Parents and adult beginners often ask whether it’s necessary to invest in an acoustic piano before starting lessons. In our experience, the answer is definitely not.
True, nothing beats the sound quality and expressiveness of a good baby grand piano. I know – I used to own one. But I got tired of having to pay to have it tuned and adjusted every few months as the weather changed. I also got tired of it taking up most of an entire room and filling it with more volume than I could reasonably produce at night when I wanted to practice.
So I sold it and have been reasonably happy with a good digital piano. It’s never needed tuning, it can be turned down to whatever volume level is desired and I don’t have to worry about my 9-year-old daughter doing it any harm when she gets especially enthusiastic. And like all kids, she loves to repeat songs to hear how they sound in the voices of different instruments, not just the piano. And now that she can play a little and is “composing” her own tunes, she likes to record them onto a computer and make her own CDs.
The model we have at home now sells for about $1,500, but I wouldn’t recommend spending that for a child just starting lessons. My daughter’s first instrument was a little keyboard purchased at a pawn shop for about $75 at the age of 4, and she played it very happily for several years. It fit easily into her bedroom and the keys were easier to press than a digital piano with weighted keys.
Buying a digital piano is easy. For young children, I recommend visiting a pawn shop and getting a cheap 61-key model. They’re almost indestructible and the shops will take back anything that develops a problem within 30 days. Adults and advancing players will want a full-size 88-key digital piano with weighted keys, a fixed stand and damper pedals. These can be obtained at any local music store starting at around $600. You can easily spend four or five times more, but the inexpensive starter models are generally fine until you’re ready to upgrade to an acoustic piano or a full-featured synthesizer.
At some point, any serious student will want a real piano. Our digital piano is very practical, but in truth it is not nearly as rewarding to play as my old baby grand. Acoustic pianos have become a challenge to shop for now that the Anchorage market no longer supports an actual piano store. The only source for acoustic pianos now is Craigslist, and good instruments that are priced right tend to move rapidly. So before shopping, I’d recommed talking with an experienced piano tuner about different brands, sizes and price ranges, and make arrangements for this person to accompany you when you go to someone’s house to listen to anything that seems appealing. A piano technician can tell you very quickly how well an instrument has been maintained and identify any repair issues that would not be evident to a typical player.
A piano technician can also evaluate the sound quality of a piano in someone else’s house and offer at least an idea of how it might sound in the type of room where you plan to put it. The same piano will sound very different in different rooms, depending on things like size, windows, ceiling height, floor coverings and furniture. Shopping with an expert who has been to your house will dramatically improve your chances of finding a piano that sounds good there.
After you find something you like, the next step is moving it. I recommend a mover who advertises and specializes in moving pianos, and every tuner will have a couple of favorites. Once it’s in place, your new piano will need an initial tuning and another one a few weeks after it’s settled into the heat and humidity levels of its new home. A humidifier-dehumidifier system costs a few hundred dollars and will prove a bargain in fewer tunings and better tone. Plan on professional tunings a couple of times a year at the beginning of winter and summer, and you’ll have an instrument you can enjoy for a lifetime.
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