Carl Radford tuning his 5'10", 1927 Steinway L (Lucky the Wonder Piano)


Registered Piano Technician
* Independent Piano Technician in Chicagoland for 20 years
* Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technician's Guild
* North Shore Piano Technicians Guild Past President
* Expert on Historical Tunings

Head Technician
*University of Illinois Chicago
*Joffrey Ballet

Performer
*Accomplished Pianist
* Performed as a "hoofer" in musicals at Candlelight, Opryland, Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane
* Appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show playing the original piano from the movie 'Casablanca'



Teacher
* Independent Piano Teacher for over twenty years
* Lecturer at Piano Technicians Guild conventions

Education
* BS in Piano and Theater from Eastern Michigan University
* Studied Piano in Hamburg, Germany

Awards
* Award of Excellence-North Shore Chapter PTG
* Outstanding PTG Chapter Award while chapter president
* Outstanding Newsletter Award while chapter president
* Horizons-Jon Jost Community Service Award

Other Interests
* Tennis, Tennis and more Tennis
* Fluent in German and Spanish (más o menos)



Beginning
I became interested in piano tuning as a side job to get through the lean times during my acting career. I apprenticed with a university technician while performing in West Side Story in Minneapolis. When I came back to Chicago, I couldn't find anyone who would take me on as an apprentice, until I latched on to a group on the North Shore: a welcoming chapter of The Piano Technicians Guild. They steered me in the right directions and gave me a lot of inspiration, until I was able to pass the all required exams to become a Registered Piano Technician and eventually become chapter president.

Exams and Teaching
It took me about three years to become accomplished enough to pass the three exams required to become a Registered Piano Technician. Each exam is grueling and long, but the perseverance paid off and I have been an RPT for over fifteen years now.

Recently, I taught piano tuning and regulation at the Chicago School for Piano Technology, a new school with a year long curriculum for aspiring piano technicians. I was also asked to teach at the Piano Technicians Guild national convention; both have been quite an honor and a thrill for me.

Well Temperament
This is a very complicated subject, and one that I am very passionate about. There is more than one way to tune a piano; in fact there are hundreds, but we got stuck in a rut in the last century with just one (Equal Temperament).

Well Temperament is a type of tuning that all of the great composers from Bach to Rachmaninoff composed on. It had been all but forgotten, until just a few years ago when it was resurrected by one of my mentors from Michigan State University.

Without getting into too much detail, what Well Temperament does is make the music come alive in a way that is really unbelievable. The major keys sound happier, more pure and the minor keys sound sadder, more tragic, more melancholy. And each key is different and unique unto itself. The music sounds the way the composers meant, and when I hear it that way, I am constantly astounded at the brilliance of some of the composers usage of this tuning in their compositions. It is hard for me to believe that anyone would tune a piano any other way. I think all the classical concerts should be tuned in Well Temperament, and some day I believe they will be again.

In order to shine a light on the subject for others, I have enjoyed doing lectures in which I tune three similar pianos to three different historical tunings and play the same pieces of music on them to explore the differences in the tunings. People, even those with no musical training, are amazed at the differences.

Why
I enjoy tuning and repairing pianos. What sounds to 'plink, plink, plink' to most people, is a complicated organization of counting string vibrations to me. Tuning a piano is somewhat like organizing a closet, only more artistic; you have to get all the vibrations in a specific order to make it sound the most beautiful you can in the time allotted. There's no greater thrill than playing the piano after I'm done tuning it, and melting inside from the beauty of the instrument and the results. It is a nice combination of a technical and artistic profession.

Services
Here is a list services you can expect from Radford Piano Services, Inc.

Green Discount
I am very concerned about the climate crisis we as a world are facing and I feel we all have to do our share to circumvent a global disaster. You can receive a 5% discount on your tuning if you have a hybrid vehicle, bike to work, or if you have replaced all your standard light bulbs with energy efficient CFL bulbs, or a 10% discount on your tuning if you or your organization have alternate energy sources such as solar or wind.

I am designating one day a month put your tuner on a bike day. If I have tuned your piano before, and you live within a reasonable radius of my house, I will arrive on my bike to tune your piano. Not as well dressed as normal, but greener and leaner.



Letters From Clients

"Wow!!! I am truly enjoying the Handel Well Temperament. I tried the Moonlight Sonata after you left and felt like I was playing it for the first time--it no longer sounded like that tired old cliche. Thanks!" M.C.

"Had a chance to play the piano when I returned from my lesson - you've taken it to a whole new level. The voicing is rich and even - it sounds fine with the lid up now. And thanks for your persistence in finding the "ringing" tones. In two visits you've not only rescued the piano from what seemed like a downward spiral, but you have it sounding better than I've heard it in the 14 years we've owned it." B.D.

"I'm TRULY thrilled about how my piano sounds after yesterday. Thanks for making is sound better than ever. It's a pretty nice instrument, but you make it GREAT!" J.J.

"'Your tuning, regulation and voicing of my piano bring joy each day. What artistry! Thanks again. Best Regards, Dr. D.S."

"Nice job on the instruments today; you're a genius of voicing. They are both a joy to play now. I have been really dreading both pianos for the last month or so, and you've made them a pleasure once again." B.B., Director of Music

"'I'm supposed to be reading, but I can't seem to keep my hands off the keys! Thanks for making our piano sound so happy! It's settled into the new temperament quite nicely and your new "making it sing" technique--keep that up!" G.S.

"Whatever you did to it last time was so beautiful. I want you to do that again. It really sounds glorious." M.G.

"'I caught little inner glimpses of you the Saturday we were with you, that surprised and impressed me: you were also an actor; your ability and knowledge of classical piano, although I suspect like most of us, your taste in music did not end there; and of course your ability as a piano technician. I trust your friends appreciate what richness lies behind your quiet exterior. Merry Christmas, D.O."

Feedback
Let me know how I'm doing. How was the tuning? What do you think about the website? What can I do better? I'd love to hear your feedback!


Keep in Tune!