With so many different types of pianos to buy, how do you know which one to buy? This article gives an overview of the different types of pianos out there and aims to address the pros and cons with purchasing each type.
The Keyboard
You can pick these up anywhere relatively cheaply. Often you can get them at the drugstore!
Pros:
Light and portable.
Has a lot of cool sounds that can make playing interesting.
Doesn't take up a lot of room.
Relatively inexpensive.
You can play with headphones on so you don't disturb your neighbors.
You don't have to tune it!
You can use it as a midi device to music writing software on your computer.
Great for beginners who don't want to invest too money initially.
Cons:
Often does not have all 88 keys like on a real piano.
Quality of sound isn't as good.
The keys are not weighted like on a real piano. Contrasting volumes (hitting hard on the keys verses playing lightly) is limited as a result.
As one gets more and more advanced at piano, s/he will soon "outgrow" it.
If you live in an area with power failures, this can be a problem.
The Digital Piano
Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Kawai are all good brands.
Pros:
Still not as bulky as a real piano
The keys are more weighted, allowing more freedom of expression when striking the keys.
You don't have to tune it.
Is often more comfortable to sit at than a keyboard, making practicing more enjoyable for long periods of time.
Often have all 88 keys.
Are a good choice for someone who wants the closest thing to a piano, but doesn't have the budget or vice versa.
You can use headphones.
Cons:
You get what you pay for. The more you pay for a digital the better it will feel to your fingers.
It still does not compare to a real piano.
Low end digital pianos often have a "tin can" sound. Really expensive ones (the 00+ range) can have beautiful surround sound, but then, they are more money.
The more advanced you get, this too, will be outgrown. If auditioning for music college someday, don't practice on this.
Acoustic Pianos
Excellent brands are Steinway, Yamaha, Baldwin, Kawai, Bersendorfor. But there are other factors involved in the mechanics of a piano that are out of the manufacturers control, such as how well it had been maintained by a previous owner, if any. Additionally, there are such things as acoustic pianos that are horrible to play - the ones that you can spend hours and hours practicing on and it will never ever let you sound good. In contrast, there are acoustic pianos that can give your fingers a massage as they "melt" into the keyboard. Before buying any acoustic piano, spend time playing a lot of different ones first!
Upright pianos
Pros:
Fully weighted keys for full freedom of expression, especially the subtle ones.
The sound is out of this world!
It is great for practicing for an audition on, because it's the real thing.
It is more comfortable to sit at for long periods of time.
Has all 88 keys.
Some of the newer ones have the option of headphones.
Cons:
They are generally expensive to buy.
Moving is expensive because they are so heavy.
Tuning and repairing can be really annoying and expensive, not matter where you live.
It's big and takes up a lot of room.
Older pianos don't allow headphones.
Grand Pianos:
Pros:
If you want to fill up the whole house with surround sound, this is the daddy of them all.
Fully weighted keys.
Has all 88 keys.
Very comfortable to sit at for long periods of practicing.
Some of them allow headphones.
You can play really really loud.
It's a beautiful piece of furniture.
Cons:
Expensive to buy.
Expensive to move.
Expensive to tune and maintain.
Take up a lot of room.
With any purchase, make sure that you do your research thoroughly in order to make the most informed decision. At the end of the day, you should buy the piano that you want to buy. Buying a piano is a very personal decision, just like wine. There is no right or wrong, just understanding what you want and what your needs are.
Hopefully this article helps you on your quest on how to buy a piano. For more related articles, visit the author's blog at http://pianolessonvancouver.com
