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Hello,

Would truly appreciate some advice from piano teachers here.

I managed to scrape through grade 8 last year and wish to pursue a diploma. Since I finished my exam, I've practised infrequently as I was busy getting married and moving to my mother-in-law's place. I'm currently staying with my mother-in-law and have no access to a good piano--there is a 15-year-old upright Schimmel that has been 'restored', but the keys are very sticky. I've got a digital piano that I've been practising basic scales on, just so I won't lose touch. My new house will be ready by June next year (and that's when I can start regular lessons again, and when I can get a new piano), but until then, I guess I only have a digital piano to work with. What are some other things I can work on during this interim period? Would it be advisable to get regular lessons at a teacher's place but practice on my digital piano?

Thanks!:)

I have taught, with some success, both beginner and advanced students who only have a keyboard to practice on. The better the quality of the keyboard, the better for you. Is it fully weighted? Have 88 keys? At least 2 pedals?

Also, as you have passed grade 8, I would suggest pulling out your grade 6 & 7 books, spend time each day bringing those pieces you learned to high polish and add to them the selections you didn't learn. Get everything memorized as well; try playing a small recital for friends and family. This will cause you to be super critical in honing your skills.

Is there a church nearby with a serviceable instrument? You may contact them and see if they'd be willing to let you practice on it in exchange for playing for a service or two, just be very specific on what you will do.

I had to practice on a digital piano this summer, and my technique really suffered. My Roland FP-7 isn't not low-end, but not the highest end either in digitals. Still, playing advanced music on it was a bit frustrating. You have an instrument you can practice on , so I'd say keep up the lessons if you can. It certainly would help.

I have a Yamaha CLP-230, so I guess that's decent for practice?

I jumped from grade 5 to grade 8, and have lost my grade 5 books because those were quite a while ago. Would learning grade 6 and 7 pieces now, without the guidance of a teacher, be any good? Or would I risk learning/ practising the wrong things?

There is a church nearby, but am not sure they'd be open when I can practice, maybe unless i jump over the walls... and I've to overcome my shyness!

Thanks for your advice about the lessons!

Without the guidance of a good teacher, you're always risking this, regardless of what you practice (because it's more the how you're practicing than the what). Practice what you enjoy most and/or what will help you to reach your goals.

Actually, it's not ideal for that level of playing. I recently had to practice on my digital piano (Roland FP-7) for a few months this summer, and it really affected my technique negatively. It may be good to use as a last resort, but if you can get into that church to play at least 1-2 times per week even that would be better than playing the DP exclusively.

If you can't get a teacher, then playing anything is better than playing nothing until you can get a teacher. Why restrict yourself to music that is in those grades? I would select whatever inspires you and give it a shot. Even if it's out of reach, you can learn from it. Bad habits will most likely creep in regardless, but that is a fact of life. When you can start lessons again, they'll be dealt with.

Thanks haha...I realise I asked a stupid question

Try to find out what the Schimmel requires to improve the touch. Perhaps you can get a tuner/technician to inspect it. Perhaps, it's just a question of some regulation or changing the humidity. If you can help your mother-in-law with this issue, it will be a feather in your cap.

Thanks! I've just gotten someone to tune it & fix it a little today, and he'll be coming by next week to do a second tuning. The Schimmel is much better!:D The action is still not that consistent and touch is not as responsive as a new piano's, but i was quoted about $650usd for regulation, so am not sure if it's worth that investment. It's already much better to play now. Am so excited; plonked my baby niece on the bench and got her dancing to some tunes

I just reread your original post and am now wondering why a 15 year old Schimmel would need to be restored. Was it involved in some kind of accident? How would it have sticky keys? Did someone spill soda on it? A 15 yr old Schimmel should only need minor touch ups, however $650 sounds very reasonable if the tech is going to remove and adjust the entire action, reform the hammers, etc.

I would get a 2nd quote on the regulation, seems rather spendy for an upright. But glad it's much better to play on, and hopefully you can upgrade in the future.

The clp-230 is a rather decent digital. It's not a toy keyboard. It has weighted keys.





Depending on the condition of the Schimmel, both of these might be good, serviceable practice instruments.

As far as the church is concerned, at most times of the day/evening, church pianos are lonely beasts just waiting for a human to come and play them. No need to be shy. The sanctuary is usually empty. That would give you access to a grand.

Not really; I just spend $450 having my Boston regulated, but no work needed to be done on keys. She's got sticky keys, so either there's contamination or the wood needs sanding/filing down. Either case, several hours of work involved.

I totally agree, but I'd like to point out that I practically got screamed at by a couple people when I tried to point out the same thing, but with different words.

I have the "nerve" to say, in another thread, that practicing wrong is worse than not practicing because of damage done. I tried to point out that wrong things are learned without a teacher, and that those wrong things, when practiced, can often take a long time to fix.

Funny thing: when I explain this to my own students and their teachers, they understand what I mean.

If that's the case, the instrument might not be worth it. That money might go better toward a better instrument in the future if this is a short-term piano (a year or less). Any more time than that and it's probably worth the investment in the long run.

I just realized that the OP lives in Singapore; a very humid climate. The Schimmel is a top grade instrument, generally pricing out 50% or more than a similar sized and high grade Yamaha. In Germany, their prices start out around $12k USD for the smallest model and climbs to $23,000 USD for the top of the line upright. I'd put the money into the instrument.

I would agree, if athdara owned the instrument. I get the sense, however, that s(he) merely has access to it. Putting a large amount of money into it for just a short period of use may not make sense if s(he) has access to the CLP-230 and/or a good practice instrument elsewhere (like the lonely church piano).

It is one or two levels above the instrument I'm using.

As it's her mother-in-law, it makes for an interesting conundrum. Some in-laws would take great offense if you offered to repair something, others would be delighted. Obviously if the family dropped that kind of money on a top grade instrument, it would be worthwhile to maintain it. How much use athdara would get out of it is unknown to us. However, if she plans to use it several hours a day for a year, repairing it would be a bargain, and certainly preferable to using a keyboard. Perhaps she could reach a deal where they split the cost 50/50 in exchange for her unlimited use during the coming year.