Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Do you attend conventions?

I would like to get an idea on how many piano teachers belong to any sort of teacher's organization/guild, and whether you attend annual conventions (ie, MTNA or MENC or MYC and so forth).

With these new Lomence pianos we represent across North America, would it be worthwhile to exhibit and attend any teacher gatherings that take place throughout the continent?

Thank you in advance for your input.

i used to be a waitress at a restaurant near a convention hotel.. Let me tell you the MTNA conventions were the best.. the happiest participants ever. They were so fun to wait on because they were so excited and having fun.

What's the price point on Lomence pianos?

Looking at them briefly, it seems they have an unusual construction, which means teachers (who are on a budget) are going to be wary of purchasing them, especially if they're expensive.

If they're not priced competitively with Yamaha and Boston, it's going to be a tough sell to teachers.

That being said, MTNA is probably the largest convention, although NCKP gets a decent number to attend.

MENC is largely made up of public school teachers, many of whom make purchasing decisions regarding pianos, so if Lomence pianos are inexpensive and rugged enough to survive in a public school, it may be worth attending.

Thanks for the input!
Sounds like the conventions might be a great route to help build brand awareness and let teachers get a feel of the piano and its quality.

The pianos are priced between $8995 to $9995 as MSRP and are either 48.5" or 50". Slightly lower than Yamaha U1's I believe.

Schools are definitely a significant market for Lomence pianos.
If you've seen a few of the pictures and think about young children in a music class setting, why on earth would a school use a black or brown traditional-looking piano? In every classroom, the walls are saturated with visuals that are appropriate according to the level of the students in that room. Why not have a piano that will keep kids excited about going to music class and wanting to get their own chance at trying out the cool piano.

The larger conferences generally have piano displays. We even have them at the state level conferences. However, your best bet may be to head to NAMM and if your firm has a European rep, Musikmesse.

FWIW, looking at the current offerings of Lomence pianos, I consider none of them suitable as a serious studio teaching instrument. Of course, the instrument has to be a quality instrument, but only a few makes offer a case configuration which is amenable to teaching. By this I mean, the piano desk configuration. The ideal is the one Steinway came up with and implemented in their Boston model UP-118S. Music, notes, paper, pencils, markers, etc., can be supported the full width of the instrument. A few other manufacturers make similarly useful instruments.

Thanks John

We did in fact, debute these pianos at NAMM this past January!
See photos at www.facebook.com/lomencepianos and check the photo albums.

I understand your input on the piano desk configuration. It is difficult to identify, but the music rest shoulder is quite deep, enough to easily accommodate a hymn book even. You probably refer moreso to the length not running left to right a more substantial distance, and this has been addressed with changes coming down the pipes so to speak.

As for quality, some of the 'piano greats' of the PTG (Pianos Technician Guild) sat down at NAMM 2012 to give them a try, and they were given stamps of approval in every case as capable, decent instruments.

Any others? Comments. Teacher convention feedback?

Thank you.

Not questioning the build quality, but as I will be at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in just a few short weeks, I'll certainly try one.

The piano market for teachers is very small compared to the overall market. Our needs are somewhat different, which is what I was addressing. BTW, I like to use my pencil to tap rhythms and beats on the arm of the piano as the student is playing. This causes spot wear and tear on the instrument. I suspect a teacher would be unlikely to feel quite so free with a "pretty" furniture type finish.

You might also check into MTAC's annual convention in California. It's pretty big and there are always piano dealers there. This year it will be in San Diego, end of June for 5 days.

www.mtac.org

I'd like to know from John what the Frankfurt Musikmesse is all about. Is it like NAMM? Or an MTNA Convention? That's a far distance to travel for a music convention.

In general, it's more of a trade show than anything else. I haven't attended any NAMMs so I cannot offer you a comparison between the two. I like to attend the Messe because it was something I frequently did while living in Germany. The emphasis in recent years has leaned more and more to stage production, so if you're a performing musician who gets into the technical aspect of production, or have a side business in the recording arts (as I record school groups, mostly as a favor to friends) this is a great place for getting ideas. But I suspect NAMM could serve the same purpose.

Last year, I was bitterly disappointed as the major European piano makers had boycotted the Messe. Why, I don't know. I was really nice to get hands on with all the brands, in all the different sizes. Hopefully, they'll be back this year. And this year will probably be my last, as long distance travel is becoming difficult for me. I also spent the better part of one day just perusing the music publishers. Lots of editions you've never heard of, with music from all over the world.

In general, my opinion is the average American or Canadian teacher would be better served making it to a state level or national level pedagogy conference, where the focus is strictly on the art of teaching. Many of these conferences have at least decent representation from N. American publishers and distributors of the larger European, S. American and Asian publishing houses.

Oh, I should probably add for newer PW members that I have family near Frankfurt, so my expenses aren't much more than traveling within the USA.

John, I'm intrigued by this comment since I'm forever dropping my pencils on the floor and joking that someone needs to invent a pull-out 'piano desk' for people like me! I had a look online at pictures of the UP-118S but can't tell what you're referring to; do you mind clarifying?

John, this is what I mean about the piano desk. As you can see, from right to left: students assignment notebook. Music we're working on. Wise saying by Bach. Plenty of room on top for necessary junk to entertain parents and siblings.

BTW, my teaching piano is just to the right; you can see my student syllabus guide in the lower RH corner of the pix.

I'm not at all interested in how a piano looks. All I'm interested in is how it functions and how it sounds.

Hi dumdumDiddle

The Frankfurt Musikmesse is Europe's version of the NAMM show.
There are actually three such shows covering the globe with a fourth initiating itself for the first time this year:
Europe - Frankfurt Musikmesse
North America - Winter NAMM Show (Anaheim, CA)
Asia - Shanghai Music Show - (Shanghai, China)
...and starting this year - NAMM Musikmesse Russia (Moscow)

I believe the USA NAMM Show is the only one which does not include any days at all for the general public. All the others offer 1 or 2 days open to anyone and everyone.

There is very little, if anything, directed specifically for instrumental teachers/instructors at any of these shows. It is more about the actual musical products, new models being introduced and seminars on the industry and doing business in the music industry.

Without intending any offense whatsoever, can I play devil's advocate and ask you Minniemay:

If you were to buy your child a bicycle would you also be 'not at all interested in how it looks?' Would your child adopt it conceptually as their own, be drawn to ride it often, and get the maximum enjoyment and satisfaction if it had no appeal to them as a child whatsoever?

In a general sense, why has the piano industry dug its heels in with no cosmetic evolutions for over 100 years? Why are we seeing so many other activities catch the interest of our children? For their functionality? .....or are these other activities more attractive then grandma's old clunker or that shiny black piano that a child perceives as the fine dining room furniture that no one is allowed to touch?

Back 100 years, pianos were cool - in the eyes of children also! Today, yes, many things compete for our children's attention. If pianos want to survive, they better be packaged in such a way that children of today will see them as fun and cool. If this happens, these children will grow up and purchase the more refined black grand piano. If this doesn't happen, a generation from now there will be no market for the traditional piano because no one knows or cares how to play it.

I'm not really interested in students who see the piano as a novel toy. Students who experience the wonder of music-making are the ones who stay in lessons. They don't need something fancy-looking to do that.

I get what you're saying.
I guess I am left wondering one thing - Assuming quality and price are equivalent, if a student were to come along who stays in lessons because they experience the wonder of music-making, but desires a piano that to them is very appealing because of its aesthetics, would this be alright in your eyes?

I really do appreciate this dialogue as I consider it an opportunity to obtain information much like a focus group would provide.

I wonder would parents think that it might be a gimmick and that the child might tire of what they might view as a "novelty" instrument?
I'm just thinking of a fad for coloured violins which happened when my daughter was learning violin. It didn't seem to last, where I am, anyway. Of course there wasn't the element of seeing inside. Not that there's much to see inside a violin.

When I was a kid, all I cared about was how fast my bike went and what I could DO with it.

Musicians care about what their instruments sound like. You are pandering to people who care more about furniture than music.

Your pitch is never going to impress serious musicians. So get over it.