Music Trade Review
Issue: 1921 Vol. 72 N. 6 - Page 7
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THE
FEBRUARY 5, 1921
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
STATE REGULATION OF TUNERS PROPOSED IN NEW BILL
New Hampshire Legislature Is Now Considering a Bill Which Authorizes the Creation of a
State Board of Registration in Piano Tuning and the Issuing of Licenses to Competent Tuners
Inasmuch as there has been considerable in-
terest evinced in the report published in The
Review of a bill introduced in the New Hamp-
shire Legislature to regulate the practice of
piano tuning in that State The Review takes
occasion to present herewith the complete bill.
For a number of years there have been those
tuners who have advocated some sort of
municipal or State regulation over the tuning
profession to discourage the incompetent, or
fake, tuner and to protect pianos from the
operations of such gentry. The National Asso-
ciation of Piano Tuners was particularly designed
to band together piano tuners of recognized
ability and standing and to educate the public to
demand that those men who were permitted to
tamper with its pianos be able to prove their
qualifications to do the work.
Whether State regulation as proposed in New
Hampshire will accomplish the desired result re-
mains to be seen. The move itself, at least, is
interesting.
The bill, which was introduced by Repre-
sentative Sara, of Lebanon, reads:
AN ACT
To Establish a Board in Piano Tuning and to Regulate the
Practice Thereof.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatwes in
General Court convened:
SECTION 1. The Governor, with the advice and consent
of the Council, shall appoint five skilled Piano Tuners, of
good repute, residing and doing business in the State of
New Hampshire, who shall constitute a Board of Regis-
tration in Piano Tuning; but no person shall be eligible
to election to said board unless he shall have been engaged
in the practice of his profession for not less than six years
previous to his election to said board. The term for which
the members of the said board shall hold their office shall
be five years except that one of the members of the board to
be first elected shall 1iold office for one year, one for two
years, one for three years, one for four years and one for
five years, respectively, and until their successor shall be
duly appointed and qualified. Any vacancy in the board
shall be filled by the governor in conformity with the
provisions of this section; and any member of the board
may be removed from office for cause by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the council.
SECT. 2. The board shall choose from its number a
president and secretary and it shall meet at least once in
each year. Three of said board shall constitute a quorum.
SECT. 3. Piano Tuning is hereby defined as the art of
employment of all means known to science to the regulation
and adjustment of the vibrators and all mechanism of all
keyed instruments using the Equal Tempered Scale.
SECT. 4. Within six months from the time this act takes
effect it shall be the duty of every person who was at the
time of the passage of this act engaged in the practice of
piano tuning in this State to cause his name, residence and
place of business to be registered with said board, which
shall keep a book for that purpose. The statement of every
such person shall be verified under oath in such manner
as may be prescribed by the board. Every person who
shall so register with said board as a practitioner of piano
tuning and shall prove to said board that he was so
engaged shall receive a certificate to that effect and may
continue to practice without incurring any of the liabilities
and penalties provided in this act for the practicing of
piano tuning without a certificate from said board.
SECT. 5. All persons not provided for in section 4 may
appear before said board at any of its regular meetings
and be examined with reference to their knowledge and
skill in piano tuning. And the board shall issue to such
persons as it, upon examination, shall find to possess the
requisite qualifications a certificate to that effect.
SECT. 6. Every certificate issued by said board shall
be numbered and recorded in a book kept in the office of
said board, and its number shall be noted on the certificate.
A photograph of the person so registered shall be filed
with the record and a duplicate thereof affixed to the
certificate. In all legal proceedings the record and photo-
graph so kept in the office of said board, or certified copies
thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein
stated.
SECT. 7. The said board shall charge each person receiv-
ing a certificate of exemption the sum of fifteen dollars
and for each person appearing before them for examination
for certificate of qualification a fee of thirty five dollars,
OARDMAN
dfc GRAY-
PIANOS
ES1ABUSHED--IN-I83Z
ALBANY, N. Y.
which, in case such certificate shall not be granted, shall
be returned.
Any person failing to pass a satisfactory
examination shall be re-entitled to re-examination at any
future meeting of the board. The board shall make an
annual report of its proceedings to the governor by the
thirty-first day of December in each year. All fees received
by the board shall be paid annually by the secretary of the
board into the treasury of the State.
SKCT. 8. The compensation and all the necessary ex-
penses of the members of the board shall be paid from the
treasury of the State. The compensation for the board
shall be seven dollars each for every day actually spent in
the discharge of their duties and, in addition, their neces-
sary expenses in attending the meetings of the board.
Such compensation and expenses shall be approved by the
board and sent to the State treasurer, who shall certify
to governor and council the- amounts due; provided, that
the amounts so paid shall not exceed the amount received
by the treasurer from the board in fees as herein specified,
and so much of said receipts as may be necessary is hereby
appropriated for the compensation and expenses aforesaid.
SECT. 9. Every person to whom a certificate shall be
granted by said board shall cause the same to be recorded
in the office of the Secretary of State, the fee for such
record to be fifty cents; every person practicing piano
tuning must also display his certificate of registration to
any person desiring his services as a piano tuner and he
must also exhibit said certificate to any member of the
examining board when so requested.
Any person prac-
ticing the art of piano tuning must leave with each and
every person for whom he performs professional services,
a card or circular giving his name and home post office
address, also the number of his certificate of registration.
SECT. 10. Said board shall have power to revoke any
certificate granted by it under this act, the holder of which
is guilty of any fraud or deceit in obtaining his certificate,
or "in the practice of piano tuning has been convicted of
crime, is an habitual drunkard, or grossly incompetent to
practice piano tuning.
Proceedings for revocation of a
certificate shall be begun by serving written charges upon
the accused, which may be made by said board on its own
motion or by any other person. Said board shall fix a
time and place for the hearing of such charges and a copy
of the charges, together with a notice of the time and place
when they will be heard and determined, shall be served
upon the accused at least fourteen days before the date
actually fixed for said hearing.
When personal service
cannot be effected and such fact is certified on oath by
any person duly authorized to make legal service, the board
shall cause to be published at least thirty days prior to the
hearing, in two newspapers published in the county in
which the accused was last known to practice, a notice to
the effect that at a definite time and place a hearing will
be had by said board for the purpose of hearing said
charges against the accused upon application to revoke his
certificate. In case there are not two newspapers published
in said county, then publication may be made in the news-
papers nearest to the residence of the accused. Said board
shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses
at said hearing and the accused shall have the right to
cross-examine the witnesses against him either in person
or by counsel and to produce witnesses in his own defense.
In case the board after such hearing shall revoke the
certificate, they shall transmit to the Secretary of State a
certificate under the seal of said board certifying that such
certificate has been revoked. Any person who shall prac-
tice piano tuning after his certificate has been revoked shall
be deemed to have practiced piano tuning without a certifi-
cate. Whenever the certificate of any person has been
revoked said board may, after the expiration of one year,
entertain an application for a new certificate, and upon
such application they may, in their discretion, issue a new
certificate.
<(
The First Touch Tells' 9
The
Christman
Reproducing
Piano
Grand
Upright
not only interprets the com-
positions of the great artists
but embodies that wonderful
Tone Quality
and
Construction
which have placed these
instruments in a class by
themselves — there are no
comparisons.
Investigate and convince
yourself.
SECT. 11. It shall be unlawful for any person not a
holder of such a certificate duly issued to him and recorded
as herein provided, after six months from the time this
act takes effect, to practice piano tuning within this State.
It shall be unlawful for any person to falsely personate a
registered piano tuner of a like or different name, or buy,
sell or fraudulently obtain a certificate issued to another.
Practicing or offering to practice piano tuning, or the
public representation to be qualified to practice the same
by any person not authorized to practice piano tuning
shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this act.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this
act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than
two hundred dollars for each and every offense.
SECT. 12. Nothing in this act shall be construed to
apply to concert artists or manufacturers or dealers who
may send into this State a tuner for the purpose of tuning
instruments used in giving concerts. The privilege of prac-
ticing piano tuning without examination or payment of fees
may be granted to registered piano tuners from other
States whenever said board of examiners shall give a
certificate therefor, said certificate to be recorded as herein
provided with reference to residents of ttjis State, and
said piano tuners from other States shall otherwise be
subject to all the provisions of this act.
SECT. 13. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with
this act are hereby repealed and this act shall take effect
upon its passage.
Christman
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
597 E. 137th Street, New York
Makers of
Grands, Uprights,
Players and
Reproducing Pianos
of Quality
(<
The First Touch Tells"
Registered U. S. Pat.
Off.
Christman Piano Co.
f
THE
FEBRUARY 5, 1921
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
STATE REGULATION OF TUNERS PROPOSED IN NEW BILL
New Hampshire Legislature Is Now Considering a Bill Which Authorizes the Creation of a
State Board of Registration in Piano Tuning and the Issuing of Licenses to Competent Tuners
Inasmuch as there has been considerable in-
terest evinced in the report published in The
Review of a bill introduced in the New Hamp-
shire Legislature to regulate the practice of
piano tuning in that State The Review takes
occasion to present herewith the complete bill.
For a number of years there have been those
tuners who have advocated some sort of
municipal or State regulation over the tuning
profession to discourage the incompetent, or
fake, tuner and to protect pianos from the
operations of such gentry. The National Asso-
ciation of Piano Tuners was particularly designed
to band together piano tuners of recognized
ability and standing and to educate the public to
demand that those men who were permitted to
tamper with its pianos be able to prove their
qualifications to do the work.
Whether State regulation as proposed in New
Hampshire will accomplish the desired result re-
mains to be seen. The move itself, at least, is
interesting.
The bill, which was introduced by Repre-
sentative Sara, of Lebanon, reads:
AN ACT
To Establish a Board in Piano Tuning and to Regulate the
Practice Thereof.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatwes in
General Court convened:
SECTION 1. The Governor, with the advice and consent
of the Council, shall appoint five skilled Piano Tuners, of
good repute, residing and doing business in the State of
New Hampshire, who shall constitute a Board of Regis-
tration in Piano Tuning; but no person shall be eligible
to election to said board unless he shall have been engaged
in the practice of his profession for not less than six years
previous to his election to said board. The term for which
the members of the said board shall hold their office shall
be five years except that one of the members of the board to
be first elected shall 1iold office for one year, one for two
years, one for three years, one for four years and one for
five years, respectively, and until their successor shall be
duly appointed and qualified. Any vacancy in the board
shall be filled by the governor in conformity with the
provisions of this section; and any member of the board
may be removed from office for cause by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the council.
SECT. 2. The board shall choose from its number a
president and secretary and it shall meet at least once in
each year. Three of said board shall constitute a quorum.
SECT. 3. Piano Tuning is hereby defined as the art of
employment of all means known to science to the regulation
and adjustment of the vibrators and all mechanism of all
keyed instruments using the Equal Tempered Scale.
SECT. 4. Within six months from the time this act takes
effect it shall be the duty of every person who was at the
time of the passage of this act engaged in the practice of
piano tuning in this State to cause his name, residence and
place of business to be registered with said board, which
shall keep a book for that purpose. The statement of every
such person shall be verified under oath in such manner
as may be prescribed by the board. Every person who
shall so register with said board as a practitioner of piano
tuning and shall prove to said board that he was so
engaged shall receive a certificate to that effect and may
continue to practice without incurring any of the liabilities
and penalties provided in this act for the practicing of
piano tuning without a certificate from said board.
SECT. 5. All persons not provided for in section 4 may
appear before said board at any of its regular meetings
and be examined with reference to their knowledge and
skill in piano tuning. And the board shall issue to such
persons as it, upon examination, shall find to possess the
requisite qualifications a certificate to that effect.
SECT. 6. Every certificate issued by said board shall
be numbered and recorded in a book kept in the office of
said board, and its number shall be noted on the certificate.
A photograph of the person so registered shall be filed
with the record and a duplicate thereof affixed to the
certificate. In all legal proceedings the record and photo-
graph so kept in the office of said board, or certified copies
thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein
stated.
SECT. 7. The said board shall charge each person receiv-
ing a certificate of exemption the sum of fifteen dollars
and for each person appearing before them for examination
for certificate of qualification a fee of thirty five dollars,
OARDMAN
dfc GRAY-
PIANOS
ES1ABUSHED--IN-I83Z
ALBANY, N. Y.
which, in case such certificate shall not be granted, shall
be returned.
Any person failing to pass a satisfactory
examination shall be re-entitled to re-examination at any
future meeting of the board. The board shall make an
annual report of its proceedings to the governor by the
thirty-first day of December in each year. All fees received
by the board shall be paid annually by the secretary of the
board into the treasury of the State.
SKCT. 8. The compensation and all the necessary ex-
penses of the members of the board shall be paid from the
treasury of the State. The compensation for the board
shall be seven dollars each for every day actually spent in
the discharge of their duties and, in addition, their neces-
sary expenses in attending the meetings of the board.
Such compensation and expenses shall be approved by the
board and sent to the State treasurer, who shall certify
to governor and council the- amounts due; provided, that
the amounts so paid shall not exceed the amount received
by the treasurer from the board in fees as herein specified,
and so much of said receipts as may be necessary is hereby
appropriated for the compensation and expenses aforesaid.
SECT. 9. Every person to whom a certificate shall be
granted by said board shall cause the same to be recorded
in the office of the Secretary of State, the fee for such
record to be fifty cents; every person practicing piano
tuning must also display his certificate of registration to
any person desiring his services as a piano tuner and he
must also exhibit said certificate to any member of the
examining board when so requested.
Any person prac-
ticing the art of piano tuning must leave with each and
every person for whom he performs professional services,
a card or circular giving his name and home post office
address, also the number of his certificate of registration.
SECT. 10. Said board shall have power to revoke any
certificate granted by it under this act, the holder of which
is guilty of any fraud or deceit in obtaining his certificate,
or "in the practice of piano tuning has been convicted of
crime, is an habitual drunkard, or grossly incompetent to
practice piano tuning.
Proceedings for revocation of a
certificate shall be begun by serving written charges upon
the accused, which may be made by said board on its own
motion or by any other person. Said board shall fix a
time and place for the hearing of such charges and a copy
of the charges, together with a notice of the time and place
when they will be heard and determined, shall be served
upon the accused at least fourteen days before the date
actually fixed for said hearing.
When personal service
cannot be effected and such fact is certified on oath by
any person duly authorized to make legal service, the board
shall cause to be published at least thirty days prior to the
hearing, in two newspapers published in the county in
which the accused was last known to practice, a notice to
the effect that at a definite time and place a hearing will
be had by said board for the purpose of hearing said
charges against the accused upon application to revoke his
certificate. In case there are not two newspapers published
in said county, then publication may be made in the news-
papers nearest to the residence of the accused. Said board
shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses
at said hearing and the accused shall have the right to
cross-examine the witnesses against him either in person
or by counsel and to produce witnesses in his own defense.
In case the board after such hearing shall revoke the
certificate, they shall transmit to the Secretary of State a
certificate under the seal of said board certifying that such
certificate has been revoked. Any person who shall prac-
tice piano tuning after his certificate has been revoked shall
be deemed to have practiced piano tuning without a certifi-
cate. Whenever the certificate of any person has been
revoked said board may, after the expiration of one year,
entertain an application for a new certificate, and upon
such application they may, in their discretion, issue a new
certificate.
<(
The First Touch Tells' 9
The
Christman
Reproducing
Piano
Grand
Upright
not only interprets the com-
positions of the great artists
but embodies that wonderful
Tone Quality
and
Construction
which have placed these
instruments in a class by
themselves — there are no
comparisons.
Investigate and convince
yourself.
SECT. 11. It shall be unlawful for any person not a
holder of such a certificate duly issued to him and recorded
as herein provided, after six months from the time this
act takes effect, to practice piano tuning within this State.
It shall be unlawful for any person to falsely personate a
registered piano tuner of a like or different name, or buy,
sell or fraudulently obtain a certificate issued to another.
Practicing or offering to practice piano tuning, or the
public representation to be qualified to practice the same
by any person not authorized to practice piano tuning
shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this act.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this
act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than
two hundred dollars for each and every offense.
SECT. 12. Nothing in this act shall be construed to
apply to concert artists or manufacturers or dealers who
may send into this State a tuner for the purpose of tuning
instruments used in giving concerts. The privilege of prac-
ticing piano tuning without examination or payment of fees
may be granted to registered piano tuners from other
States whenever said board of examiners shall give a
certificate therefor, said certificate to be recorded as herein
provided with reference to residents of ttjis State, and
said piano tuners from other States shall otherwise be
subject to all the provisions of this act.
SECT. 13. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with
this act are hereby repealed and this act shall take effect
upon its passage.
Christman
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
597 E. 137th Street, New York
Makers of
Grands, Uprights,
Players and
Reproducing Pianos
of Quality
(<
The First Touch Tells"
Registered U. S. Pat.
Off.
Christman Piano Co.
f
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