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Telephone: 01493 658732
After the college, I worked for Berry Pianos in London for a few years, mainly on sales, then I worked and learned in a piano workshop and showroom for Hodges & Johnson Ltd., the largest piano firm in Essex. In 1970, I became self-employed as a tuner, and also ran a tuning department for Berrys. In 1971, I became an Associate Member of the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology. Around that time, I became involved with studying the history of the pianos I was tuning, and also trying to answer the many questions that had not been covered during my training. In the course of asking questions, I found myself being called upon to deal with historical enquiries, and the “Piano Archies” service was born. |
In 1980, I moved to Benfleet, Essex and spread my tuning round further East, but there were at least 28 other tuners competing for work in South Essex. In 1982, I was made a Graduate Member of the Institute of Musical Instrument Technology, on the basis of my original historical research. In 1988, I carried on my Essex work while building up a connection with a shop in Lowestfoft, Suffolk. From 1990 to 2004, I was unable to do any useful quantity of work, as I was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (M.E.). Coming out of that long illness, I found that the state of work had change for both live music and piano tuning, both of which are very much less in evidence than they were. In 2007, I moved along the road to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where I am setting up the Piano History Centre. |