Love Letters in the Grand: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Big-City Piano Tuner

By John Justice

From the Introduction

The 30 stories in this collection are all true. I tuned pianos in New York and Philadelphia from 1965 until 1993. The work was rewarding in and of itself, and the characters I met in those years bring back happy memories even today. --John Justice
About the Book

And what memories they are! There was plenty of drama, as well as more routine work. A few examples: The author tuned the piano for an Elvis Presley concert and one for a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet. He worked on a cruise ship and in a noisy department store. He once tuned the piano of a drug dealer, and another old piano housed a carefully preserved Tommy gun. There were numerous prima donnas (male and female) to try to deal with, plus a vicious dog he had to clobber with his tool kit to get him off his guide dog, Star. And there really was a stack of love letters hidden in a grand piano by a wayward girl.
The beloved Star is a character in her own right, a calm and loving companion to the author to the end of her working life. Any dog lover, blind or sighted, will enjoy the descriptions of her help and companionship. Throughout the book, the author’s dedication to his craft, his love of people and music, his strong work ethic, and his caring nature all shine through.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Justice
• Release date: Oct 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370010349

Book preview

Introduction

The stories in this collection are all true. I tuned pianos in New York and Philadelphia from 1965 until 1993. The work was rewarding in and of itself, and the characters I met in those years bring back happy memories even today.

Acoustic pianos are still being manufactured, but in many cases, digital electronic instruments have overwhelmed the market. For the average student or musician, a digital piano is much easier to handle. There are occasional problems, but those instruments never normally need tuning. When they do require tuning, the entire pitch can be changed with the adjustment of one simple control.

In 1965, approximately 160,000 pianos were sold in the United States. In 1993, the total sales of acoustic pianos barely reached 5,000.

I still tune a piano now and then and personally prefer acoustic instruments. But the days of a piano in every household have gone, along with the production of vinyl records and cassette tapes.

Baptism of Fire for a Piano Tuner

One of my first jobs in New York City was with the Wurlitzer Piano Company. They needed someone to travel from store to store and tune the pianos on display. Each Gimbels store had a piano and organ department. Can you imagine sitting down in the middle of a busy store like that and trying to tune pianos? Talk about learning the hard way!

My first assignment was the Gimbels department store in Manhattan. The piano and organ department was quite large and carried almost every model Wurlitzer built. Wurlitzer always had what they called a leader instrument—a piano that was priced low enough to attract almost anyone who had an interest. The salesmen would stay nearby, ready to do anything they could to make a sale. The piano itself was a small spinet, made with the minimum of features. The wood cabinet was light and required careful handling. To put it simply, the piano was a bottom line model. But a family could buy one for about $499. That was in the 1960s. The same instrument today would cost somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000.

The Gimbels store in Manhattan was a zoo at the best of times. But at Christmas, it was beyond belief. Naturally, Wurlitzer wanted every piano in that department sounding as good as possible.

I’d like the opportunity to talk to the person who put the piano and organ department right next to toys. I’d be sitting there, trying to hear a string, when some kind of electronic toy would howl, beep, snort, or blow up.

The toy department was loaded with kids of every age. Of course, as soon as they saw my German Shepherd guide dog, the line formed to the right. Almost every kid there wanted to pet Star. The salesmen tried to keep things under control, but it was difficult, to say the least. The toy manager asked me if I couldn’t come to the store without my dog. He got one of my go to hell looks, and he never bothered me again. A Wurlitzer salesman suggested that we find a nice, quiet place for Star in a back office. I tried that once, but without her help, it was extremely dangerous. Someone would pull out a bench, sit down and play the piano, then walk away, leaving the bench right in the aisle. One salesman told me that he spent more time putting benches back into place than almost any other task.

Now picture this if you can. There was always at least one person trying out a piano. The salesman would ordinarily tell me to stop while the potential customer was playing. There’s something you should know about music stores of any kind. There are always people who wander through these stores, trying out instruments and making a nuisance of themselves with no intention of ever buying anything. Add that to the incredible racket coming from the toy department, and you now understand the conditions I had to work in.

We also had the occasional vandal. I was tuning a Wurlitzer grand when a salesman let out a yell. Hey! Don’t you dare! Get out of here before I call Security! A teen–aged kid was at the other end of the open piano, ready to pour some kind of drink right into the instrument. I didn’t know he was there, of course. It’s a good thing a salesman was watching.

I can prove that money does talk. One day, a man came into the department, bought a piano within 10 minutes, and then demanded that it be delivered and tuned on the same day. I don’t know who he was, but everyone jumped to comply with his wishes. The dispatcher pulled a truck off a delivery route. The piano was wrapped in moving blankets and put onto the truck. The department manager brought me downstairs and asked me to wait. He went and retrieved his personal car. Star and I were transported to the apartment on the east side of Manhattan. We followed the truck and waited for the piano to be set up. Then I came in and tuned it. The owner was there, but not once did he offer us even a drink of water. When I finished, the manager brought me back to Gimbels, and I worked the rest of the day.

I tuned pianos in the Gimbels at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. There was only one bus out there, and it came from Hackensack. I would wait for that bus and get off at the stop, which was far across the parking lot. Fortunately, someone helped me find my way the first few times. After that, Star knew where to go. That was a nice outdoor mall. It had three anchor stores located at ends of the mall and probably 50 smaller stores. One of them, a pet store, had a dog water fountain right outside. Every so often, the water would come out of a pipe, rinse out the basin, and then fill it with clean, fresh water. Star loved it.

This piano department was close to women’s fashions.

A loud–mouthed woman came over and banged me on the shoulder. My God! I can’t even concentrate! Can’t you stop that until I finish shopping?

I turned to her. Ma’am, I have 20 pianos to tune here. I can’t stop, or I’ll never get them all done.

She got mad, threw her purchases on a nearby counter, and left in a huff.

I took a break later that day and found a Wurlitzer organ. I love to play, so I sat down, set it up, and began putting out a little jazz. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by people who seemed to be enjoying the performance. After that, the salesman would always ask me to play a tune or two, just to draw the people into the department. It wasn’t what I was hired to do. I was always torn about that. Then my dispatcher told me to do whatever the salesman wanted. After all, John, every customer you bring in there might buy an organ or a piano. If you don’t finish all of the pianos today, you can come back tomorrow.

Not all of the Wurlitzer employees were nice.

In a mall on Long Island, I met a lady I’ll call Joan. As usual, I started by tuning the leader instrument, which was right next to her office.

She had a fit! How am I supposed to get anything done with that noise right outside my door?

I explained that my orders were to tune the leader spinet first.

Her language was colorful, to say the least. I don’t give a ____ what your orders are! This is my ___ ______ department, and you’ll tune when and where I say! She wouldn’t listen to reason.

I finally called Dispatch and described my problem. I have no idea who talked to whom, but the woman left and didn’t return for the three days it took me to finish the tunings. When I came back to that store on rotation months later, she was gone.

When I first started there, Wurlitzer agreed to pay for my tuning and for all transportation costs. Then a new dispatcher took over.

After a couple of weeks, he flatly refused to pay my transportation, even with detailed receipts. You get paid enough. There’s no way we’re going to pay you and then eat your transportation charges, too.

I tried to explain that I had joined the