Course Desciption and Info
5 Day Immersion Course Description
Understanding Action Geometry
Learn the fundamentals of action design and how 8,800 discrete action components function and work together to form this living, breathing, dynamic center of the piano.
Selecting the Correct Replacement Parts
Become trained in how to select and match properly dimensioned action parts for different piano scales and performance criteria, and to create custom parts for pianos where original parts are no longer available.
Action Parts Preparation
Discover the secret of how to achieve the optimum inertia and movement of the action by assuring uniformity in the bushings, pinning, and alignment of the sub-component parts.
Hammerhead Selection, Preparation, Voicing, & Hanging to Shanks
Gain valuable insights into how felt is actually produced and how the felting process determines certain voicing techniques. Learn the correct hammer boring, shaping, and tailing techniques in this hands on class, and master the art of filing and voicing, and custom fitting the hammers to the shanks.
Action Parts Installation
Complete a personal, hands-on installation of the action components on the action frame under the direction of experienced professionals.
Action Regulation
Perform a complete action regulation, including the installation of back checks, let-off buttons, and key rebushing. Learn the inter-relationships of the action parts and how to align them to achieve the optimum level of responsiveness and performance throughout the scale in this intense, 12-hour, hands-on training.
Damper Underlever System Installation
Learn how to custom design & install a complete underlever system in virtually any grand piano.
Expanding Your Rebuilding Business
Improve your ability to sell better quality and more profitable rebuilding jobs with professional sales and communication techniques.
What’s included:
- Welcome reception and opening event starts on Sunday afternoon
- Full week of instruction Monday through Friday (see course description)
- Breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided each day
- Experience working inside the Build Studio where the Ravenscroft Pianos are handcrafted
- Optional 2-hour “bonus night” presentation on felt and hammer making
- Student workbook with course information
- All tools and equipment needed will be provided for use throughout the week
- Networking with instructors and other student technicians
- Informal discussions with instructors throughout the week
- Banquet and Graduation Ceremony on Friday evening
- Certificate of Completion
- Professionally written individual business profile and a press release announcing your accomplishment
- Optional “VIP tour” of the Musical Instrument Museum included on Saturday
Class Location and Accommodations
Location:
Classroom instruction will take place inside The Ravenscroft, a 30,000-square-foot music venue and multi-use space located in Scottsdale, AZ.
Transportation:
Students are responsible for their transportation to and from The Ravenscroft each day according to the class schedule that will be provided following registration. Shuttle service will be provided between that facility and the other nearby locations that will also be a part of this experience, including the Ravenscroft Build Studio, the Graduation Banquet location, and the optional trip to the Musical Instrument Museum on Saturday.
Accommodations:
Special room rates will be offered at the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains, located a half mile from The Ravenscroft (a 10-minute walk), but students may make arrangements to stay wherever they wish.
Trying to save his school district money on piano repairs led Thane Yennie into a new adventure that would become his life-long passion.
Learning the business from the ground up is not only a familiar saying, but it is the path that Richard Woodruff followed in developing his own business, Woodruff Piano Repair, in Tucson, Arizona. Woodruff also serves as a technician with the University of Arizona.
Robert Wilkinson knew early on that the field of music would be his career path. He pursued the more specific area of piano technology after graduating with a degree in music and apprenticing with a highly respected piano technician in Augusta, Georgia.
It was his apprenticeship for three years with a highly experienced piano technician that inspired Stephen Wallace to pursue a career in piano technology, serving MidCoast Maine.
Her positive experience at a highly respected private vocational school in Boston motivated Christina Scroggins to pursue a career in piano technology, founding her own business, Scroggins Piano Service, which serves the San Francisco Bay area in California.
Earning money for Arabic language studies motivated Jared Rowles to pursue piano technology studies as a high school homeschool student years ago. Today, his career and his piano tuning and repair business have blossomed, enabling him not only to provide for his family but to serve his community as well.
Growing up with many pianos as a child, Will Roper was encouraged by his parents to learn how to tune them. That encouragement influenced Roper over the years to pursue a career as a basic piano instructor at North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, he specializes in trade school education and offers his expertise to other piano owners.
Pianos have always fascinated Scott Reitz, owner of Scott Reitz Piano Service and a registered piano technician serving Los Angeles, California, and surrounding areas.
A love for music – and a need to develop income – combined to compel Will Lauzon to pursue a career in piano technology, a decision he has never regretted. “I wanted a job that would involve music in some way – one that would facilitate my ability to write and perform music without relying on writing or performance to earn a living,” Lauzon says.
An expert guitar luthier and owner of a guitar restoration business, Eddie Paik always was fascinated with the intricacies of piano technology – maintaining, repairing and rebuilding pianos with some 12,000-plus parts.
It is not often that a concert pianist also knows how to repair and rebuild the instrument, but that is the story of Yoahn John Kwon, an independent piano technician in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
It was the encouragement from a well-known piano technician to become a piano tuner that eventually motivated Steven J. Hopp to develop his own business, Piano Works Gallery & Clocks in Midland, Texas.
The transition from the corporate world to the piano technology field was an easy decision for Paul Gates, owner of Gates Piano Service in Davis County, Utah.
In 1978, while studying piano in college, Kayoko “Kay” Forrest was offered a job at one of the best-regarded piano stores in the country, David L. Abell fine pianos. He employed some of the finest piano technicians in Southern California. This opened a path for her to train with mentors and teachers. “He was the consummate piano man,” Forrest says of her training, recalling his passion for excellent customer service.
From chemistry to the piano business – quite a journey for Bradley Evans, owner of Lynn Evans Piano Service in Taylorsville, Mississippi.
Tuning and fixing pianos proved more interesting than just selling them, says Gregory Davidson, in explaining why he founded Topaz Pianos in Victoria, BC.
A family that valued musical talent and a hands-on work ethic influenced Dana Christensen at a young age to eventually pursue formal musical education which led to establishing her own business, Pianos by Dana, located in Bend, Oregon.
McKinley Corbley is a shop and field technician at Piano Craft, a dealership in Gaithersburg, Maryland, specializing in higher-end piano sales and rebuilding.
Growing up with pianos left an indelible mark on Tim Anderson, who today serves as lead technician with Tim’s Tuning in Woodstock, Georgia.
Matt Brown grew up in his father’s rebuilding shop. At seven years old, he began learning the trade and found his life’s calling in the process. Now the owner of Matt Brown Piano in Mesa, Arizona, he specializes in piano tuning, regulation, minor repairs, and complete piano restorations.
Physics, creativity, and a love for hands-on work are the key ingredients behind the success of Ivory 52, a piano business founded by Amanda Casanova, serving Hudson, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas.
When she was young, Ashley Blaha was fascinated by watching the piano tuner work on her family’s piano. She started learning more and ever since, piano technology has been a life-long passion. She now has her own business, The Artful Key, in McKinney, Texas, that serves the larger Dallas area.
While a university student studying music, Jason Cassel realized that he would need to think long-term about how he would make a living in that field. Fortunately, it was then that he discovered the university’s piano shop, where he was hired as a student apprentice.
It was a midlife career change that took James Fernandez to Lindeblad Piano Restoration in Dover, New Jersey. He says it was the opportunity to work with the well-respected Lindeblad Piano family that drew him in.
It was an old piano given to him by his mother that sparked José Cabrera’s interest in pursuing a career as a piano technician. “She gave me the piano while I was at the conservatory,” he says. “But since we couldn’t afford to have it fixed, I enrolled in a piano technology class at the conservatory so that I could learn how to fix it myself.” And as they say, the rest is history. It was then that he discovered his passion for restoring pianos to their original glory.
Curiosity may not be good for cats, but it proved golden for Scott Burns, a piano technician in Helotes, Texas, whose curiosity about pianos ended up as a life-long career for him.
Akane Behrens is a piano technician associated with Behrens Klavier Service, located at 319 W. Webster Road in Royal Oak, Michigan. The business specializes in home piano tuning and repairs.
A sensitivity to vibration and a love for playing the piano played a role in guiding Lin Bai to pursue a career as a piano technician and ultimately become involved with Golden Lark Led in North York, Ontario, Canada.
It was a fascination with the piano since age five that ultimately landed Calvin Wong on the campus of the University of Alberta and the Department of Music in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he serves as a piano technician.
The pandemic had its downsides, but for Christopher Vesenka, it proved to be the silver lining on the cloud, providing him with an opportunity to change his career path. “My uncle offered to teach me the piano technician business, and as they say, the rest is history.”
Mark Thurner’s passion for music and a fascination with acoustics provided the springboard for Harmony Piano Tuning in Los Angeles, California.
Billed as Arizona’s largest used piano store, Stilwell Pianos offers a wide array of services, specializing in the refurbishing of pre-owned instruments that are recreated to sound as good as new. They are located at 1941 W Guadalupe Road #115 in Mesa, Arizona.
A piano teacher’s advice proved instrumental in shaping Luke Shank’s future. “My piano teacher told me I had musical talent and was good with my hands,” he recalls, instilling a sense of confidence and helping focus his interest in those two areas.
After his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps, Aaron Reyburn joined his father in the family business, Reyburn Pianoworks, 4625 14 Mile Road NW in Rockford, Michigan.
When listening to Jude Reveley talk about restoring vintage pianos, you quickly realize you are talking with someone who is passionate about his work. As the owner of Absolute Piano Restoration, 171 Lincoln Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, Reveley is intensely focused on restoring an instrument as closely to its original design as possible while at the same time ensuring the highest quality performance possible.
At age six, Sofia de la Peña was fascinated as she watched a piano technician tune the piano in their home. It was a fascination that would stay with her for life.
“I have been fascinated by the piano since I started playing at the age of nine,” Jared Maltba recalls. “When the opportunity came to work on them, I fell in love with the process, seeing how a piano can be transformed and achieve maximum performance.”
Given his fascination for tuning pianos, Tom Maeda says he wanted to save money by tuning pianos himself. “My old friend who managed a piano store asked me to help out in the store, where I acquired two years of training in all aspects of piano servicing, repairs and maintenance,” he recalls.
As CEO of Pianoteknikk in Lunner, Norway, Robert Johannesen knows the value of continuing education, having most recently traveled to the United States, where he completed advanced training with the world-renowned Renner Academy, a division of Renner USA, headquartered in Carefree, Arizona.
Combine a mechanical inclination with a love for music, and you get Jonathon Jacobeen, a master piano technician and owner of Nova Piano Tuning in Manassas, Virginia.
Tobias Hamilton was born and raised in the piano business. He was taught by his grandfather, father, and his uncle – all well-established piano technicians. Tobias took the piano business seriously when his father became ill and could not work anymore.
A love for music and a fascination with the craftmanship of pianos is what inspired Lucas Heuer to pursue a career as a certified piano technician. He is associated with Texas Piano Restoration, 625 Lake Vista Lane in Lavon, Texas.
It was an early passion for pianos that eventually led Joshua Gaither to establish Volunteer Piano, 10004 Hall Drive in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Getting into the technical field of piano rebuilding and repair “was a complete accident,” Adam Hayes confesses. “I was in need of a job halfway through my accounting degree program,” he candidly admits. However, fate had something else in mind.
