Mel Bay's Creative Keyboard® Webzine | Misha Stefanuk - GETTING A PIANO

GETTING A PIANO

Once in a while, I have an opening in my teaching schedule, and a new student comes to audition for piano lessons. Most people already have some keyboard instrument, however it either is not that great, or they need to purchase or rent one. This article is designed to help students or their parents decide on what they need to get.

Piano

Our main instrument is still piano. I mostly use an acoustic upright for teaching. And most of my students have the same type of instrument at home. For our recitals we use grand pianos, and we get to practice may be a couple of times in the concert hall that the recital will take place in before the actual event. It is very helpful to walk every student, no matter how old, through all of the steps of the performance, and a different piano is obviously something that needs to be addressed. I also use electronic keyboard for teaching as well. Selecting the first piano for a child or student is very important. Unlike guitar or violin, which have student sizes, for piano study, the instrument should have full-size keys. It is possible to start learning how to play piano on and instrument that does not have weighted keys, but I would highly recommend either a real acoustic piano or an electric piano with 88 weighted keys. ("Weighted keys" refers to the action of the instrument. A synthesizer with weighted keys will feel like a real acoustic piano.) Make sure your electronic piano has at least one pedal. If you choose an acoustic piano, make sure to have it tuned regularly (at least twice a year). This will help develop better ear-training skills and is also required by most instrument warranties.

Electronic instruments

Electronic instruments, while not being as sensitive as a real grand piano, offer some very interesting possibilities that are not possible on the piano. We have a choice of different sounds, so even though we do not normally get to select the Weber Pianoforte for a Clementi Sonatina, but we can select a harpsichord sound, and that will significantly improve the student's idea of how Clementi's music once sounded. For polyphonic music there is literally nothing like organ sound or even a choir sound, where the keyboard has the sound of voices. This eliminates the lengthy discussions about the nature of polyphonic music, because the student hears the different voices. Also, most electronic keyboards have built-in metronomes and recording devices which let the student hear their performance immediately after it has been played. There are even contemporary instruments that have the entire interactive teaching software system. So, as one might notice, electronic keyboards can be very useful.

Rent or buy

It is probably a safe idea to rent before buying a piano. However most instruments available for rent are not as good, and I usually do not recommend the non-weighted keyboards. The initial period in piano playing is as important as first impressions are in life. And a bad impression left by an inappropriate instrument will last a lifetime. As with any major purchase, there is a risk involved, however most good keyboard instruments retain their value better than cars or other electronics. Check your local newspapers for private sellers and also companies, and do as much research on a particular piano before buying. You will be satisfied with it for years to come!

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