Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Poll (sort of): Will the 'acoustic piano' become a relic?

I thought of doing a tally, but even if I had the stick-to-it-iveness to go through with it, which I'm not sure I would have I said the heck with it after going back over the first few posts because I wouldn't have known how to score some of them.

My impression is that it's pretty heavily in favor of "not relic," but with a substantial minority saying "relic."

Maybe something like (just making up these numbers) 55% not-relic, 30% relic, 15% "hey that's an interesting question, I can see it either way."

I'm not posting very much on the thread but reading everything and getting a lot out of it. What I'm getting:

-- There are stronger reasons for "never be a relic" than I'd thought.

-- I'm particularly glad to see so many fans and owners of DP's arguing "not relic."

-- Very interesting to see the analogies people are making and how they're being compared to the acoustic-vs.-digital-piano question, especially the harpsichord stuff.

-- Something I hadn't thought of before but what this thread has me thinking....I don't know if anybody said exactly this, but there've been a few posts hovering around it....
The DP has been mostly an attempt to mimic the acoustic piano. But, electronic keyboards can do a lot more than that. When I first became aware of the synthesizer, around when Moog first introduced his, I don't think there was any notion that it would mimic the piano; it was a new thing of its own, with new and unique possibilities of its own. The idea wasn't to try to be a piano, but to be all that it could be, which arguably was much more than a piano. (And of course we could say also less, but the "more" is still true.)

Moog didn't invent the synthesizer. What he did was add a piano-type keyboard to it, which made it easier to play and more accessible for more people, and which (I think) led to DP's. The whole tenor of the posts on this thread has me wondering if maybe the future of "DP's" -- DP's per se -- is NOTHING, because electronic keyboards will forget about trying to mimic a piano since it is unnecessarily limiting on what the electronic keyboard can do, and it'll go back to being a syntesizer, only this time it'll be made for the mass market.

Aren't you glad you asked....

Welcome to 2173....

Many if not most DP's mimic multiple instruments. The one that I use for gigs is a full-blown synthesizer that mimics nearly everything.

At first I was aghast that anyone would write such a thing on this forum.

On further reflection, there is likely some truth to it. Those of us for whom a piano is the most precious thing in the world have those rich people to thank for keeping the piano industry in existence.

So, when the piano becomes a relic, there will be no more piano recitals. Or people are going to travel and pay money to hear some virtuoso evoke the recorded sounds of an obsolete instrument?
Count me out.

I will be obsolete long, long before the acoustic piano will be. Some suggest I am already

Cheers!

I had to remind myself what the heck an “acoustic piano” was ... (in the broad light of day) and looked up Wikipedia ... to discover that my Grotrian Steinweg (what a treasure) apparently is one of same ...
being classified as “upright” by the blokes who know all about it.

Quite agree with BruceD who thinks that he will be long since gone before acoustic pianos bite the dust ... and I'm older than him but not dead yet.

Still smelling the rose ... regards btb

I had the idea that people buy grand pianos to play them and are willing to pay for quality work, sound and touch...this is what I am looking for and I am willing to pay much more than what I could actually afford for it.

Yet the piano dealer told me that a large proportion of his clients are more interested in how the piano looks and disklaviers are getting more popular... They also want a piano that is a known brand (which around here means Yamaha or Steinway if there's a lot to spend), even if they could have good quality with less money.

I guess people who have money but are not serious about piano playing are a good thing, if they keep the acoustic piano industry alive as a whole, maybe giving more options to those of us who really want an instrument instead of furniture.

EDIT:
Some of you probably don't know how lucky you are...the market for quality used grands around here is almost non-existent...I would actually prefer an older instrument, but they are really difficult to find. The piano dealer had one small Kawai and one (white) Yamaha when I went there. Not much private market either.

The Finnish chappie (who obviously values a quality piano) might like to know that age has little to do with good sound ... as long as the piano has been played frequently over it’s lifetime ...
My Grotrian Steinweg piano was built in 1912 in Germany ... and after being reconditioned recently is sound as a bell.

It is always wise to use an expert in the purchase of a piano.

Sure.

Thanks for the detailed analysis.

I don't know if we are. In my experience they're hard to find anywhere, if we're talking about one that's well-maintained and in good shape and (if we're picky) that we really like. I prefer them too, but only once in my several piano shoppings did I find one that was suitable.

A fortepiano or a chamber music inclined grand piano without the MODERN, SPACE AGE, FILL THE D**N AUDITORIUM SHOUTING TENDENCIES would be a welcome addition indeed.

Recently attended a three hour Haydn recital of Ronald Brautigam on a fortepiano and it was already plenty loud enough for the mid-sized Muziektheater aan het IJ...and this instrument would have been much preferable to listen to in my living room than my Kawai grand...(although 3 hours of Haydn sonates is enough on any instrument).

Ideally, one should own a fortepiano for Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert; and Pleyel and Erard grands for Chopin and early Liszt. That would spare our ears from the excess loudness of modern grands which should be reserved for later Liszt, Brahms and beyond....

I think the few people who will be interested in the old classical music for piano a few centuries from now (assuming for the sake of argument that there are any people left) will just listen to the old recordings and be satisfied with that. Sure, there may possibly be a few specialists who still play, and a few builders who make and repair instruments.

At present, all signs seem to point to people in the future relying exclusively on electronics for their sounds. And because of that, the interest in trying to create fake pianos via electronics will die out, because it's inherently pretty silly. It's silly in the same way that trying to make plastic look like wood is silly. Or trying to make movies look like stage dramas is silly. Or trying to make tofu pass as a hamburger is silly. It's all about being bogus, and while such things may serve a transitional purpose, even for a few generations, they typically do not survive.

But you never know...things always seem to take weirdly unpredictable turns.

The writing is already on the wall - the vast majority of people now are passive 'participants' (recipients) in music - they just listen to music on their iPods or computers, and can't play any instrument or sing.

Or they pride themselves in 'creating' and mixing playlists and call it a 'performance'. Anything that requires long effort over many years - learning classical piano for instance - is not worth the hassle. It's the age of instant gratification, reality TV shows, etc.

Just get a keyboard, press a button for the built-in rhythms and automatic chords, play a one-finger tune and you've got everything, with minimal effort.....

An acoustic piano doesn't allow you to do that. How much longer will it survive? If it hadn't been for East Asians taking up playing the piano in their millions, will there still be an acoustic piano industry?

As someone who has played and used digital pianos professionally ever since the early Kurtzweil (still a great piano sound!) in 1988 (actually far earlier with the first Emu sampler) up until the latest Roland V-piano and Nord's (and the ubiquitous collection of software library's, I can say, with utmost surety, that in no way will digital ever catch up with acoustic!

Digitals are great for practice at home late at night, or other situations where neighbourly concerns are paramount. They are great when played in a heavier (and there's nothing wrong with the gravity here in Sweden) orchestral situation; fusion, rock, blues, etc. Even playing classical chamber music in venues that don't have a piano a digital can suffice (I use a Roland Fp-7; ok sound, ok built-in speakers).

But no way will a heap of bytes put into plastic ever compete with a living breathing amalgamation of metal, bronze, wood, (some plastic) built with love and literally centuries of craftsmanship.

You sound prejudiced against rich people.

There is nothing wrong in any way about buying a piano purely for its looks or purely for furniture. Your motives for buying a piano are not superior to those who buy it for furniture although you seem to think they are.

Er....are you sure about all that? (Maybe for some pianos and some brands....)

OK, OK! A dead, airless amalgamation of urethane, polyester, velcro, built with pay-by-the-hour and decades of automation and cybernation. What's the difference.....

But seriously folks.... love your answer, Chrisbell!!

First of all, I never wrote your first quote. Secondly I was merely surprised about the motives of some people buying musical instruments that are costly and take a lot of space. I did not make any value judgement about their motives, just revealed my own. Personally I would rather buy some art to look at...

Sorry for my confusion. I mistakenly thought you had written part of the post you quoted.

I have seen too often people complaining about other people's motives for buying a piano, that some... especially "rich" people only buy them as furniture, that these people are somehow undeserving of a piano or that it's terrible that they buy them for the wrong reasons while some serious musicians can't afford a nice grand.

But you are not guilty!