Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Would switching to a grand piano help my playing?

Hi, I am hoping to get some advice. I am 37 and practicing with the hope of taking my Grade 10 piano in a year. I have a Yamaha u1. I hate the color (walnut, bought it used) but like the piano, passed my Grade 10 on it 15 yrs ago, then stopped playing. I am very seriously considering buying a Grand (GC2 or C3) but I want to be realistic about what I expect from it. I play 1.5 hours per day average. The grands are beautiful pianos, but also a big investment. Would I learn better or be more effective with a grand?

I'm not sure whether you'll be better but you'll probably be much more inspired by the sound of a grand. As a result you may practice more.

In other words, I think you should also factor in the increased enjoyment of playing a bigger piano in trying to decide if the purchase is worth it.

It really depends on the individual, if you have to money and space then use.

Personally, my grand arrived 3 weeks ago and my technique has skyrocketed!
Pieces that would take me months on my old piano are literally taking hours. I've learnt 2 debussy preludes and a schubert impromptu since Monday.

I put that down to the better piano allowing my technique to flourish!

Pianoloverus has made a most important point here. It isn't just an objective, clinical matter concerning costs and measurable technical benefits. Creating music at an instrument is deeper and more emotional than these things. Speaking for myself I wouldn't swap my grand for anything else. I played it so hard over its first two decades I more or less buried the action and had to have it rebuilt, fortunately with excellent results, but there's no way I would switch to an upright or digital.

On the other hand, it may be that you would get just as much enjoyment from an upright; many good players do. Play a variety of grands. Let intuition, and emotional and musical response play a larger part in your decision. The right answer will be very obvious before too long.

Nothing is truer when it comes to picking your piano

One way to make up your mind might be to do some serious shopping, checking out dealers, instruments, prices. Part of the process is playing the candidates long enough to get a sense about them. Checking out lots of different makes and sizes, besides the one you have in mind, could help you get perspective it would be hard to acquire otherwise.

I can only tell you one thing for sure: don't get walnut veneer this time.

Wait. Your upright enabled you to pass the exam before.
It's still the same piano. Why can't you pass the exam
again on it? I'm not familiar with the grade 10 exam, but
I wonder why you're going to take it again, after you've
already passed it.

"Investment" is not the right word. An investment is
something you expect to increase in value over time,
while pianos decrease in value with time.

I think that deep down you already know the answer, but
don't want to face it. If a grand could improve your
playing, why stop with a GC2? Go all the way and get a
$100,000 concert grand. But you wouldn't do that because
you know a concert grand could not improve your playing.
Neither can a GC2.

Buying a GC2 on credit would be an act of insanity in
my opinion. You quit before. What happens if you buy
it and quit again? You'll be making payments that
you can ill-afford on it while it sits unused.

However all's not lost because there is an inexpensive
solution to your problem. Digital pianos. I've
found digitals to be the greatest thing that's ever
happened to pianists. They've been my salvation as
a pianist and have enabled me to progess from
advanced-intermediate pieces to big-time stuff
like the Chopin op. 14. I currently play a $600
digital and it serves better than any grand could.

Nothing to see here folks. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Horowitzian, I don't think you even play the piano or
even have a piano, certainly not the Steinway that you
claim. You're just copying stuff about pianos and
playing off the internet and posting it as your own words
and views.

Learn how to express yourself so that we can hear your
own words and opinions. And get a piano and learn
how to play.

I typically get more out of practicing on the grands at school than on my upright at home. Part of that may be because I have a 90yr old upright that has really old hammers (it still works much better than the uprights at school). A good, well regulated and voiced upright may be a better use of your money.

My suggestion is to find a grand piano you can practice on for a few days instead of your upright. What difference does it make for you? Can you do things on it that you can't at home? An option if you don't like the idea of practicing at a store, is if there is a university or college close to you that has their practice rooms open in the summer (although the pianos won't be very well tuned). Then you can answer for yourself if a grand would be useful for you.

In many cases, this is incorrect.



I would love to hear your Chopin. Please post a recording if you think of it. I'm not a fan of digitals, but to each their own.

This is what I mean. You can't find any sentences on
the internet that you can copy for a reply, and
so you post this ridiculous animation.

Thanks to Clef for the advice on Walnut veneers, believe me, never again! I thought it wouldn't bother me, and the price was great.

To Gyro, the reason I am redoing Grade 10 is that I had a 65 (pass) and to do the performer's diploma (ARCT) you need a 70 in Grade 10 in the RCM.

I "quit" piano because I did an undergrad degree and a postgrad degree while raising 3 kids and caring for my grandmother. I couldn't devote 2 hours a day to practice, it would have compromised my work, caregiving and parenting.

"Thanks to Clef for the advice on Walnut veneers, believe me, never again!"

It was your own advice--- no wonder you liked it.

When you're trying out grands, there are a few features that really do make them different from uprights, and you might see if it makes a difference for your technique. One is, the way the una corda pedal works to change tone color, since a less-used part of the hammer strikes the strings (and also, fewer strings are struck). An upright moves the hammers closer to the strings, which throws it out of regulation to make it quieter (but tone color is unaffected)--- it's an essentially hopeless problem; a workaround. Grands, of course, move the action sideways and the regulation is unaffected.

Few uprights have a working sostenuto pedal. Some feel it is essentially unnecessary, but a lot of classic works do benefit from its use (Ravel, Debussy, many others). If you don't have one, you can hardly develop the technique of using it.

Most grands have longer keys (I mean the part behind the fallboard), and the touch is different--- many say, easier to control, and it's possible to regulate the touch more the way it suits your playing style. Also, grands are able to repeat notes faster than an upright--- probably faster than most of us can go anyway, but having the headroom might mean you're not going to smack your noggin on the ceiling... or worry about it.

Then there's the sound. Longer strings, more exposed soundboard, top that lifts out of the way, removable music desk (boy does that make a difference in what you hear!), and better potential for voicing the hammers. That alone may not be enough; there are wonderful uprights and poorly-made grands, but yes, the sound you can produce does influence your technique.

Maybe others can point out other things. I can't say much about half-pedaling or some other techniques that I've heard about, but have little experience with. Anyway, I think you can make up your own mind and find what's going to work out best for you.

What type of upright "old piano" did you have before getting your grand? There are some awesome uprights. What frustrates me is when people assume that "a grand" is better than "an upright". Example:
I have a Steinway upright in excellent condition and while it does not have a sostenuto pedal, it offers everything I want in a piano to practice on, compared with all grands I've played with the exception of the very pricey ones I can't afford. I could go out and buy a cheap "grand", just to have a "grand", but it would have to be a darn good one to replace my upright.

I have an upright at home. It's a great upright - also a U1 However, I find that I play MUCH better on a good Steinway!

Unless the money isn't a big deal or you're deciding to get really serious (ie trying to pursue a career as a concert pianist or setting up a large teaching studio) I wouldn't think that a grand piano would be the best way to spend your money. This year I started practicing on my high school's grand piano 2-3 days a week (I have a Petrof upright that I am very indifferent to at home), I admittedly did see a large jump not only in my technique, but also in my ambition and love for the piano. Why not try to find a grand piano in a public or semi-public area that you can practice on for a few hours a day? There must be some library, performing space or school in your area that would be willing to let you practice on their grand piano if you ask their permission.

I think the motivation that switching to a grand gave me was responsible for any improvement in my playing. I don't think I could say the grand improved my technique, but rather, I had better control of the sound, and also, the nicer tone qualities that were produced gave me an incentive to play an extra hour or so per day.

I think if the determination is there to begin with, then an upright will be sufficient for any pianist. However, I can definitely see why having a grand piano instead will motivate you to play more, and as a result, improve.

Matthew

I know how you feel. After all, you completely ignored my reply.