Rampholo Molefhe
12 March 2008
opinion
How far should the displacement of the acoustic sound by electronic noise in music be allowed to proceed?
Batswana patiently await completion of the 'technikon' at Palapye - or wherever - in the hope that there shall be some redemption of the country's folk music and the instruments that make it.
The then Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, has donated a good chunk of land near the International Fair Grounds in Gaborone towards the establishment of an arts school driven by the Botswana Society of the Arts.
These institutions might contribute to the worldwide campaign for the preservation of the folk musics of the world by doing their part to rescue the art of piano tuning, perhaps side by side with the making and tuning of traditional instruments.
The Jamaicans boast a widely respected tradition of tuning of the steel drums. The musicians who tuned them were celebrity, perhaps equivalent of the carriers of oral tradition in West Africa known as the griots.
The South African Press Association reports that 'No one in South Africa has been trained to tone a piano for nearly a decade, and those tuners who are left number only about 50 and are between 50 and 70 years old.
"The South African Association of Professional Piano Tuners (SAAPT) is now concerned that unqualified people, sensing a demand for tuners, could damage the industry, and the piano nestling in the corner of your living room," the report says.
In Botswana, and this may very well be the situation in most of SADC, a piano tuner would make the rounds to do work, provided there were enough people wanting the service to justify the cost.
About five years ago it would have cost about P150 an hour to tune a piano.
According to the SAAPT, " the fees for piano services will rise radically, which might create an opportunity for unqualified technicians to eventually ruin the profession".
They might even ruin the hearing of the Botswana musicians, most of whom have taken to the electronic ' keyboards' which serve as a guide for the rest of the commercial bands that occupy the nightclubs and the institutional organizations at the BDF, police and prisons.
Many of them tire from continual bashing by untrained 'roadies' who know very little about the effects of uncaring handling of sensitive tunable instruments such as pianos and guitars.
The tuning of the bands, many of them captured in recording studios, stray away from 'concert' pitch wreaking havoc on the tonality of the reed instruments which must adjust to the tuning of the pianos and guitars.
Perhaps, Botswana students of music studying abroad should insist on formal training in tuning of the piano, and other acoustic instruments as part of the syllabus.
There should then be the possibility of the transfer of that skill to the traditional and folk music which should be highlighted in the contemplated music schools at the University of Botswana, BSA and the trade schools or 'technicons', in South African parlance.
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Lately,there has been much to say about the dying out of piano tuners in South Africa, and accusations made against so called "fly by night" tuners. Whom are, as it is claimed, "unqualified individuals" operating as opportunist and who will ruin this profession and industry. But what are the hidden reasons behind all this? During the Apartheid years in South Africa, the profession "piano tuner" was reserved for Whites only. While Coloureds were employed to work behind the scenes to do the dirty work in the workshops, performing as technicians but never enjoyed such a title. And, were never even paid accordingly and still not. Also during the Apartheid era many White piano owners did not want people of color in their homes. I have witness atleast one such a case in the town of Tulbagh in1970. In the home of an elderly Afrikaaner lady who asked the apprentice tuner who accompanied the senior tuner, to leave her house as she did not allow people of color in her house. In spite of the fact that this apprentice tuner was there to learn his profession. Piano tuning in South Africa has always been kept jealously and possessively among White males. Therefore it was and is very rare to find a person of color as an apprentice to this profession. People of color were kept in workshops and almost none were given the opportunity to learn how to tune a piano.This has not changed dispite the coming to power of the ANC and the new Constitution. Many a piano dealer who also supplies the service of piano tuning and repairs, also insist that their technicians and tuners sign a contract that prevents any kind of private work on pianos by their employees even though those employees may need the extra income. This is the greed of some of the large piano business owners. There is an enormous amount of jealousy and greed amongst certain piano dealers even going so far as to stab each other in the back, each wanting it all for himself. The the less competition they have the better. Some piano dealers work against each other and are always ready to squeeze out the anyone else to win the client. This selfishness are the cause of the rareness of piano tuners. And now, once again some are forming associations and trying to get government aid to stop the so called "unqualified individuals" who is tresspassing on their gold mines. These very same "unqualified individuals" may have at some stage been tuners and technicians for these big boy businesses.
In South Africa the piano business is in many cases is a rip off. Many clients pay high prices for poor workmanship or work that was never there in the first place or necessary,This unsavory contact is now being blamed on the so called “unqualified individuals”, yet this has been happening for many years and is nothing new, and since the majority of pianos in South Africa passes through the hands of registered professionals are they not equally as guilty as those they are accussing? The making of 200% profit on each piano has made many a millionaire and has put the cost of pianos beyond the average buyer. Thus fewer potential piano players can afford to buy this expensive instrument. Especially when reconditioned pianos are sold at the same price as new ones. This may be the biggest killer of the industry as only the rich can afford. Then there is the quest to stamp government standards in the piano profession, is it really about high standards? Or are these registered professionals merely defending their own hunting grounds? And wanting to get rid of some competition? As their own standards are not that flawless either. And their prices have gone overboard and out of reach of the majority of South Africans. (SAAPPT) The South African Association of Professional Piano Tuners. Were founded by blind tuners, who can never be technicians since to repair a piano requires sight. Yet they attack and accuse individual tuners and technicians who have sight, of being a danger to this profession. Are they trying to protect themselves? Furthermore, some of the members of SAAPT are also individuals who have seemingly come from nowhere and therefore, can we not put a question mark on their abilitiy and qualification to be piano tuners and technicians? And, it is interesting to note that the biggest piano dealers and the best piano tuners, especially in the Western Cape are NOT even members of the SAAPPT!!! And they do not want to be!! Which goes to show that there is no unity amongst piano tuners in South Africa. It is a little know fact that some have wanted to sue others due to back biting. Due to this disgreements amongst persons in this profession perhaps SAAPPT should rename themselves to: The Blind Piano Tuners Association of South Africa. Since they are not representing South Africa as a whole. Also, of the so called 50 registered piano tuners that is said to be left in South Africa, some are just mere business men who absolutely CAN NOT tune or repair a piano, they employ tuners and technicians in their workshops to do the work. And when these same employees leave to become self employed in a country that encourage small businesses and self employment, some big boy piano dealer try to shoot them down, because of greed, and White domination of the piano tuning profession. If there are any rogue opportunist piano tuners and technicians in South Africa, they are few and far between, thus this attempt to cast out the individual piano tuner and technician is driven by a hidden current. Finally, piano tuners are not dying out. In fact there are now more piano tuners and technicians in South Africa than there were before 1990. Therefore some piano dealers are now feeling the competition and are afraid of it. There are millions of pianos in South Africa, but many piano owners do not have their instruments tuned regularly, many a piano goes without a tuning for up to 20 years. Piano owners in rural areas may say it is difficult to find a tuner but that is not because there are not enough tuners. In the 70’ s and 80’s it was easy to go out and tune in rural areas not today. Since 2000 with the rising cost of petrol it has not been profitable for tuners. Which is why most piano tuners stick to the big cities. And this then may give the potential unqualified tuner to operate in the rural areas. It may be wise to advise piano owners in rural areas to instead contact a city tuner. And last but not least, a suggestion to all those in the piano profession. See the individual tuner as the house doctor for pianos and the big dealer as the hospital for pianos. An individual tuners who comes across a major restoration on a piano should pass this on to a dealer with a large workshop. And dealers should perhaps hire these individual tuners as freelance tuners, this will secure their own clientel.