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I've grown increasingly annoyed by some recent threads and posts and feel it may be valuable to state some of the apparently less-than-obvious values of PTG membership.

1. The PTG is the only trade organization actively trying to establish standards and a code of ethics in the industry (sorry MPT). Just like priests and politicians, there are bad eggs in every box (if you graduate last in your class in medical school, they still call you Doctor). However the guild is really trying to raise the technical and professional standards of piano technicians in North America. And, they have succeeded to an amazing degree! Remember, one of the more unspoken goals of the PTG is to head off government regulation so the stakes are high.

2. If you pass the current tests for RPT status, it can be assumed that you have a good understanding of piano construction, tuning, regulation and repair. The tests are not easy and the standards have grown more and more strict and consistent over the past 25 years. If you don't have RPT status, you may still be a great technician. However there is NO outside, objective organization giving you any kind of credibility. This is not the end of the world, it just frankly makes it harder for the average piano owner to get a handle on your skill and interest. AND, if you are an RPT, it doesn't guarantee you're not a hack and a butcher. However that possibility is becoming more and more rare.

3. The PTG has decided that their primary goal is to develop and support RPT's. There has been a long and at times heated effort to develop a separate classification for what is known as Allied Tradesman...finishers, rebuilders and others in the business who don't have any desire or need to know how to tune or splice a string. The Guild has decided that the process of developing and administering the required tests is simply beyond their ability to reasonably accomplish, so they are "sticking to the knitting", at least for now. This means that the primary goal of the PTG is increasing the skill and quality of the average piano technician working on your piano.

Remember, RPT status is not a license and the PTG does not see itself as a police force, even though that seems to be what is being advocated in one inflammatory current thread.

4. As a PARTICIPATING member of the PTG, regardless of your classification, you have an enormous wealth of resources available to you. These resources start with your local chapter (some are better than others) and includes regional seminars and the National Convention. The scope, range and quality of the classes presented at the Regionals and Nationals is simply mind boggling. They range from basic tuning and regulation to amazingly high level classes, often full days, on hammer construction and voicing, soundboard replacement, touch-weight modification, piano design, history, factory recommended procedures and much much more. This is not universal. Techs in Europe are often amazed and frequently intimidated by the level of the class offerings found at the normal regional and national convention.

Of course, you have to PARTICIPATE, meaning you have to get up off the couch and GO. But if you do, you will find LaRoy Edwards, Don Manino, Richard Davenport, David Anderson, David Stanwood, Andre Oorebeek and a host of others waiting JUST TO TALK TO YOU about your questions and problems. Even without the headliners, participating PTG members are incredibly consistent in their interest, desire and willingness to help fellow piano technicians, and you can assume SOMEBODY in the membership has a solution to your technical problem.

5. Even if you don't get up off the couch, every month you get an incredible resource delivered RIGHT TO YOU...the PTG Journal. When I started I distinctly remember an article about using automotive thermostat springs to fix bad down bearing. Trust me, articles of that dubious quality have not been in the Journal for a very long time. Instead recent articles include una corda pedal tone regulation, a discussion of grand bridge pinning, Perception and Control of Piano Tone, NAMM review and the history of the forgotten Steinway London factory.

Now the bad news...the PTG is made up of humans, and as such, they bring their personalities, hangups, agendas, issues and phobias. Also, to get any value, and to effect any change, one must actively participate. The PTG is not a spray, rinse, pill or creme that magically makes one a great technician. It requires humans with their dues, intelligence and skill. To participate in the PTG, with all it's warts, means participating in the growth of an industry.

If you are trying to find a technician, PTG membership and RPT status is not a magic bullet. However, being a member of the PTG (Associate or RPT) tells you something about their interest in developing their skill and the industry.

When talking to an RPT or Associate ask them when was the last regional or national convention they attended. Have they ever taught at one? What was their favorite class and/or instructor? What class are they looking forward to taking in the future?

In short, the PTG is the single greatest resource available to piano technicians interested in developing their skill and the industry in North America. I have never, ever heard, from a professional piano technician, a good professional reason for not being a member on some level.

Thanks for the info, Eric.

I sometimes see what I assume is a reference to an old PTG membership status: craftsman. Could you explain what that means/meant?

Great post Eric

So many times you see a post here stating hire a RPT to check this or that. Some techs that are not members or RPTs get their noses out of joint seeing these recommendations.

There are good techs and bad techs on both sides. I happen to seem more good ones on the side of the PTG.

To discredit the organization is not the way to go.

If you want to change government become a politician.

That was the top level designation in the 70's and early 80's before RPT came into being.

Having contributed to the other thread Eric refers to in his posting, I would like to re-state my commitment to the efforts of the PTG. I believe we are protecting our customers by insisting on RPT status of technicians who work on pianos we have sold to maintain warranty status. Yes, RPT designation is not absolute assurance of competent craftsmanship, and we do use non - PTG technicians whose work and competence I am personally familiar with, but it does assure a basic level of competence to the consumer, and as a dealer it give us some level or recourse if faulty workmanship or blatant falsehoods are made.

When I apprenticed as a piano technician in the 70's, and eventually received craftsman status, the PTG was in its early stages, and my mentors were instrumental in furthering piano technical prowess of younger cohorts. Without their assistance, there was no way for an American to learn the craft since factory work was dwindling rapidly. Today, apprentice technicians, thanks entirely to the PTG, have a wealth of information at their fingertips, and a bevy of industry veterans from which to learn.

That being said, I do think self examination and constructive criticism strengthens and organization and if the PTG is to continue to evolve, it must heed suggestions from well meaning industry veterans.

Over the course of a number of pianos, I've never had any trouble with PTG tuners. The tuner I've had for years has always wanted to be a member, and although he never has, he often says he going to sign up for the PTG, at least look into it, it's his kind of group, but only because he's convinced it stands for Pass the Gallo.

Mike

I'm sorry Mike, but you are absolutely WAY off base on this one. It stands for "Pass the Gin."

I thought in the Bay area it was Pass The Grass!

The designation used to be RTT, Registered Tuner Technician. I don't remember when Craftsman status went by the wayside.

I was an Apprentice back then, and my mentor was a Craftsman.

I'm still biding my reentry into the Guild.