5 Tips for Buying Your First Piano
Buying your first piano is an exciting and fun process, but one can also easily be overwhelmed by the options on the market and questions that arise during the shopping experience. Taking a moment to evaluate these five basics points might help you focus your search to find the right piano for your home and make the process more enjoyable.
1.See it in Person
A piano is an auditory, tactile, and visual entity. You simply can’t collect the kind of information that will replicate a few minutes playing, hearing, and seeing the piano you’re shopping for. Find local options where you can play the piano in person.
2. Go Big
Spinet pianos and small console pianos under 42” in height lack the string length to have a full range of sound. They also tend to be made for budget consumers and lack the build quality which would them stand the test of time. Look for at minimum a 44” studio piano. The width of any upright piano is about the same, so the actual footprint of a full size upright is really not going to take up much more space in your house.
3. Stay Young:
Considering taking Aunt Sue’s 100 year old piano for free? Don’t do it. It’s likely to be unserviceable or at best needing repairs from differed maintenance that will far exceed it’s value. If you’re unsure about the condition of a piano, hire a certified piano technition, or RPT to evaluate it. A list of piano technicians in your area can be found by search on the Piano Technician’s Guild portal.
4. Move it Right
Upright pianos can range in weight from a 300 to 600 lbs. Moving pianos safely takes the correct tools and know how. It’s simply not risking the potential liability of damage and injury to do it yourself. Call professional insured movers.
5. Keep up on it
Pianos are mostly wood. Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity seasonally. It’s ideal to have your piano tuned and serviced a minimum of twice yearly to keep it in tune and playing well. A good sounding, nicely playing piano will inspire your to practice, simple as that.