Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Is the parlor size proper to fit a 9 feet grand?

Hello, I am new to the pianoworld, and I hope to buy a 9 feet piano to play. I have a parlor of around 600 sqft, but I wonder if it is too small to fit the large piano. How large should the parlor be to fit a 9 feet grand? Thank you!

Hi Yanli - Welcome to Piano World!

There really is no way to judge. 600 sq. ft. is a very large room. Whether a concert concert grand would overpower it depends on many factors such as ceiling height, furninshings, carpeting, etc.

These pianos are designed for intimate rooms seating 2,000 people. With or without orchestra. Often, around 7ft. is perfect for home use in a large room. It still has the full bass sound without blowing out the windows.

I hope this helps.

May I guess that you are not in the USA?

Thank you for your reply! Haha, you are right, I am in Asia. I will seriously consider your suggestion. Piano World is a good place!

Shouldn't be a problem.

I had a 9 foot grand some years' back in a room 19 feet by 32 feet and the height was 20+ feet. (In other words it went up into a pitched roof) Sounded wonderful and fortunately my neighbours (only had neighbours on one side) liked music!

One consideration however. They are much more difficult to sell than, say, 7 footers. When I fell on hard times - redundancy, forced to sell house etc - I lost a lot of money.

It may be worth also thinking of possibly a better 7 foot for the same budget. Unless money isn't an issue, of course.

There was a Philadelphia musician who lived in an efficiency apartment in the city. He had a bed, a few chairs,and a 9 ft. grand. One can have such control over a 9 ft. that they can actually play softer than they can on a smaller piano.It is not just about player louder.

I hope that helps.

Mine is in a 20' X 20' room with an A frame type ceiling that peaks out at just over 15'.

Although I play with the lid down mostly, more out of laziness and I like having the strings look new, the sound on full stick is no way overbearing for the room.

It's a fairly dark,mellow sounding D to begin with but I also stay up on the voicing to keep it under control.

I'm sure if it was too loud, you can get a technician to make it project less. There are 9 foot grands that are serviced for concert halls and there are some serviced for smaller venues, or homes.

Yanli, it could help if you told us a bit more about why you want a nine-foot piano, what make you're looking at, and more about your music room than its area. If you have close neighbors, it could be a real issue. If I were considering what to buy, I'd want to know that a qualified tech was in my area, able to keep it in service. If you know that, it could be an interesting part of the discussion.

I'm sure we'd all love to have a nine-foot grand, if only we could, and I don't want to discourage you but only ask these questions so the discussion might be more useful to you.

The cost of a nine-foot grand--- any nine footer--- is breathtakingly more than any good instrument in the six to seven-and-a-half-foot range. Most of us do have to consider the cost.

Many people consider seven feet to be what one writer here described as "a sweet spot" for a home piano. That is generally going to offer you plenty of voice for a piano which will be used in a home music room. But there are many things to consider other than the size. Voice and timbre, dynamic range, the keyboard's touch and playability, build quality, and appearance are a few. I usually like to suggest that piano shoppers play as large a selection of instruments as they can. It gives us a better chance of finding something we really love.

Actually, on the used market a 9-footer doesn't cost much more than a 7-footer. In the US, it's possible to get a used Baldwin 9-footer for under $25K. Used Steinway Ds don't cost any more than Bs (both fetching prices in the $40K-$60K range).

When I was growing up, I had a piano teacher who had jammed a 9-footer into a ~12x18 room. That 12x18 space included the entryway and a seating area. The piano dominated the room, but since that room was being used as a music lesson studio, that wasn't an issue.

So I say - if you have the room (600 sq. ft. is more than big enough) and can legitimately afford it, there's no reason NOT to go with the 9-footer in a home setting.

I don't think that's true when comparing Steinways of the same vintage and condition.

I have a similar 600 sq foot room (20 x 30 ft) with a 12 or 13 ft ceiling, fully enclosed room; my piano is 9 inches shorter than a 9 footer. The room does not have too many furniture and a bit lively acoustically. The top register can get overly powerful and therefore careful voicing is much needed. The mid and low ends are not a problem. As with big pianos...you can play much softer which is very hard to do on smaller grands.

Thank you for your replies! I learned so much and will take other things into account. I am living in a single house, and my neighbors are not near to it. Cost is not a problem, but I am worried about the overpowering sound, so I must arrange my room carefully and try to have discussions with experts on acoustics to make the right choice.

The only expert on acoustics you really need is a great piano technician.

I got it. Thank you for your advice!

I have a 9ft2 grand in a room which is 16x20 with 12 ft ceiling. It is open to the hallway and stairs too, though. Hardwood floors, no carpeting, no rug.

When I play it, mostly Bach, with little to no pedal, it is not too loud .

When one of my friends who is a concert pianist played it, let's just say you could not hear yourself speak if you tried in the same room.

A lot of it is really about how you play and what you play on it.

I don't regret my purchase still as I got a pretty decent deal on it. If I had to do it again, I would.

A 600 sq ft room is fine, you should not be afraid of having a 9ft grand in there.

"Cost is not a problem, but I am worried about the overpowering sound..."

Go for the concert grand. They're a LOT of fun to play!

Room size seems adequate provided the acoustics are right. Many things can affect room acoustics, e.g., all hard surfaces, odd angles. All rooms of similar dimensions do NOT sound the same.

Given your situation, I think you would be wise to consult with an acoustical engineer once you buy your piano and have it moved into the room.

Yes - a good piano technician can do a lot with voicing, but not EVERYTHING. That's when the room itself can benefit from acoustical treatment.

Heck - that's what's done in concert halls, isn't it?

Makes sense, at least to me, if you can afford it, to do the same when setting up your own piano room.

Good luck with your project.