Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Would switching to a grand piano help my playing?

I suspect that the main reason why you wouldn't get a $100,000 concert grand is because it costs $100,000...

It might ... in the short run. Soon, the new amazing sound of the grand will fade into the background and the next question you'll be asking yourself is "should I buy a Steinway?" It's a trap. But, if you're wealthy go for it!

You make an excellent point, Barb, and we would all do well to read the underlying meaning in your words. Ever wonder why, on PianoWorld, the "Piano Forum" has 3-4x the number of viewers than the "Pianists' Corner" or "Adult Beginners"? So many are obsessed with the piano, which when all is said and done is simply an object.

Sure, if I were wealthy I could pick up a Steinway or a Faz or a Bosie and have bragging rights... but it would not transform me into a top-tier pianist. All it would get is bragging rights as a sort of status symbol. Nothing wrong with that per se, but I would suggest that the time and effort one puts into learning and ultimate mastery is of infinitely greater worth than the instrument itself.

Also, eweiss' post above deserves support: the "grass is always greener over there." Have something adequate, and just PLAY and enjoy it!

JMO

This suggests that we are all more materialistic than we are musicians. I and a number number of pianists I know are very happy with the pianos we have and have no allure for the "trap".

Regards,

PianoGal,

I say go for it. You owe it to yourself at this stage in your life. You've "paid" the price and worked really hard at everytyhing you have done so now's the time to give yourself an instrument you will enjoy.

So having said this, go piano hunting. I would not however, jump at the first instrument that comes along during your piano search. Take your time and try as many pianos as you can; both uprights as well as grands. Try some that are way out of your financial abilities, and then settle on an instrument that you'll hopefully be happy with for a very long time, and one that you can reasonably afford.

In my piano search, which was done going on 4 years ago now, I tried well over 30 pianos. These ranged from cheap consoles to very expensive grands. In the end, I found an instrument that I loved and I could afford at the same time. And nearly 4 years later, I'm still in love with my piano.

John

Good point. I don't know anyone who isn't happy with what they have.

I assume you are being sarcastic. I labored on a Baldwin Acrosonic for decades. It had heavy action that my tech was not able to fix.

When I got my grand (Steinway O), the salesman told me it would take about 2 years to get used to and my technique would improve drastically in those two years. He was absolutely right.

I adore my "O" but would trade it for a B or D if I had the room.

Well, I don't know anyone who owns a real "Piano Shaped Object", is what I'm getting at.

or, as my tech calls 'em:
"FWS's"
(firewood with strings)

Back when I played golf, I thought the next new putter would help my score - it never worked that way.

Bingo! And to BruceD, that's all I was suggesting.

Usually it doesn't. My dad calls it the Yiddish pencil. I used to complain about the awful spinet piano we had. He said I wouldn't play any better on a grand, and I couldn't blame the piano for my poor playing.

Later on he admitted that the piano was bad after my teacher's informed them it was a POS.

A better piano, and a grand piano perhaps, can improve ones abilities by providing a bigger palette to work with. The spinet piano I had would never stay in tune, and when it was in tune (very briefly), there was no depth in the bass, and no control over the pedal, or keyboard. I discovered the difference when I was practicing at Phillips Andover and had access to Steinway Model Ds. I would go home and practice only to be thoroughly disenchanted even more with the old clunker with no means to upgrade it.

Anyway, she's quite capable of purchasing whatever she wants. If I were her, I would go out and get the grand while she can still enjoy it.

Don't wait until it's too late to do anything; been there and done that too much in the past now to regret it.

John

Perhaps it's not the better instrument that makes you a better player, but it is definitely more inspiring to play on something responsive. I learned piano on a spinet, and every chance I had to play on a grand was heaven to me. I would have probably practiced more, because I know there were many times I would slam my hands on the keys of my spinet in frustration. I had to use both the sostenuto and damper pedals simultaneously to get the sound of the damper pedal to work. And then there were all those notes that when you struck them you'd get nothing more than a "clunk" relatively close to the pitch it was supposed to be (which was tuned most likely a whole step lower than A440).

Anyways, I think that something must be said for having a good instrument.

Precisely. A good piano won't make a bad pianist play well, but a excellent piano offers more in terms of regulation, tone, articulation, duration of the sounds, and dynamics. For example, playing ppp on my grand is a breeze. Playing it on the old clunker was very difficult.

A great piano doesn't necessarily have to be a grand. I've played some uprights that had decent sound and excellent regulation. There's been much passionate discussion about what brand is best. I prefer Steinway but I loved the sound of a Grotrian I once tried. So, if you are going to invest in a grand, go out of your way to buy a really good one.

I too have played on some really wonderfully satisfying uprights as well. I've tried a Grotrian though. I heard they're like a bar of good chocolate.

John

Funny you should say that. The one I played on had a gorgeous tone which I would have described as warm chocolate. I even considered buying it but it was from around 1900 and had never been rebuilt.

Exactly.

Better pianos are an inspiration!

A piano won't make you better any more than a good hammer will make someone a better carpenter.

But a good carpenter can do more with a good hammer than a bad hammer...

Don't expect a good piano to do anything to or for you in the long run, but you can expect to do more with and to a good piano.

For the record, I just have an upright at home right now, and it works just fine.

I've hesitated posting this, because you did ask a very specific question about playing characteristics and you're a much more advanced pianist than me. But almost the first thing you say about your existing piano is that you hate its colour. As much as people may think or say that the appearance of an instrument should not matter, the evidence is it does. In every culture that I know of, present or past, no matter how advanced or primitive, instruments are always very attractively finished. I can definitely understand why this is true for a portable instrument - we all know never to touch another musician's instrument unless invited - but it does seem to have held for keyboard instruments as well.

This is from a current thread in Piano Forum. It does bear on the question in this thread and includes some aspects I hadn't thought of.

BUT--- I hope those who love their uprights don't feel their instrument is being put down by the comparison. There are good reasons why uprights are so popular: footprint in a limited space, better containment of sound in apartment settings, cost (not a small consideration) both to purchase and to move. And, practice rail devices that quiet the sound down considerably for late-night practicing or peace within the household are available on some uprights, but not grands (in general).

But, the OP's question was about technique, and whether a grand would make a difference for her.

https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubb...20Upright%20vs.%20Grand.html#Post1221314

"Marty Flinn
1000 Post Club Member
"You simply cannot compare verticals to grands. Stringlength is only one variable in a scale design. There is a difference in total string length and speaking length that complicates any comparison. Some scales opperate more efficiently than others. the non speaking lengths in the front and rear contribute more in some scales than others.

"There is a reason for the shape of the grand piano. It facilitates proper bridge placement. All verticals are a compromise. Manufacturers block off the dead corners of the soundboards with dampening blocks of wood to attempt to redirect the sound energy. Any comparison of square inches of soundboard surface must deduct for this.

"The most telling difference is in the action repetition response. The key must come nearly all the way up to reset and play again in a vertical.
_________________________
"Co-Author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Buying A Piano. A "must read" before you shop.
Work for west coast dealer for Yamaha, Schimmel, Bosendorfer, Wm. Knabe."