Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Will a 7-footer be too big for my living room?

I think it's impossible to know for sure. I have a Mason BB in a 12x18x8 living room but the room opens to a hallway at one end and a dining room/kitchen at the other end. I also play with the lid down but hinge folded back.

Since your room opens into another room, I think the size of your piano room would be considered larger than what you posted, and this would make the chances of things being OK greater.

One possibility would be to ask the dealer(if that's who you'd be buying from)if you could try the piano out for a few days, and if it doesn't work out have the option to return. If you agree to pay the shipping costs both ways they might agree. That way you'd only lose at most 2K if the piano is just too loud. Also, make sure your tech is available when the piano is delivered to adjust the tone if necessary.

That calculation in Piano Buyer is based on a long ago dismissed myth that bass waves need room to develop. That simply isn't true and a moments thought about bass waves and headphones will show it to be the gibberish that it is. In terms of your space, I think you can put any piano you want in there and I wouldn't agonize over the difference between a 6 and a 7 footer.

Kurt

Wasn't that article written by an acoustical engineer? If so, would he presumably know about a long ago dismissed myth?

Thanks to everyone for your feedback!

The potential piano is at a private buyer, and not even in my state, so if it even gets to that point I'll be visiting and deciding whether to commit. Someone else (some complicated transaction) has first dibs so it could go either way right now.

Sounds like I'll either be okay sound-wise or can reduce the sound by playing with the lid closed. So I feel confident that if I love the piano, that it will be okay

If it's beyond what you can afford, perhaps you should look at some 9' grands. They're actually less expensive on the used market, because fewer buyers are willing to devote that much floor space to a piano. I have one in a space about the size of yours, it works just fine. The piano does have to be voiced for the smaller space, though, so don't start with one that has rock-hard hammers. I got lucky and found one that was voiced for home use to begin with.

Pianos actually don't have "power" -- it all comes from your muscles. What they do have is more or less efficiency in transferring the energy from your fingertips to the air. One thing I notice with a big piano at home is that I get accustomed to not having to work all that hard. Playing a 5'1" baby grand at a dinner for 600 people becomes an unexpected workout.

Oh goodness, I had to laugh! Thank you for the suggestion, but 7'4" is about the limit of what I can fit. I think we will still be able to walk from the living room into the dining area, but might have squeeze sideways around the piano.

Also, it's one particular piano that I loved, that just happens to be 7'4", and the used one that I might have an opportunity to buy sounds like it's a very special instrument (was deemed to be "the best" of 25 pianos on a Bosendorfer Tour by both the owner and the staff, according to the owner). I'm still waiting to see if I have a chance with it....

Given that it's from a private seller, what kind of space is it in now, and how does it sound there?

It's actually in another state, and if it falls through with the other potential buyer I'll be flying out to play it. But I just talked to the tech who services it (just hung up!) and he will be there as well if I go out there. He said he's experienced this piano in three different locations now.

I agree with this, Kurt. I have a old friend who lived in an efficiency apartment. He had a sofa, a table, a bed, 2 chairs, and a 9 ft. grand.

The piano could certainly be overpowering, but he usually played it at a mp and it was so well regulated that he could easily get a pp from it that was almost a whisper. That pp still had wonderful breadth to it that couldn't be gotten from an upright or small grand.

My 2 cents,

My room is 4.2 x 5.2 metres and the piano is 2 metres long. So roughly similar dimensions. It works well.

Ah, that brings up the issue of climate change -- Not global warming, whether the humidity and temperature it's in now matches where you live. If they differ significantly, you may have some regulation and tuning expenses to adapt to the new climate.

I have a 7 foot Mason-Hamlin BB in a small, I mean, SMALL, bedroom. I do have carpet, but if you put a thick carpet under the piano, it should be fine. Bosies are not always that loud anyway.

For many years I had a Bosendorfer Imperial in a room about double yours and it worked great for me unless some of my real pianist friends came over.

The Bosie 225 is a wonderful piano and I think will do well your place.

Thanks for all the feedback! I'm gonna go play it in less than 2 weeks (btw, CA to OR, I'm not worried about climate difference). Geez, time is passing slowly. Let's see how it goes

Although the OP's room(which is in effect much larger than the dimensions given because it opens into other spaces) may be fine for the 225, I find the several posts saying that any piano will work in any room rather ridiculous. If one imagines the smallest enclosed room(with no opening except a normal width door) a given piano could fit in, I think the correct statement would be closer to NO piano would work under those circumstances. A 7' piano in an enclosed room 6' by 11'??

Frank Lloyd Wright stuck the tail of a piano out of a room through a hole in the wall into a stairwell.

A family friend who is a dealer told me that a church purchased a piano, needed to put it on a high platform, and told the contractor the size for the platform--the length of the piano, seven feet. The poor pianist (would have) had to play standing up with arms overhead--no place to sit. In a room, there must be room to sit at the piano!

If you really love the piano, I'm convinced you can make it work in almost any space. Consider this: I live in a very small studio apartment with a digital piano and now a 5'8 grand. With the new grand, I no longer have room to do a lot of dancing or work-outs, but the music is worth it to me. I was determined to make my living space fit around the pianos because I place a high priority on playing music. Others might see my setup and think it's a bit over the top, but I think it is a reflection of my priorities. Tinkering around with soundproofing methods, you can make just about any piano work if you really want to!

"Almost any space"? How about an enclosed room just big enough to fit the piano? That would be about 6' by 10' for your grand, but i bet your studio apartment is much larger.

I would rather have power in reserve when I want it rather than asking and finding none available. That being said, I do not find my 9' to be any louder on average than any other piano, (SPL tested). However when called upon to project, it reaches every room in the house, there is no escape. Too much? Certainly so, but it matters not, you just have to adjust to keep control. Indeed a used 9' will cost less than a 7', simple supply and demand. What I have found is when the lid is down, more sound is directed to the pianist and indeed the tone is different. Is it actually louder? perhaps, but the perception is there. When the stick is full open the room comes into the equation much more and if it has issues (they all do) the results can be less than desirable and require some treatment to achieve athe sound you are looking for. Good luck, the Bosie 225 is a fantastic piano.

Hence the qualifying word "ALMOST." It's preposterous to think anyone is talking about putting a piano in a room physically smaller than the piano's actual dimensions. Come on, now.