Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner How to practice piano while 4 months in a foreign country?

-- Thread may seem long, but I desperately need an answer please . --

I can honestly say my piano level is very high right now. I've never stopped playing piano for more than a month (and after that month I had stopped because I was in another country -- it hurt so much! Being scared I lost my awesome piano skills -- fortunately it only took a month full of playing to get back on track right).

Well I'm the best student at university (best average grades and all). I've received the opportunity to do my stage(aka internship) in a foreign country -- Salzburg, Austria.

I really really want to do this, the only thing which is annoying me A LOT is that I will not have my piano!! I love my piano .

Currently I play at least 2-3 hours a day. <== I don't want to stop this habbit but I know I will have to. I at least want to be able to do 2 hours every 2 days then!

Please tell me! What should I do! Can you rent a piano there? Are there piano rooms you can just practice at? I'd be really thankful! Piano is the only thing I'd miss from here anyway (apart from my friends and my cool student job).

Thanks!

Why not get a digital piano that you can take with you? You can practice with headphones so that means any hour of the day, and they don't take up a lot of space, especially if you get a stage piano (rather than one that has a built-in cabinet).

Well I have the Kawai CA65 and I just love it so much! It plays better than some grands I've played on. Problem is, I can't take it with me. I'm from Belgium and taking it all the way to Austria is impossible (I don't have a car or even a driving licence).

I was thinking maybe I could buy like a stage piano there, but I'm in for over 500€ in order to get a decent one which I can actually practice well on instead of destroying my skills lol.

With Salzburg being the birthplace of you-know-who, (Mozartkugel is a favourite confectionery there.... ), I don't see any problem with renting a good acoustic piano there. Maybe even a Bösendorfer Imperial.

Musicians and music-lovers flock there in droves, and of course there's the Mozarteum Salzburg, where surely you'll be able to get access to good pianos.

Perhaps wait until you get there and then check out what's available. Perhaps a church would let you practice there in exchange for playing at a mass/service. Also, what about shipping your current DP?

I don't know if this is useful, but, I just bought a Yamaha KX8, new, for $195USD, which is a fully weighted midi controller, directly driving iGrand app on the iPad through the camera adapter. Works great, weighs 15kg, and keeps my technique while I am away from the M&H BB.

Shadows, I have read your post, here:
-- Thread may seem long, but I desperately need an answer please grin. --

I can honestly say my piano level is very high right now. I've never stopped playing piano for more than a month (and after that month I had stopped because I was in another country -- it hurt so much! Being scared I lost my awesome piano skills -- fortunately it only took a month full of playing to get back on track right).

Well I'm the best student at university (best average grades and all). I've received the opportunity to do my stage(aka internship) in a foreign country -- Salzburg, Austria.

I really really want to do this, the only thing which is annoying me A LOT is that I will not have my piano!! I love my piano heart.

Currently I play at least 2-3 hours a day. <== I don't want to stop this habbit but I know I will have to. I at least want to be able to do 2 hours every 2 days then!

Please tell me! What should I do! Can you rent a piano there? Are there piano rooms you can just practice at? I'd be really thankful! Piano is the only thing I'd miss from here anyway (apart from my friends and my cool student job).

Thanks!

________________________________________

Why couldn't you take a digital by train? I don't understand why you can't take a digital by train.

Michael,

I don't think you should worry about this. Salzburg is a moderately big city with a huge music scene. You'll surely be able to rent a practice studio.

Rather than asking here, I think you'll get the best answer if you ask your contact at the institution where you'll be studying. I suggest you leave out any boastful-sounding adjectives about your skill. Just say you're a dedicated piano student and would appreciate help finding a practice studio to use during your stage.

Good luck!

A quick Google using Klavier verleih Salzburg turned up these two piano showrooms for starters, who both offer pianos for rent (Leihklaviere)
Hostalek-Klakviere.at
Pianofuchs.at

If your German isn't quite as brilliant as your piano playing these kind of places usually have someone who speaks English on the staff. I expect they could help you locate a practice studio too although if you want to play so long every day then renting might be a better option.
There is probably an expat forum for Austria where you could inquire too.
Enjoy your stay!

When I was in my 20s (last century), I travelled all over Europe on the trains going from gig to gig with a Rhodes piano, mixer, amplifier and a couple of synths. Roughest part was being in stations with no freight elevators where I had to carry the stuff up and down stairs. While this was definitely a major pain, it was still quite possible if you are really determined.

I know the Kawai weighs a lot less than my Rhodes. So, if you get a decent case, it should be quite doable.

K.

If you wan't afford and don't want to rent a piano the first two places I would go to is university music department and churches. They usually have lots of pianos to practice on.

When I started University I was also afraid I might not get to play the piano, but I just asked around if the uni has practice rooms and they do. I could also potentially use lecture rooms, some of them have uprights. So maybe just ask the uni if there is someplace you can practice. I am also planning to study in the Netherlands and there they have practice rooms, but charge like 60 Euro a year for access.

Thanks all!

So, I mailed the Mozarteum and I haven't received a reply after 1 week. Piano teacher has been there and he says you can easily just walk in and use one of their pianos, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea :P.

I'm not shipping my current DP, too precious to possibly damage.

It's a "digital piano" -- weighs > 70kg. It's a lot haha :P. (Real wooden keys & all on Kawai CA65)

Renting a piano well.. I'm not sure I'm allowed to put a piano in a student room at university! Maybe if there's a lift I could use it. I'll have to wait and see for that I guess.

@niluh € 60 is nice!

I'm faced with a similar dilemma, but a) my level is a lot lower than yours, b) I'll be in Madrid, and c) I'm only going for the summer.

My dear friend has a Yamaha digital piano in her house--a CLP330(?) I helped her buy it when we were living there a few years ago--but there's no easy public transportation access to her house, and I don't want to take a cab every day just to practice, and besides, she won't be there so I feel a little funny just going over to her house.

My oldest daughter is doing a summer intensive at a ballet school near our apartment; maybe there's some opportunity there, but I doubt it. The studios look like they're going to be well-occupied at all normal hours.

I am reluctant to skip the whole summer of practicing. I just got back into it and it would be a shame to have to take a hit so soon on skills that have only recently started moving in the right direction, and besides, I don't wanna. Yikes, I love to practice. I wish the 40 year old me could have told the 16 year old me that with maturity comes better ability to apply onesself, haha.

Kids these days are too soft. In my day, we moved Hammond organs, CP80s, CS80s, Rhodes pianos etc. Did we complain? 70kg, bah!

By the way, did I ever tell how we had to walk to school through 5 miles of 10 foot snow drifts every morning? And that was in the summer!

K.