Photo by Hannah Bealer
Keymaster
Tuner to the stars has prepped pianos for Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and more
“No, no, you finish. We’ll practice on the other side of the stage and be very quiet.”
Doug Brandt recalls iconic dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov saying that to him just before a 2003 performance at the Riffe Center.
Most people won’t get to experience such courtesies from performers of this caliber, but Brandt, who tunes pianos for many big-name acts that come through the area, often gets treated as part of the team.
“Of the encounters that I’ve had, they’re almost invariably nice,” Brandt says. “They know that I’m there to help the effort.”
Brandt started Brandt Piano Services more than 15 years ago and now tunes pianos for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Capital University, many of the CAPA venues and a variety of events, including Picnic with the Pops and the Jazz & Rib Fest.
Over the years, Brandt has tuned for acts such as Bob Dylan, Kenny G, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, Harry Connick Jr. and John Mellencamp. Though he doesn’t generally meet the performers, Brandt says some will have brief chats with him or stop by out of curiosity. Classical pianist Lang Lang was one of the most interesting personalities, Brandt says.
“I thought he was a really engaging person in addition to being a world-class pianist,” Brandt says.
Photo by Hannah Bealer
Keymaster
Brandt’s career didn’t begin in the music industry. Brandt spent more than 20 years working for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center before becoming a piano tuner.
“I think it was because I always liked music,” Brandt says. “I always wanted to become a better piano player, and I would always become frustrated when my piano came out of tune. I thought it would be a really cool thing to learn how to do.”
Brandt had played piano with little commitment throughout his life, but says he became interested in jazz piano sometime in his 40s. One day, when piano tuner Ben Wiant came to tune his piano, Brandt asked for a quick lesson, kick-starting his future profession.
“I’m forever in debt to him; he spent a lot of time with me,” Brandt says.
The learning process wasn’t easy. Brandt compares the basic lessons to simply being told how to swing a golf club with no further explanation. He says that repeated practice has proved more beneficial than studying.
“Like so many other things, it’s a repetition game,” he says. “I didn’t really understand how to tune a piano until I tuned a thousand.”
Now, Brandt finds himself tuning a couple pianos a day – even more when the symphony needs work or before Capital starts classes.
“(The workload) does vary from week to week, but I like that, too,” Brandt says. “I like the variety of it.”
Cameron Carr is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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