.

how many piano technicians does it take to change a light bulb?

We gave it the old college try, but unfortunately, despite the fearless scissor lift driving of Douglas we failed in our attempt to get all of our fluorescents to work. Ballasts we fear, and that is not the forte of piano technicians. I just kept trying make sure no one banged their head or ran into any of our pianos.

the explanation of signed dates

I was wondering why these dates were appearing in the piano keys of my 1928 Steinway AIII. Douglas gave me the answer. Evidently it was very common for tuner's to date their work, and usually upside down, which these are. This piano was living in Hawaii so it is interesting to think of what was happening at the time of the tunings. I am working my way through the keys, now I will keep my eyes out for more dates.

the steingraeber

Since 1852, these pianos have been built in Germany. Our Model 205 is only about 10 years old, and in rather good nick, with some detailing needed. That's where I came in. I said today in my seventh hour with a q-tip in my hand "this is not attention to detail, but neurosis to detail". I was trying to clean in between all the pins, amongst other places. I did get to polish some agraffes with a sanding sponge, which at least was satisfying in that they became shiny. The finish on the plate of this piano if very matte, a real contrast to the big Bosendorfer we had in the shop which was very flashy orange. Steinway plates run somewhere in between gloss and matte, and Mason-Hamlin's claim to plates is a rather unusual cast of green. These were things I did not know a year ago.

 

Douglas is doing the skilled labor, regulating the action. We all like this piano, it has a very nice sound and a light touch. It will be even better by the end of the week. The owner is looking for a new home for it, if you are interested.

 And this was my reward for working an 8 hour day. The sun was setting and close to a full moon was rising. I made myself sit and watch the sun sink below the horizon.

drill, fill, drill, and fill again

We were discussing drill, fill, drill, and fill again as the life of a piano technician. My portion is the first drill and fill, and if I got paid by the hole I would definitely have more in the bank than I do now. None of the glory that the concert tuner's and tweeker's get. No one says to me, "wow Agnes, nice job on those plugs or wood epoxy fill". But, the view is nice from the shop, the company of my workmates is good. And the coffee, well, an added perk. And I am about to clean and polish a Steingraeber 205. Not many of those come along.