Help! I've always dreamed of owning a piano and learning to play but where do you start?
I know nothing !

Wow, that's quite a general question! Do you own a piano yet? If not, what's your budget? Do you want an acoustic piano or a digital one?

If you're looking for a good acoustic piano to start on, check out your local piano store. A decent used one in my area sells for around $1800. Good used brands to look for: Everett, Baldwin/Hamilton, Charles Walter, Sohmer, Yamaha, Kawai. Brands I don't like: Kimball, Story & Clark, Lester, Winter, Cable Nelson, Conn, Wurlitzer. There are too many to list here but those are the ones that readily come to mind. Also, don't buy a spinet (the really short pianos), they're usually cheaply made, sound small, and are hard to service. The bigger the better. Try not to buy something more than 30 years old. Sometimes you can find good used upright pianos at school/university sales.

Otherwise, you can go the digital route. You can read up on the pros and cons of that in the digital piano forum.

Once you have an instrument then it's just a matter of finding a teacher. Try to find one that has experience teaching adults (I assume that's what you are). Ask your local piano store or one of the schools or universities in your area to find names of teachers who might have openings.

Oh, one last thing. How to find a good piano technician. Ask your teacher who services his/her piano. Or, one of the best ways to find a good tech is to call up a nearby university and see if you can't get hold of their technician. Usually technicians who work for universities are very good and often do some moonlighting on the side.

Good luck!
Todd

Todd,
Thanks for all the info and the advice. I am looking to purchase a piano and would prefer to have an acoustic. The world of pianos can be quite overwhelming for a novice like me who knows nothing about touch, tone and quality ect... Your advice was great and it has given me a start in the right direction. Thanks again.
Cheers,
Zoe