Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Soft bench or Hard?

Why?

When I was a kid uprights always came with a hard bench, and grands with a soft bench. Not sure why, but usually the hard bench came with the upright and matched, so it would look nice in the living room. Most people who had a grand were pros and probably went out and got the bench they liked. The hard benches always had a lid so you could hide the music inside. It was a small crisis when we acquired enough sheet music that it couldn't all fit in the piano bench.

Neither.

A chair, please.

I've been using an office chair beside one of my pianos because it's sitting right next to the desk, and I'm surprised at how well that works. I still have an "official" piano bench at the other one because it's the nice one and sits in the living room.

In my day, they were called stools, not benches: music stools. We had a soft-topped music stool which opened, even though we had an upright piano, not a grand. But I can't say it matched anything else in the lounge. It had a threadbare khaki grey material on top which made it look like a tired old hippopotamus with sores.

Except to play the piano, no one ever actually sat on the music stool except in times of crisis. Then they did.

Call me a snob, (really just a skinny butt) but it's a Jansen Artist bench for me all the way. If I'm away, I carry a Thermarest Trail Seat (inflatable pad) in case I have to play with a hard bench.

Thing is, organ stools were invariably polished wood, which shined yer trousers quite nicely! . . .but they looked super, and were to me, more comfortable than a soft one. There were of course, pedals to operate which I suppose had a lot to do with it . . . and I`m sat at a kitchen chair which is rock hard, in front o` this screen . . .Rather think I prefer it this way , . .

There were three-legged piano stools with a round seat. A fun thing was to spin around on them until the stool unwound and flew off the top.

My back frequently bothers me when at the piano, so I was also considering a chair - but I don't know which to try. Would you have a link to the one that you're using, or something similar?

Thanks!

It's just an IKEA office chair I bought about 15 years ago. There is nothing exactly like it here, but I recall it was about $80 on sale, so maybe the Malkolm.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/workspaces/20652/

What surprises me is the arms don't get in the way when I'm playing.

A wooden chair, no arms, with cushion. Cushion for the bum, chair back for my back.

Hard bench for piano players who just had their piles surgically removed

I really prefer a soft bench, although when I'm teaching I'm always moving around (I can't sit still sometimes!), cos after a long day of lessons it does hurt on a hard bench.