The following was printed in The Reporter, Somerset, on December 8th 2005

Ear and Artistry Aid Piano Tech

By Jim White
Staff Writer

SOMERVILLE -- With 20 years in the business, Ken Smith has seen just about everything there is to see when it comes to pianos."I'll tell you a story I like to call 'what can end up in your piano'," the owner of The Pianosmith recently said inside his East Main Street shop where he repairs and refurbishes used pianos for sale.
Smith, 49, recalled how he had once gone to the home of a Branchburg woman to see why the console piano she had in her basement wouldn't play.

"The keys wouldn't go down," he said.

Smith said he then proceeded to investigate the instrument and soon found the problem hidden right beneath the ivories.

"Dog food," he said matter-of-factly. "Dog food was completely filled under the keys. Of course, mice put it there."

"For a rainy day. But they forgot to come back for it," added his wife Mary Smith, who handles sales at the shop.

Continuing on, Ken Smith recalled that a couple of years later, while appraising a piano for sale at a home in Piscataway, he was telling its owner the story about the dog food, and she seemed to get a kick out of it.

So it was more than just a bit ironic for both of them when he pressed down on the keys of her piano and there was no sound.

And a peek beneath the keys was downright Twilight Zone-ish.

"Lo and behold, it was filled with dog food," he said with a hardy laugh. "The woman was just shocked."

But extracting dog chow from pianos is only one of Ken Smith's many skills, which were put to the test in October when he completed the requirements to become a registered piano technician.
Held in Harrisburg, Pa., the certification process included a written test on piano technology and hands-on exams in regulation, adjustment and tuning.

"They hand it to you and say 'Put it back together,'" he said. "Rebuilding a piano is quite the challenge."

Ken Smith, who also plays piano, is now recognized by the Piano Technician Guild, a non-profit international organization of piano service specialists. He is also a member of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild.

There are only about 2,100 registered piano technicians in the United States and Canada.

The title of registered piano technician is given "in order to ensure work is being done competently in the trade-established standards," said Ron Baughman, who works under the guidance of Ken Smith and plans on becoming a registered technician himself. "It's the closest thing to saying Ken Smith is a craftsman of particular merit."

"I'm nearing a point in my life where I'm looking to give back now," said Ken Smith, who wants to pass along his knowledge of pianos just like others did for him when he was a younger man.
He fondly recalled the late Lou Hendrickson, a blind man from the borough who taught him how to tune pianos when he was in his early 20s.

"I was fascinated watching him tune pianos. He took me on as an apprentice," he said. "It was amazing from the standpoint of what he showed me was possible. Here's a guy who could have been bitter, but he was just such an optimistic person. It affects how I work today".

"It's a fun way to make a living," Ken Smith added. "It's a fun job, and I enjoy working with my wife."

The Somerville couple lives right up the street and moved the business out of their home to the former T-shirt shop at 136 East Main Street about a year ago.

"We had a lot of pianos in our home, believe it or not," Mary Smith said. "It was like 'enough, already!' We were happy when this became available."

There are now about 35 pianos at The Pianosmith, including grands, uprights and players, ranging from $1,000 to $16,000.