Piano Video Lesson: When is it Time for a New Piano?

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com and VirtualSheetMusic.com. We have a viewer question from David, who asks, "When is it the time to get a new piano?" Well, this is actually a complex question that has a couple of different viewpoints we're going to get into. There, for one thing, is the piano itself, whether it needs work, and the other part is the level of the player. So we're going to discuss both of these, so that maybe it can help you to decide if it's time for you to get a new piano.

Well, let's say you have a piano that's been neglected, and you're getting into playing more, and you realize that it has some weaknesses. Well, you have to really look and see, what is this instrument? You don't want to throw good money after bad. Sometimes, if you have a cheap Asian production piano that's getting older and has problems, if you put too much money into it, you might find you're still not going to get satisfying results and it might be time to consider getting a higher-line instrument.

The other thing I talked about is the level of the player. The fact of the matter is, if you're more than an intermediate player, you're going to need to transition at some point, if you have an upright, to at least a baby grand. Now, a more serious player would want to have even a larger instrument than a baby grand because of the way the tone develops. And the action of a larger grand actually has longer keys, not the part you see, but behind the fallboard. So there is a different feel, particularly when you get to six, seven, and nine-foot pianos.

So it's twofold. One, the condition of the piano you have currently. If it requires a lot of work, you might want to consult your piano technician to see, is it worthwhile putting money into that instrument? Otherwise, maybe you should be looking for another piano. And the second is the level you're playing, is it achieved, and if the piano is keeping up with you. Uprights have slower actions. You may need the speed of at least a baby grand or even a larger instrument as you become more advanced.

Thanks for the great question, and I'll see you next time here on LivingPianos.com and VirtualSheetMusic.com.

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