Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum What to do..part 2

Well, in my quest to try and find access to an acoustic piano to practice on, (since I live on 2nd floor in apartment building), I have contacted local university, two churches, and two piano dealers. The results? Absolutely nothing. I even offered to pay to practice at the dealers. I cannot remember if I offered to pay at the churches. Anyways, nothing. So, after one year of not playing, my quest continues...

I had a Yamaha P something, but got rid of it 2 years ago, I did not really like it, sound and touch, just not that good. So, what is left? Is the only option open, is to buy another keyboard? If there is no other way, I can get the funds to do this, but, I prefer acoustic practice.

Appreciate your comments or suggestions..

Thanks..

C

Have you tried the newer digitals? They are improving by leaps and bounds.

I just upgraded to a Kawai CN33 and the difference between the touch and sound of this digital vs. the prior CN line is like night and day. My friend who has had a career in music swears it plays and sounds like acoustics she has played. And the CN line is the least expensive of the Kawai line and the 33 is the middle of the line – (you probably would want to avoid the 32) -- the 34 has some more bells and whistles that for me were not worth the extra dollars.

If you haven’t tried the newer digitals you might be surprised – Yamaha has a new model called the NU1 – I think it’s quite a bit more expensive – but it’s supposed to be phenomenal --

Living here in Paradise (aka Florida) the digitals now make more sense if one does not have extra money for more frequent tunings given the climate down here.

I concur, I'd try out some DPs. You might be surprised.
I live in a trailer, so don't have room for an acoustic. I also really don't have enough cash to properly care for one. I could manage tunings, but anything else would be a stretch. So for me, a digital makes sense,
I run mine through a small PA, and it sounds great. I have also run it through my home stereo, which also sounds great. I think it makes all the difference in the world to run it through something other than the onboard speakers.
Take some quality headphones and go try a few. As I said, you might be surprised.
There are those here who won't be happy with anything less than an acoustic. However, I think it's important to note that there is a thing called living within one's means, as well as recognizing the wisest course of action. For me, both of those mean a digital.

As above.

Because I learnt my bread and butter on a CDP, acoustic pianos feel a bit too light to my hands.

Therefore it sounds like I'm bashing the keys.

Seriously some of the newer stuff feels quite nice.

Just thought of something else to do with the new digitals – on many of them you can adjust the touch – and it can make a difference. After all, in the acoustic world some brands/models have a significantly different touch – heavier or lighter.

On my Kawai CN33 there are 5 “levels” of touch – Normal, then toward the lighter direction, one a bit lighter and one even lighter – then in the heavier direction one for those with a bit heavier touch and the next for an even heavier touch. For me, one step in the lighter direction makes a huge difference –

So check out this feature if you go to try them. Also, adjusting reverb depending on the room conditions in which you play can significantly affect the sound.

Many nursing homes and assisted living places have pianos and would welcome you with open arms. At least i've not found one that would not. And it seriously doesn't matter how good you are.

Also maybe a music student would let you play for a fee to help them out with their student loan- try putting an ad in your nearest university.

I'd recommend posting in the Digital Pianos forum and asking for their advice, or, since similar requests have been made in the past, simply perusing through past threads. There are innumerable quality digital pianos in terms of sound and touch, even more when factoring in virtual pianos for sound; I'd recommend broadening your search as acoustics, while nice, aren't necessarily always designed for second-floor apartments

How about placing a local ad?

There must be someone with a piano who would be willing to take your $$ in exchange for listening to you practice.

I wish it were that easy in Canada. Not so it appears. I found they were quite receptive to the volunteer entertainment offer, but there was a lot of bureaucracy involved to fulfill the offer:

1.) formal letter from the placement nursing home (in this example) to the Police Services board, to request permission for voluntary personnel if not already in place.

2.) National Record Clearance checks "Vulnerable Sector Screening"

3.) Plus, proof of recent TB and other medical checks.

I gave up about half way through, when I started getting run around for additional documentation. Seems it is easier to get a paying job in Canada.