Hi Gang,  Indeed, the PTG has many problems, as most organizations do.
Membership is open to anyone that wants to join; each chapter has their
own membership requirements, but for the most part it is not a problem
getting in the door.

There are only two categories, Associate and Registered Piano
Technician.  Everyone that joins -- be they an extremely competent tech
with 30 years of _good_ experience, a new hobbyist with zero knowledge
or experience, a music teacher or salesperson -- is an Associate member
and can advertise as such.  Only after passing the written, technical
and tuning exams is one afforded the title of "Registered Piano
Technician" (RPT) and can advertise as such.  The _main_ problem is
that the general public, and apparently a lot of piano techs, have no
idea what the difference is.

Hiring a Guild member guarantees you nothing.  Hiring a RPT guarantees
that the person walking in your door has passed the 100-question written
exam covering all areas of general piano knowledge, and passed the
technical exam (consisting of vertical regulation, grand regulation,
hammer shaping, hammer shank replacement, key bushing, flange bushing,
stringing and string knot tying) and that they have passed a
comprehensive tuning exam.  So the person you hired has these basic
critical skills, at a minimum.  They may have been applying these
skills for only two days or for forty years, but at least they have
those skills.

Hiring an Associate or a non-member with 25 years of experience does
not necessarily guarantee anything, since it is certainly possible to
be doing the same things wrong for 25 years.  The key is to get someone
the knowledge they need so they can apply and improve those skills,
through continuing education for the rest of their career, and _then_
you have a damn competent piano technician.  Of course, there are
non-member techs that are the best in the business, thousands of them,
as well as non-member AND member techs with 25-40 years experience that
are just incompetent.  That's the nature of us humans -- some strive to
be the best and some just want to make a buck.

I am part of the PTG Examinations Committee and am heavily involved in
the examination process.  You would be shocked to see how many piano
techs that join the Guild, with _many_ years of experience and with an
attitude, find that they cannot pass the written exam.  (You must pass
this first before attempting the technical or tuning exams.)

Some, with many years of experience, that squeak by the written exam
and fail regulation or tuning miserably, get highly indignant because
"I have been regulating and tuning for 30 years!"  Well, guess what
-- you have been doing it wrong for 30 years, but you can improve with
some education.

On the other hand, many join with years of experience and breeze through
all the exams with no problems at all.  The point is you can not assume
you know it all because you have been doing it forever, and you can't
arbitrarily classify all people into groups based on membership or
non-membership.

If you feel you are a competent piano tech, or someone who wants to
become a competent tech, _please_ join your local PTG chapter and get
involved.  There are many problems to solve and it takes good people to
get it done.

Thanks for listening, for those who have read this far.

Mike McCoy, RPT
Chapters 170 & 190, PTG
Langhorne, PA
mailto:mjmccoy@usa.com