Current Offerings

Thursday Day 1: Band Room

1PM Welcoming address -Rundown of the seminar

1:30 The Philosophy of Full Service

2:00 - 3PM Panel Discussion on Full Service 

3:15 pm - 4:45 pm Presentation: Repairing Legacy Pianos: How & Why? by Jordan Cook

5 - 6:30 Presentation: Script Your Business by David Stocker, RPT

6:45 pm: Pizza social in the dorms + "Best and Worst of Youtube Piano Technology" Everyone Welcome! Foosball and pool table available! 

Friday Day 2: Classrooms

First Period: 9am - 10:30 AM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Regulating Every Day Part I - Ryan Sowers

Room 113: Grand Dampers: Factory tips and speed techniques - Jim Busby

Second Period 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Regulating Every Day Part 2 Part II - Ryan Sowers

Room 113 Touchweight: Eliminating “pot holes and bumps” in the road - Jim Busby

12:30 PM - 2 PM Lunch at the Student Union: Sponsored by PianoMeter! 

Anthony Willey, Inventor of PianoMeter will be available for questions and discussion regarding his excellent professional tuning app. 

Third Period 2:15 PM - 3:45 PM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Tool Modification for the Resourceful Technician - Aaron Heppler

Room 113: Fundamentals of Unisons and Hammer Technique - Nathan Jensen

Fourth Period 4 PM - 5:30 PM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Breathing New Life into Older Electronic Player Systems - Aaron Heppler

Room 113: Mastering the Machine - Max Biggs

Reception in the Choir Room

6 PM - 7PM A variety of finger foods and desserts w coffee service

7 PM - 8:30 Piano Technicians Piano Recital

Saturday Day 3: Classrooms

First Period: 9am - 10:30 AM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Voicing Every Day Part I - Ryan Sowers

Room 113: The Touch Up: Nathan Jensen

Second Period: 11 AM - 12:30 PM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Voicing Every Day Part I - Ryan Sowers

Room 113: Everything About Tuning Except How to do It - Loren Kelley

Third Period: 2 PM - 3:30 PM

Room 120: Piano Technicians Playground

Room 117: Voicing Every Day Part II - Ryan Sowers

Room 113: 21 Secret Tips from Top Techs - Jim Busby

4 PM BAND ROOM
Closing Session and the Presentation of the James H Burton Award.

Opening Address
The Practical Philosophy of Full Service

Ryan Sowers, RPT

In many ways our industry is overly "tuning-centric". The most common reason clients call is to schedule a "piano tuning". But what are they looking for, really? Pianos are a complex and interactive system of which tuning is just one aspect. Developing a full-service philosophy can transform your approach to servicing pianos.  But where do you start, and where will it take you? 

Followed by a technician town hall and panel discussion. 

Grand Dampers: Factory tips and speed techniques.

Jim Busby RPT

Regulating grand dampers efficiently comes down to three basic things: Developing a “damper technician’s eye”, knowing what each bend actually does, and knowing the “10 Operations” used in damper work. In this class Jim will explain these with videos and demonstrations.

21 Secret Tips from Top Techs

Jim Busby RPT

In his 40+ year career, Jim has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world's top tier technicians. He will share with you some of the most useful tips he has mined from the best in the field. 

Touchweight: Eliminating “pot holes and bumps” in the road

Jim Busby RPT

In many areas of piano work, addressing the outliers is often the most efficient and practical way to get the most improvement possible on your client's pianos in the least amount of time. Touchweight is no different. Learn techniques that your clients will really notice. 

Voicing Every Day

2-parts, each part is 90 minutes

Ryan Sowers RPT

Voicing, like unisons, should be learned from the beginning and mastered over a lifetime. This class will help you develop systems to upgrade the tone of everyday pianos using novel tools and techniques. Whether a Steinway B or Wurlitzer spinet, your clients will find new joy in their instruments.
We will focus on efficient methods of hammer alignment, shaping, mating to strings, and how to level the tonal playing field. Stability of voicing is also very important. 

Regulating Every Day

2-parts, each part is 90 minutes

Ryan Sowers, RPT

Often regulating is sold as a line item. It should be part of the ongoing service. 10 to 15-hour regulations are often impractical and unnecessary. To become a master regulator, you must practice your skills regularly.
Topics Covered: How to quickly triage a regulation, how "Robot Mode" can get you super fast and consistent results, How tool selection and modification can be the difference between misery and satisfaction, what are the common pitfalls that can lead to annoying call backs, and much more. 

The Touch Up

60 minutes

Nathan Jensen, RPT
President, Seattle Chapter

Sometimes, in the real world, a touching-up of the existing tune on a piano is a better approach than a full tuning. This might be the case when, as sometimes happens, you have very limited time or the piano was tuned only a short time before. But similar to tuning, it is a good idea to have a plan rather than fly by the pants. This class details a plan for the Touch-Up such that you can improve a piano's tune and be able to pick up and leave within a second's notice. It's a worthy skill for the piano technician and should be of great use in some tricky situations.

Fundamentals of Unisons and Hammer Technique

60 minutes

Nathan Jensen, RPT
President, Seattle Chapter

If a pianist is a figure skater, the piano tuner is the Zamboni.  Getting unisons right is what makes the tuning of a piano smooth enough to skate on.  To get there requires more than just a good ear, it requires a good technique.  In this class I'll show my preferred tuning technique for 'setting the pin' and 'setting the string' for exquisite unisons.

Repairing Legacy Pianos:
How and Why

90 minutes

Jordan Cook, Seattle Chapter

Note: Jordan has a particular fascination with the Steinway "Victory" piano and has done extensive research on the topic while restoring her own prized possession.

Join us as Jordan relates why piano technicians should consider fixing rough-condition pianos and how to navigate the unique challenges they present.  Class topics are applicable for repairing all types of pianos but are essential for WW2-era pianos, including techniques that reduce squeaks in part of the pedal rod (pinned pitman), installing Teflon tubing on keypins, repining billings flange hammer butts, removing broken hammer shanks, utilizing/installing carbon fiber hammer shanks, and creating single custom whippens when needed. Technicians need to both be willing to take on difficult projects, and to know when a piano is not worth the effort (what condemns an older piano) so they can keep the legacies of these pianos and eras alive.

Tool Modification for the Resourceful Technician

90 minutes

Aaron Hepler, RPT, Montana Chapter

Tired of tools that cost more than your monthly coffee budget or fall apart faster than a poorly tuned spinet? Join Aaron Heppler for a hands-on session exploring the art of tool modification. Piano technicians often rely on highly specialized tools, but with a small market, many options are either outrageously expensive or (let’s be honest) not up to the job.

This class will teach you how to turn those frustrating tools into functional, reliable solutions. From improving ergonomics to increasing functionality, you’ll learn practical hacks to make your tools work for you—without breaking the bank. Bring your creativity and a sense of humor; no tool is too stubborn to be improved!

Breathing New Life into Older Electronic Player Systems

60 minutes

Aaron Hepler, RPT, Montana Chapter

Electronic player pianos can be a joy for their owners—until they stop working and parts are no longer available. Whether you're dealing with a 1990s relic or a system that’s just barely out of warranty, this class will give you the tools to navigate these tricky repairs.

We’ll cover how to source those hard-to-find parts, creative approaches to repairing what’s already there, and how to frame honest conversations with clients about their options when the system isn’t salvageable within their budget. These skills aren’t just for specialists—every technician can benefit from knowing how to keep these systems running (or help clients transition to a modern alternative).

If you’ve ever faced a blinking error light and thought, “Now what?”—this class is for you!

Script Your Business

90 minutes

David Stocker, RPT, Puget Sound Chapter

Have you ever found yourself thinking of the right answer for a customer — the next day? I will share ways to be ahead in communications with your customers. Know the questions, and the answers, before your client asks them.  Learn how to educate everyone you come in contact with so they are ready for your services. This class received rave reviews at the PTG Annual Convention in Reno last summer. 

Everything About Tuning Except How To Do It

90 minutes

Loren Kelley, RPT, Puget Sound Chapter

Mastering the manual and aural techniques of tuning are of course very important, but what about everything else?  How should we talk with customers about tuning?  How important is it to them?  How fussy should we be about tuning to A440?  How does moving affect tuning?  What should we recommend for how often to tune?  We will explore these topics and others.  Technicians have varying opinions about these topics, so what I present will generally not be prescriptive, and I will accept a lot of input from class participants.  

Backweighting the Vertical Action

90 minutes

Max Biggs, RPT, Portland Chapter

Create a more grand-like touch and improve regulation through backweighting the keys in a vertical pianos. We go through the theory and the process of this approachable piano improvement. 

Mastering the Machine

90 minutes

Max Biggs, RPT, Portland Chapter

Use your ETD as a third ear and learn how to use it to improve your tunings instead of using it as a crutch. This class is designed for the new tuner as well as the seasoned vet. Start creating more musical tunings, hone in better aural skills, and use your device to help work through possible trouble spots in your tuning.