Dear Friends, 

I was fortunate to learn the repair trade as an apprentice to an accomplished repairman. My mentor was a gentleman named Larry Ackerman. 

I worked side by side Larry for a couple years in the corner of a small music store, then in my own independent shop. Often, we would get together at his home and work across his kitchen table over a cup of tea. We became friends. 

Larry didn’t show me the work that is now much of my schedule. The head joint cutting, the key making, the lathe and mill work. No, he wouldn’t let me get beyond the basics: key mechanics were first, then pad coverage, adjustments next. Lost motion and key height last. Only when I demonstrated that I could perform each task beautifully would he let me go forward to the next. 

Larry would often take my “finished job” and calmly advise me to take it apart and start over. My key fitting wasn’t as good as it could be… the tone hole wasn’t ready for a pad…. I learned he would not accept, nor allow me to accept an attitude of “it’s good enough”. It was only acceptable if it is “as good as it can be.” 

My heroes in this business and outside of it, seem to follow parallel principles that Larry laid out for me. Some of those guys are labeled brilliant. It seems to me that their brilliance is born of creative, faultless, and relentless execution of the basics. 

When I do my best work, I honor the musician, the instrument maker and his creation, my trade, and the memory of Larry, the man who ushered me into this fine business. 

Jeff
Originally published in J.L. Smith & Co. Catalog #3 (ca.1997)