Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Impostor syndrome, adult beginners, and acquiring a piano

Sounds great! I loved my used U1. When I bought it, the dealer said I could trade it in or he would buy it back when I was ready to upgrade. A couple of years later I decided to buy a used grand, and he bought back the U1 for about 60% of what I paid for it. And he came and got it for free. Maybe I could have gotten more if I had tried to sell it myself, but the convenience was worth it for me. And he has to make a profit to stay in business...

Sam

Great news!

I agree with everyone that says go for it! There are so many people that own fancy acoustic grands that are very costly and never get used. Who cares if you're a beginner or not get what you want. I can also say that when I upgraded from a low cost keyboard to a professional one I had no regret. I have way more gear and software that is far more than I need and I'm a beginner but I don't care I love it and I use all of it nearly every day!

Have you read "Klara and the Sun" by Ishiguro ?

Congratulations on the U1! For a beginner, they really are the sweet spot of price vs. quality. Regardless of where or how far your piano learning journey takes you, you can be confident you’ve spent a sensible amount of money without being ridiculously extravagant and while getting something that will be just fine at helping you to learn.

Absolutely agree on taking the "imposter syndrome" question out of equation. Nobody has to qualify to own a piano other than simply wanting to own one.

If we only let people buy pianos who "earned" them through piano technique, there would quickly be no piano manufacturers in business. If anything, the performing artists at the top of their game RELY on most pianos being aspirational purchases.

A piano is a lovely piece of exquisite workmanship and if you want one in your home, all you need to be able to do is afford it. Your piano is for you, and you can play it with whatever skill level you have. Pianos can mean anything to you, and only you get to decide what that is.

If anything, it's an honor to the masters of the instrument to want to put the best in your home. And the more beautiful pianos in living rooms, the better. I have no problem with continuing to reinforce the idea that a stunning home is only made more stunning by the addition of a piano.

Real good question.
Maybe ask your teacher if you're [anyone] able to realistically learn the techniques in question on the piano that you already have.
Or... is your piano going to limit you?
If not, at least you know you're buying to appease a sense of impostor syndrome or something similar.


I should've been a creditor in the 60's or so.

That's not how it works. The techniques he's learning can obviously be learned on a digital piano. However, they will be harder to learn and be less refined at the end of the day. The feel of acoustic pianos is different from digitals, and you will miss out on certain things if you only learn on a digital (which I did btw). If you have the option, it can speed up your progress. If you don't, it's not a deal breaker.

My 2 cents...get a real piano if you can afford it and accommodate it in your residence. Life is too short to pass up the opportunity.

Thank you everyone again. I won't be able to answer everyone individually, but I appreciate every single reply. I'll post an update once things are finalized, fingers crossed that we don't hit any unexpected bumps. @Vikendios, it's on the to-read list. But I'm apprehensive (honestly), because Ishiguro has an uncanny ability, unlike anyone else really, to get in my head and make me think and feel things I don't really want to think and feel. I'm still scarred by Never Let Me Go, years later.

I'm not at all familiar with the instrument you have, in fact I'm not a Yamaha fan at all...
As long as your instrument has at least a decent keybed with hammer action or a decent acoustic piano-like action I would stick with it and keep learning.
If not, I'd say go with something that does and keep learning.
There are a few decent-ish ones like the Nord Grand, Kaway MP11SE etc....

So the answer to your question is...definitely hold off on buying an acoustic piano.
Yes life is too short yada yada yada but your tastes and more importantly your ear will change as you progress. Hopefully you're spending some time on learning about pianos and you should absolutely learn as much as you can about pianos. You'll come to realize how different they are in terms of their construction, their action, etc.
You may find that at some point your severe like for say a Steinway kinda dissipates and you develop a weird love for a Bosendorfer or even a Yamaha
You'll know when you're ready. Your question shows you're not.
Or, do what the other sheep are saying and just do it.
Neither is wrong, I just think you'll know when you know

PS: if you're on a budget, StudioLogic does a Grand with very decent action, for under $1000.
It's a MIDI controller though so you'll need a computer with VST's and all that stuff...

As I understand it, the model is a slightly lesser version of a Yamaha Clavinova, and is already more expensive than the one you recommend if bought new.

It is important to have a good piano if you want to continue years into your studies successfully. That being said, how far can one go up the line? I am of the opinion that until I can afford a really good grand and can have space for it, I'll happily select one that does not belong to the "pianos to avoid" list.

Take a look at: https://www.pianobuyer.com/digital-pianos/ and other links there. There is some valuable advice there.

That, combined with the reviews you can find here in abundance, should make you confident of your purchase.

Once bought, you yourself will know if you've grown out of it (maybe years down the road.)

If you have the money, don't guilt yourself out of buying a decent instrument. Most pianos are mass-produced; it's not like your purchase would keep a rare Stradivarius out of the hands of a starving virtuoso.

That said, if you're unsure about your long-term commitment to piano playing and your funds are not unlimited, you may want to be prudent about how much money to tie up in the hobby. There are some very good uprights to be had for under 10k, and decent small grands for not too much more. OTOH, if money is no object, there's almost no limit to how much you could spend. You have to figure out for yourself what your own comfort level is.

Oops... I need to remember: RTFThread before posting.

But congratulations! The U1 is exactly the piano I had in mind when I made the post immediately above. A fine instrument that I know you'll enjoy.

I was on the same situation… one year of piano learning on my 25 year old Clavinova. I decided I wanted to upgrade… researched all articles about digital pianos and concluded Avantgrand was the best, except I could not stomach $8000 to $10000 expense.
I went the acoustic used route then. Budget was set to around $1000. Research and more research: may be a good vertical for that money, but not a grand… I settled (initially) for a Young Chang for $300 and I move it myself. Got it tuned it and I was all set for $450.
Then a nice Knabe piano became available I my area. I really liked and it was $1500. I worked with the piano tech, sold him my Young Chang and he brought the Knabe 6’4”.
I am supper happy.
The Knabe is not perfect, but very playable as it is…I will give it a regulation next year, and some other, I can wait and do some improvements to the piano as time goes by… but for around $2000, I got a fantastic piano.
Makes my playing happy, makes my pocket happy, my piano tech is happy (he has more business).
If I were to do it again, I will go the route of an used piano, 100%.
It requires a lot if time to learn, test, etc, but this was a very fun part as well.

Thanks all. @ClsscLib, don't feel bad, the way this is set up (I always navigate by "active threads") it's hard to keep up with all the developments in a thread.
I am absolutely in love with my U1. I didn't dare make this as part of the plan, but as I kind of anticipated, my hours at the instrument have increased significantly. I just find myself craving the sound, the touch, and the interaction, in an entirely new way. I think my progress will accelerate accordingly.

Ah, true piano love ❤️

I felt the exact same way after upgrading after only a few months as a complete beginner. When I upgraded, I thought... I can't even play yet why should I trade this one in already? But going from a very beginner keyboard (Alesis Pro) to the current LX705 has actually helped my learning. Being that it was much more expensive than the first one, I felt the need to practice even more to prove to myself I "deserved" the upgrade. A month after the purchase, I did have that "I just don't know if I want to keep up with this new found passion" but for me, the money I just spent was a driving force to practice and improve and I've done just that and would have very likely just sold the first one and moved on.

Nothing like the feel of a real acoustic’s meaty keys under your fingers. I think you did the right thing. Congratulations on your new piano.