Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Are you worthy of your piano?

Simple question, simple answer.

I have 2 pianos, a digital and a nice acoustic grand.

The digital I play all the time. I can easily discover new melodies and learn them easier and faster on the digital because the digital is just SO much easier to play. In addition, I can actually learn to play better on the digital because of the use of a pair of quality headphones.

The headphones allow me to hear very subtle variations in the sound being produced that the acoustical surroundings of my acoustic piano will not allow. In addition, I can (and often do) play very late at night which allows me much more practice time than if I only played the acoustic during normal hours due to all kinds of obvious reasons.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my big acoustic grand and play it when I want to really 'perform' something because the sound it can produce is incredible. However, I must admit that the vast majority of the time is spent playing and learning on the digital with significantly less time 'performing' on the acoustic grand.

So, the bottom line is YES, I am worthy of my Roland digital piano. Every penny I paid for it and then some. But I'm not sure if I am 'worthy' or if the cost of a big, expensive grand is 'worth it' for just an amateur hack noodling around at night.

I have absolutely no buyers remorse purchasing my digital for the reasons explained but many times I look over at the expensive acoustic grand and I start to wonder if that money couldn't have been better spent or invested. Especially when I think how much it costs to move and keep it professionally tuned.

I play every day so I'm happy, but I also feel guilty at the same time.

How about you. Are you worthy of the piano you are playing? Is it worth it to you? Do you deserve a better piano than what you are playing on? or do you feel a little guilty sometimes that you have an incredible piano that you hardly play?

Interesting question. I think if I had the gorgeous acoustic that you have, yes, I would question if I was "worthy" of it.

Even when I got my little Yamaha P112 upright I suffered qualms of "oh my, I've only been playing 10 months, how can I possibly DESERVE a real piano?"

I decided that to merit it, what I had to do was to play it. A lot, every day, to the best of my ability.

My piano was a gift (both my dp and my acoustic were gifts). I still say thank you to my husband -- it has turned out to be something we both enjoy very much - albeit from different perspectives.

So to answer your question...I DID feel a bit "unworthy" at first, but now I don't - and even if I had a better piano, I don't think I'd let myself get into that mode of thinking again.

I think my old (1937) mediocre but servicable Kurtzmann small grand and I are pretty well matched. If I had anything better, I'd be in the uncomfortable position of that Oscar Wilde character who was daunted by the necessity of living up to his teapot. Anything worse, and I couldn't bear to practice.

To be honest, Mr. Super Hunky, you probably aren't worthy of your acoustic grand and you should pay a piano mover to ship it to me. I promise to give it a loving home.

Good question which I can't answer yet. I researched intently for a beginner dp and got my Yamaha P105 because it was the cheapest 88 key fully weighted dp with reasonable sound available. Even then I discussed why I was spending so much money to my wife. Of course there was the possibility I might not enjoy learning and give up, but that's not going to happen, I am hooked.
I will in a few years require a better instrument, so will question my worthiness then. However we can be funny creatures there, we can take a $5,000 two week holiday because we worked hard and "we deserve it", yet can stifle ourselves when buying an instrument that will give us a lifetime of enjoyment.

While I believe I live up to my teapot (great reference!), few things irk me more than someone with so much bloody money they spent $100k-plus on an instrument they have no idea how to play, have no intentions of learning how to play, and spend very little time enjoying. If you intend to learn, or are actively learning, then hey, buy the best thing you can afford and don't look back. Otherwise, you could have gotten a chair for much less..

I wish I'd thought of that!
Mind you, I don't think his piano would fit in my apartment!

I think of my piano as being kind of like a husband. My U3 is just totally comfortable and right. My piano and I are greatly in love with each other and spend lots of our free time together. At first I was rather over awed by it and the fact I owned it. Now it's just more like a familiar friend or relative whom I adore.

It is a thing of beauty, but not so much so that I find it intimidating. It's a very approachable piano and everyone it meets falls in love. I really need to stop personifying it so much though!!

Interesting question.

Mr Super-Hunky, I have read your post, here:

I have 2 pianos, a digital and a nice acoustic grand.

The digital I play all the time. I can easily discover new melodies and learn them easier and faster on the digital because the digital is just SO much easier to play. In addition, I can actually learn to play better on the digital because of the use of a pair of quality headphones.

The headphones allow me to hear very subtle variations in the sound being produced that the acoustical surroundings of my acoustic piano will not allow. In addition, I can (and often do) play very late at night which allows me much more practice time than if I only played the acoustic during normal hours due to all kinds of obvious reasons.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my big acoustic grand and play it when I want to really 'perform' something because the sound it can produce is incredible. However, I must admit that the vast majority of the time is spent playing and learning on the digital with significantly less time 'performing' on the acoustic grand.

So, the bottom line is YES, I am worthy of my Roland digital piano. Every penny I paid for it and then some. But I'm not sure if I am 'worthy' or if the cost of a big, expensive grand is 'worth it' for just an amateur hack noodling around at night.

I have absolutely no buyers remorse purchasing my digital for the reasons explained but many times I look over at the expensive acoustic grand and I start to wonder if that money couldn't have been better spent or invested. Especially when I think how much it costs to move and keep it professionally tuned.

I play every day so I'm happy, but I also feel guilty at the same time.

How about you. Are you worthy of the piano you are playing? Is it worth it to you? Do you deserve a better piano than what you are playing on? or do you feel a little guilty sometimes that you have an incredible piano that you hardly play?

_____________________________________________

I have a great 20 year old Clavinova that a year ago I dusted off 20 years of dust and started playing from book one of learning to play the piano. What you should know is that I had almost died say the doctors and friends but at the last minute I had a turn around and survived but was quite weak sitting and standing. So I thought if I sat at the piano and tried to play, it might distract me and enable me to sit longer. Well, in the process of learning the piano, I fell in love with playing the piano. But I felt I was missing someting from not having an acoustic and sought to find one. I got a chance for a second hand 3 legged 5 foot piano. I said no, because it was over my budget. I left the store and walked about a block and thought, "I almost died, and when you die, you can't take anything with you, so you have to give it all away - and that is cool. So I said to myself, why don't you (me) take a little money your mother left you and get the piano. Would I feel bad if I only got to play it for a day or two and died - and the answer was clear no, so I ran back to the store and bought the piano. The piano takes up half my livingroom, so I had to throw out the couch to make room for the piano in my tiny shack. For me, the acoustic piano is so awesome. It took me several months to adjust to the touch of the acoustic piano. I didn't think I would find a second hand piano played by a child that easily. I am 64, so that situation doesn't always happen that easily. No regrets, just love of the beast!

The digital weighted keys Keyboard I bought for 600 dollars because I was too weak to sit at the piano and I wanted to play very badly everyday, so the digital keyboard I put on my livingroom floor on concrete blocks, slid underneath the piano and played on my back for about 6 months using clothes pegs to hold the music and tilted the piano/keyboard at the right angle to play it.

So both the digital and the acoustic are great but different. The digital keyboard yam p95 has all these things like recording and other stuff, but I am only interested in pure piano and not the digital stuff except that it is 45 pounds and can be carried to a hospital or wherever.

I play both but mostly the digital late at night so that people walking by don't hear me playing and know the shack has a piano in it, criminals, you know. Not that they could easily carry it away but they might think I have something of value and I don't.

I have a bottom of the heap Kohler and Campbell baby grand. Some days it is not worthy of me. Some days, I am not worthy of it. Generally, though, we have a good time together.

If I was smart, I'd just get a nice upright, but piano and rationality don't seem to be related much.

I didn't think that I could justify spending big bucks on a new grand, or even not-so-big bucks on a used grand. So I rescued an old grand that was a basket case and rebuilt it. I have a few thousand dollars invested in it, and it's very much a working piano. Not an option for everyone, but the rebuilding gave me a lot of pleasure as well as the fun I have playing it now. I really love my 1927 Bechstein Model L.

Sam

Right now I play a DP and I'm happy with it. When my play gets better, I think I deserve a better piano. It should be in balance. No need for an expensive piano when I only play beginner pieces.

It always reminds me of a industrial designer who had the honour to design a special anniversary steinway grand. In a interview after he designed the grand, he said he felt the biggest sorrow for not having learnt to play.

So my piano needs to meet up my skills.

Sam, I'm going to be honest and say that I wish I had a story like yours to put behind my big Mason.

I love everything about the quality and sound it can produce but I'm the type of person who would rather buy a used lawn mower for $35 bucks and fix it up to better than new condition for much less. It is your personal time and effort that makes it so special.

I just happen to be at the right place and circumstances at the time of purchase that it would be stupid not to make the purchase. Basically one of those very rare 'buy lower than dealer cost' situations that actually was true. Recession!

Also, maybe I'm weird on this but it is not any specific sound signature that appeals to me but rather just the melody itself. A beautifully haunting melody sounds just as nice to me whether it be performed on a Yamaha or a Steinway. Whatever, I don't really care as long as the melody appeals to me. [Of course nobody likes a tune playing on anything that sounds crappy.]

I got a great deal on a brand new piano but it lacks any substance behind it. I wish I had a story like yours to back it up but I don't.

Am I worthy of my piano? Heck no.

Am I grateful every day that I have the opportunity to butcher beautiful music on it? Heck yes.

Your piano should be better than you are. You get better with practice, it doesn't. So, what you should have is a piano that won't be limiting you for at least a few years. Repetition is one of the more important criteria. Your piano should easily be able to go faster than you can.

Mr SH: When I was a young man I took up guitar, on a cheap 30 dollar instrument,
and I dreamed that owning an expensive Gibson L5..it didn't happen, but my playing
improved without it, I ended up with a Epiphone Emperor Regent...but I became
"one with the guitar" ...my hope is one day I'll become "one with the piano"
and get an acoustic grand, but for now I'll use my Yamaha P60

I had a similar story Bob Newbie, bought a cheapo acoustic at age 14 and now have two beautiful custom made acoustics. But my playing improved each time I got a better guitar. I am wondering if piano players find they improve in leaps when they graduate to a better instrument.

Interesting thinking, MrSH.



Even being a beginner. I'm not below my IvoryII. I could improve on it. I don't want to play that audiophile game again. Maybe someday. It does vastly improve upon the performance of my Midi controller. Versus using the onboard sound. Wanting a better keyboard. Better computer, better sound box.
I'm also in an apartment. Nice roomy large apartment. But an apartment. An acoustic is out of the question for me now.
Yet...
With my experience as an audiophile. Live is always better. When it doesn't include PA systems, etc.
You ever notice that anything real these days is expensive?
You can't get quality without paying for it.
Even then, realize. It is decomposing right before your eyes. It isn't permanent. Can't be. Only what you do on it with your heart can be permanent.

My brother tells me about his co-workers. They all had four wheelers, jet skis, all kinds of toys. They wasted lots of money. Not to mention Harleys. Doh! Now they're getting too old for those things. They can't enjoy them. So now they throw money into their 4 wheel drive diesel pickups. They've never learned.

What is the point to learn? What do you get out of what you spent money on? Is it something more than amusing and entertaining yourself? Is it more than just possessing more to fulfill wanting?

People get the most out of music when it comes from themselves. Doesn't have to be good. When the heart expresses itself. That is what is most important. You don't have to worry about your ego. To be worthy of that grand. You just need to enjoy it. How the keys play, how it expresses sound. Electronics can't quite duplicate it. No matter how good the electronics get. They are generic. That grand is natural.

If I could afford it. I would get a grand in a heart beat. I need to buy a house first.

I'm in the same position as Mr. S-H in that I've got a nice digital piano and a much nicer grand. I also play the digital more than the grand mostly because I'm awake at night a lot and it gives me an opportunity to use the "white hours" in the middle of the night for something useful.

I doubt my playing will ever get to the point where I'm "worthy" of my grand but it is something to aspire to and I enjoy playing it nonetheless. From a return on investment point of view though the digital definitely wins in my case.

I have a rebuilt 1918 Mason & Hamlin BB. I read Larry Fine's book on how to buy a used Piano from cover to cover many times before I went looking for a grand piano. Very little was availble near me. And when I found this one piano within driving distance, I thought I should go look at it to practice going over an instrument. The surprise of my life was to find this M & H was the piano of my dreams. It's definitely better than I am. But am I worth it? You bet!! I know what I have and I appreciate it. I'm in love with this piano. It has an incredible sound and is so responsive to anything I try and do on it. My piano tuner says it's a concert quality instrument. I know it is making me into a better pianist than I would be without it. I am very lucky to have found it.