Choosing a Piano How-To
The Best Piano Information at Your Fingertips
The trusty old piano has graced many a living room in this world.
However, if you are looking to buy your first piano what should you buy?
This post will give you an overview of piano information so that you can make the right decision.
Piano Prices Pianos come in a few different shapes and sizes.
The two most common sizes are the
Upright Piano and the
Grand Piano
Upright Pianos start around $3000 and go up to $20,000
Mini-Grand Pianos start at around $10,000 and go up to $30,000
Grand Pianos start around $50,000 and go up to $150,000
But don’t worry you don’t have to be a millionaire to own a piano. Because pianos are made of wood with an iron frame, they last for a long time, so there is a healthy supply of secondhand pianos on the market.
They start from around $1000 for a good example up into the thousands for improved makes Digital Piano.
How do you get the sound of a grand piano?
When you only have a small space in which to put one? Get a digital piano! Now I am a professional musician and although I am not the world’s greatest pianist, I do enjoy playing the piano.
The great points about a digital piano
- It never goes out of tune. (One of the MAJOR considerations for me as I am very sensitive to incorrect pitch)
- It does not take up as much space.
- You can plug-in headphones and play all night if you want.
- You often get other sounds as well, making the piano even more versatile.(my favorite is the organ sound so you can pretend you’re in a big church playing at full volume!)
- You do not have to worry about humidity or temperature changes.
- Because the piano is smaller and weighs less you can actually transport it to another house without having to hire professional piano movers.
- The cost of a good digital piano is around $500: considerably cheaper than a good upright piano.
Now the piano purists out there would say that:
- The feel of a digital piano is not the same as a real piano. I agree but the digital piano manufacturers are improving this all the time and it is good.
- The sound is not as good as a real piano. Again, is being improved all the time.
Go try one today and you will see what I mean. Personally, think the pluses outweigh the minuses. like most things in life it’s a subjective decision that you need to make, based on your budget, the space you have available and how much you like having a Beautiful piece of furniture in the room.
Maintenance obviously, if you have a digital piano then no maintenance is needed apart from the odd clean with a duster and a damp cloth (to remove those sticky finger marks!)
However, a traditional piano will need TUNING! How often should you tune your piano? Actually, you should not wait until it is painful to listen. Regular tuning will keep the piano in better condition and will be more pleasurable to the ear!
Every six months to a year is advisable. Any longer than that and it will need more work to get the piano back up to pitch. If your home varies in heat and humidity, throughout the year (whose does not?) then you may need to tune the piano more often.
If you move, the piano then let it settle before tuning. How much will it cost? A qualified tuner will probably charge around $100-$150 for a basic tuning of your piano.
