As some of you may know, I have a pretty sad piano. Today I was practicing at church (because I have my drivers license and I can do that now, go me ) on their lovely piano, in their auditorium with the lovely acoustics. I was amazed, because it sounded SO much better! I could actually create more than two dynamic levels and tone colors, and I didn't have to use the soft pedal the entire time. :rolleyes:

I've been thinking about getting a new piano for a long while... Having something at least decent to practice on would probably be a good thing. The only thing is, I'm a junior in highschool, I'm going to be moving out in about a year and a half. For people who have been where I'm at now, would it be worth spending the money to get a nicer upright to use for 19 months or so, or would I be better off waiting to get something really good later? In my area I can get a decent studio upright for about 1,200-1,300, and I can probably sell my piano for about 400-500. Thanks!

hm...normally I'm the crazy guy who encourages everyone to buy a crazy piano.

It depends, if you kind find a decent studio upright for a reasonable price, that is probably the minimum for a serious piano student...

On the other hand, if you can get access to someone else's nice piano on a regular basis, I like that idea - a lot. If you learn to save & invest...you'll be better off in the long run... I saved throughout high school and college - and bought a house to store the piano I planned to buy later. It worked out quite well.

While in high school I played on a terrible Wurlitzer grand (big improvement over the Wurlitzer spinet) - still, it got me going. Sometimes a neighbor will be kind if they have a piano they aren't using - perhaps "borrow" it for a couple of years - pay the moving expense - and keep it tuned for them>???

Ken

well, unfortunately I don't have any neighbors with nice, but unplayed pianos. There are a lot of pianos in the neighborhood, but mine is the best one unfortunately.

I can probably play at church about twice a week or so, which is great, but doesn't exactly cover the other zillion hours spent practice at home. I've been thinking that if I can get a decent piano now for a reasonable price, I can probably save and "trade up" later. I don't know. I'll have to think about this and see what I can find. thanks for the input!

In a word or two : All the difference in the world! Although condition (state of repair/maintenance) is often more important than the name on the fallboard.

Regards,

quite true about condition. I've played some pretty nasty steinways before! My piano is well maintained, but I recently discovered that the soundboard is laminated plywood, for one thing...

Quidam:

I am a purely amateur player, but I ALWAYS (in my own mind, at least) play better on a better instrument. I have much more joy on my new grand than I ever did on my lil' Wurtlitzer spinet.

On your present piano do all the keys work, does it keep tune, etc.? Do you have to $800 difference burning a hole in your pocket, and do the other uprights give you more joy and satisfaction? Could a couple $100 be put into your existing piano to bring it up to a higher level? (I have no idea -- some RPTs might answer that!)

Wish you were in my neighborhood -- you would be welcome over!

I know that you or others may be against this, but have you ever considered buying one of the newer digital pianos that cost less than 1,500 bucks? They are ideal for practice purposes, are very expressive and more often than not, they beat the hell out of a 5 or 6 thousand dollar upright, mainly because of the consistency of their sound, keyboard action and next to zero maintenance... I would check them out.

Q, and all...

RE: I was amazed, because it sounded SO much better! -------------

The reason we play the piano is for personal fulfillment and enjoyment of the music we are playing. We want to enjoy hearing and feeling what we play. It is no fun playing a poor instrument.

I had to play/practice on a less than fulfilling instrument too, so this comes not only from a wisdom of a teacher, but the 'been there, done that' student.

I would suggest getting the BEST that you can now. You can always move it with you, or sell it later and put it towards what you can afford at that time.

Just one other aside. Young adults 'find' the money to put into a car or education don't they? Maybe a loan for the purchase of a decent piano for you is an option?

Roberta

Shop carefully because the piano you choose is everything! I agree with DuCamp, if you don't have thousands of dollars go with a digital. I had a digital piano for 2 years before I got my baby grand, and I think it sounded great.

The new digital pianos can replicate dynamics almost perfectly; plus they have all the cool instuments like pipe organ, harpsichord, orchestra. I would often choose one of the crazy synth sounds just to lighten up my practice, I actually learned Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor just to play on the synth organ.

I'm a senior in high school and I plan on taking my piano to college with me...it is digital and it sounds really fake, but that's exactly what makes playing on other people's pianos and in public so new and exciting. I don't think that the piano you practice on needs to sound good...digital pianos are excellent for practice because you can choose to play on a "soft" mode, which gives you a perfect touch when playing on a real piano.

I have a digital, its nice, I dont notice the difference until I play on a nice piano, (my teachers SMD for example) which makes my digital seem a bit..naff. I started off on a crappy yamaha upright, and it was really bad. And I think the digital (also yamaha, heh) really helped as a starter piano. But I think its time to move on now (after almost 4 years heh)

I've got an old, terrible Baldwin spinet that I practice on every day. But I'm improving so much recently, I don't complain. (Although I would like a nicer piano...)

We've also got a Wurlitzer baby grand, which is much better but also isn't so good (the piano tuner has commented several times that it's his hardest job), but I can't really practice on it because its right in the middle of our house, under a 20-feet high ceiling. When I'm playing there, conversations become difficult; phone calls become impossible. Plus, who wants to hear 8 measures of the Revolutionary Etude repeated over and over again for an hour and a half, followed by a different 8 measures of the same piece for another hour?

I'm definately looking forward to using the pianos at U of M's music school next year - as crappy as some of them may be, they are certainly better than what I've got now!

(I do practice at school every day during lunch, and Wednesdays after school, on a wonderful Yamaha upright. )

UM = University of Michigan or University of Miami?

What is practical is always at odds with what is ideal. This is how I see Quidam's problem.

It is impractical to purchase an instrument, for someone on the way to college. It is impractical to move large pianos. It is impractical to have a piano in a dormitory or small studio apartment. It is impractical for someone on the way to college to spend money on pianos.

Wait until you're done with school and you've stabilized your cashflow after starting your career. At that point you can figure out how much piano you can buy and where to put it.

Michigan, although Miami is quite a bit warmer.

yeah, I can see seebechstein's point. And, I don't exactly have 800 dollars burning a hole in my pocket either. I can also see lillylady's point. I enjoy playing a decent instrument much more, and it's an excellent motivation.

but...I have a feeling I"m just going to have to wait it out, and I'm going to get really friendly with the piano at church. Could be worse. The upside is the fact that I already have a car, so the money that I would be putting toward a vehicle will be able to go toward a piano (one of these days) instead.Thanks for the good advice everyone. It is much appreciated!

I started off on a yamaha p60, which I now use at night. A few weeks ago I took the plunge and bought a 6ft Kawai grand (GS30). I can't tell you the difference it has made to my playing. The digital, good though it is (graded and weighted keys etc) feels like a bit of a toy. As for the digital sound...no comparison. But it's portable, doesn't degrade my playing much due to weighted keys, and I can play it at night.
Another option you may consider is rental. Although it seems like wasted money a lot of shops rent used pianos and offer the rental price off the total if you buy it later.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Steve, I am in the same "know" as you... I had a YDP 121 for 2 years... still have it and will keep it for night practice, but my new 50" Schulze Pollmann sounds 100X's better and the feel is awesome... my playing is better too... i have had it a day... and we are still getting acquainted!

Good luck Quidam.... are your parents willing to help you out? I know I had to buy my piano when I was 12, and I had 1000 in savings... all i could afford was a Kimball Spinit... and when I moved out... she sold it and sent me the money. It got me through HS though! She often joked about getting me a grand... but never did.

I don't know if my parents will help me out or not. My brother is entering college next year, and I'm going to be taking a ton of college classes next year too, so our "extra" funds are kind of spoken for. They would probably help me out a bit, but considering the fact that they're paying for my education, I'd rather do as much as I can myself. Necie, your mom joked about getting you a grand? lol that's torture! Well, enjoy your new piano and have fun making friends with it!

My piano has been like a husband. In fact, it is better than a husband. It has outlasted all the husbands, lovers, boyfriends, one-night stands, etc. etc. Mama bought it new and I broke it in to play the way I wanted it to play. What I do not understand is all the frilling and trilling over on the other site/thread about pianos - this and that - when the only thing that matters is that the instrument plays the way you want it to play. Sounds to me like some of those folks over there are pointing and clicking willy nilly for new pianos - and then finding out it doesn't work for them. Granted, it may depend on your level of expertise. Choosing a piano, to me, is more important than choosing a life partner for love or business or anything. You have to try and try pianos until you find the one that is right for you.

hmmm The piano that I tend to love the MOST is a nine-foot Hamburg Steinway (preferably in a small hall with perfect acoustics) I got to play one in a recital a while back and I think I was smiling for several hours. You know you've found a good piano when it's like an extension of your arm, and you can just think, and then the sounds in your head actually come to life. *love* he he, too bad the piano costs more than my house, lol :p

Quidam - my first piano cost me 100 dollars and I sold it for 300 rather than move it.. I bought my next for 300 and sold if for 900 (it's a long story) then I bought one for 2000 and sold it for 500.. Then I bought a grand for 6000 and sold it for 5000 and then my husband bought me one with my money at age 48.

the ancient uprights were GREAT practice pianos.. you might call a nursing home.. I used to practice on a couple grands... they were glad to have me hang around.

You are young. If all the keys work and there are no techncial problems with the present piano, wait and shop around, then buy the piano you want. Money obligations are trecherous and you don't need wastage on make-shift pianos. I'm not sure about digitals,or if you want to invest in an interim piano. Whatever you spend will be a defict against the cash for the "great piano" you want.. And trade-ins do not produce very much cash. It is hard to wait for the piano of your dreams, but consider the practicality financially and how happy you will be with the best piano you can buy. But, you are young and this piano will not be the last. I had five pianos to get to a Studio Grand. Your love of music will last, the money and pianos are intermittent.