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For those who take lessons, what do you think about the piano on which you play when you have a lesson? Is it in tune? How's the action? How does it compare with your own piano?



My teacher's studio piano is a small grand (Yamaha GC). It seems to be well-regulated and gets regular tunings, but it gets a lot of use. It takes me a bit each lesson to adjust to the different sound. I like my own piano a lot better.

My teacher has a Yamaha studio piano, as do I, and we both use the same tuner. But I’m convinced her piano is tuned higher than mine, and I always have to take a few minutes to get accustomed to it.

It is a beast. Generally in tune. Hard to control--I ghost notes, especially at the beginning of the evening. But it is part of the gig.

It's a Shigeru Kawai, SK-2, supposed to be a great piano.

But the lid is closed and it's piled high with books, music, and other stuff (is that your lunch?). So I can't tell how it sounds.

I am not impressed with the action either - too heavy. Which only confirms what I have heard about Shigeru Kawai from other people.

So the experience is like playing a piano that is wrapped in an overcoat while wearing earplugs and mittens.

Sam

My teacher has a Steinway grand, an older one, although I am not exactly sure of the year or model. I haven’t been playing it long enough to judge the piano but the sound just leaps out at me. The action seems sensitive and nimble. I don’t have that same feeling with my keyboard, lol, which feels a little more sluggish.

My teacher calls my keyboard a “gadget” and when I come home from a lesson and play it, I can see why. Now, I just want an acoustic but I do not want to torture anyone with my efforts so it will be the keyboard for quite a while.

My teacher has a huge, old C.Bechstein grand. It is so different from my digital piano at home, that it takes me almost the entire lesson to adjust. It's action is not heavy at all and it's quite bright and crisp. Also, the pedal has a frightening echo to it, like some giant is stomping it's foot in the room. It's actually easier to play than my DP, only very very different.

It's a Kawai upright and while it sounds in tune to me the action is much heavier than my Yamaha digital. We always begin with scales so i can get the feel of it for lessons. While I adjust more quickly now than at lesson #1 it still is a big jump and I find it difficult to play quietly on the Kawai. Just does not seem to be as wide a dynamic range as is available like on my digital. If I played it each day I would probably get used to it but in the limited time I have it is a big difference. With all that said it is probably the player who is at fault not the piano.

My first teacher who moved away had a Yamaha upright and I liked it better than the Kawai upright.

Before I started lessons, I thought it would be important or somehow inspiring for the teacher to have a wonderful piano. I quickly realized that I would much rather get excellent instruction from a teacher.

My teacher in Hilo has a lovingly maintained, Steinway D. When I was regularly practicing on my Story & Clark 5'3" baby grand, it was a little difficult quickly adjusting to the lighter, much more nimble touch of the D. After finally, basically beating the Story & Clark to death (it wasn't made for hour upon hour of daily practice), I finally retreated to a Yamaha Arius for a keyboard, feeding its MIDI output to Pianoteq. While still not as ideal as a good acoustic, it was actually a whole lot better than the Story & Clark and required a lot less adjustment to transition to my teacher's D come lesson time. I just got an extremely nice specimen of a Steinway B, that was delivered today. It will be interesting to see how that shapes my playing on my teacher's D. I will still use the Pianoteq quite a bit, as I do have to coexist with the family and our house isn't huge. The Yamaha - Pianoteq combo feels even closer to the B than the D, but we'll see how that shapes up as I break myself in to the B. Eventually I need to upgrade the Arius for a better MIDI keyboard, but for now we'll work with it and enjoy the new B.

I agree. A good teacher with a good ear is far more important, so long as their piano isn't so bad that it's impossible to execute on it. It's been nice that my teacher does have a very nice piano, but no piano can substitute for a good ear. Fortunately, mine has both.

My teacher works through a music store that has lesson rooms. The company provided piano is a Williams. I can't say that I care for it. The sounds are bad and the sustain pedal makes a loud mechanical click every time you use it.

My teacher teaches at a college which is not overflowing with funds, so the pianos (in addition to the small grand there's an upright) in her studio/office reflect that. Her home piano is a Steinway. My home piano is a Yamaha C3X and the six inches greater length (and better construction) of the C3X versus the grand in her office makes a huge difference. Her studio piano is adequate, though, and she can get some great music to come out of it.

My teacher has a 1994 Yamaha C5 grand v my baldwin console. The yamaha touch is heavier and I can get a much wider dynamic range with hers. She keeps it well tuned and as far as I can tell the action is uniform. I don't seem to have much problem going from one to the other. The only playing situation I run into is that sometimes when playing the C5 softly I do not press the key all the way down so it does not make the hammer hit the string. Come to think of it, that usually happens with my forth finger - the one that is not so obedient!

I agree the teaching skill is more important than the piano - although it should be a decent piano....

While my two recent teachers have very good grands, a good, new Steinway A (?) currently, my biggest concern with one of my teachers was that the keys were rarely cleaned, and she taught a number of young children! Well, you never know where their fingers have been! i am not a germaphobe, but the feel of a grimy keyboard gave me more concern than the occasional out-of-tune unison.

Regards,

I'm the same way! Just bring a pack of these for your next lesson and 3 mins and you'll be good to go!

I could care less I'm there to learn something not review the typical music store teaching piano, it's good enough for taking lessons on. If planning on playing out then getting used to adjusting to all sorts of pianos and sounds is an important skill to develop.

I'm surprised a piano teacher would teach on theIr good piano whole lot of extra wear and maintenance. From a teaching standpoint piano is PIA because not an instrument that student bring their own to lesson. I used to teach guitar and bass and so never shared an instrument in lessons. If a student was in situation where they couldn't bring their own instrument I would let them use an old "beater" guitar not my good instruments. which comes back to my first point as a pianist you are playing other pianos whenever not at home so need to learn to adjust to get your sound from whatever you play. Great players can always get a good sound from whatever they play it's a necessary skill.

Are you kidding me?!? My teacher's piano is a 9 foot Baldwin SD-6. It's the 2nd best piano I've played in my life. The keyboard was rebuilt by the techs at the Oberlin Conservatory. Hands down its the best action I've ever played.

The best piano I've ever played was a 9 foot Steinway D on a stage at the University of Texas in Austin. That was fun but I'd never expect a teacher to have that kind of piano for lessons.

I would not use those chemical wipes on my piano Keys... soap and water mixture or vinegar and water mixture or compound made for cleaning keys. Chemicals like these wipes are not recommended. If you are planning on cleaning someone else’s piano keys..,,,, ask first what is acceptable

A good teacher with a crappy piano is just adding another layer of difficulty for the student, especially in the early stages.

For the fraction of piano students who plan to be professional musicians or gig frequently for fun, yes, adjusting quickly to all types of pianos and sounds is a good skill to learn. For the rest of us, most of our playing will be on our own piano or our teacher's piano with the occasional recital or piano party thrown in, and that skill is less valuable.

I think most teachers with very nice pianos of their own do not teach every student on them, but instead have a second, 'workhorse' piano in the studio for everyday teaching. The 'good' piano is reserved for the more advanced students getting ready for recitals or auditions, or at least that's my impression.

I use Cory products recommended by the store that sold me the piano. I just spray the key cleaner on the Cory cloth and wipe it about once a month. I was my hands before I play and with the Cory cloth (microfiber cloth) after I play each time I wipe the keys with the dry cloth.

https://www.corycare.com/product/key-brite-key-cleaner/