All About Choosing and Buying Pianos

[Dreamaurora]

Champagne1975:

Hi all, I read the entire thread but still need advice. Most friends/ child's ex-piano tchrs around me rec *only* Yamaha. Some forums also advise that student will be more motivated by a grand piano, particularly if going Diploma route.


We have an resale non-Yamaha of unknown age that cost less than $1K. It has taken DD through her exams G1, G3... she will be taking G5 next yr in Pri 3. The tuner technician thinks it'd work to G8. Piano teachers past and present haven't said anything bad about the piano. She is fairly young, diligent and keen on piano, but I can't say she is particularly talented. So far just abit short of Distinction results.

I would like to upgrade to a final piano.
1. She says she wants to do Diploma eventually but I'm unsure she'd change her mind in years to come (although she has been very steadfast since she took G1 in K1).
2. I'm also unsure if this instrument is really her thing, seeing she hasn't had Distinction- it would be much easier to justify an upgrade if she had just one? But I do wonder if she has been hampered in any way by her instrument or environment- if the instrument cost more, she (us?) might be more motivated? Both kids are the only ones with any musical training. I cannot trust the younger one to be steadfast in interest.
3. I guess I'd bring her around to choose her own piano on her own preference but she is easily swayed by salespersons too? Is there an affordable Grand piano for her purposes (possible Diploma down the road?), around what price tag and necessitating any special room temperature/ humidity requirements?

I do want the best for her within financial limits. She is a dear and knows I worry over the expense- she tells me her current piano is fine enough.

I would like to add more that what jce said, which was excellent btw.

Now, distinction is by no means an easy feat to achieve, especially in the later grades. There are many factors to consider as well if students wish to achieve high merit or distinction consistently.

1. Strong technical foundation
Very important and often neglected by many teachers due to time constraint in lessons. As students progress in grade, so do their pieces increase in technical difficulty. By right, besides learning pieces there should be a consistent technical regime consisting of scales, arpeggios, and etudes. It is true that good teachers are capable of adding much more musical details to their students' playings as compared to average teachers. But no matter how good the teachers are, if the students are not capable of realising those details, their playings would not be able to realise full potentials. When I was teaching some higher grades transfer students last time, I had to be honest to them and told them they might not be able to get very good results because of weak foundations. For such cases I normally recommend delaying the exams to work on the technical deficiencies first, but students and parents often are unwilling to do so and prefer to rush into exams.

2. Appropriate Repertoire Choice
Each student is unique and comes with his/her own playing styles along with strengths and weaknesses. To achieve best result in exam, repertoire assigned should display the students' strengths and suit their temperaments. Normally I will let my students choose their exam pieces, but I may veto some of their decisions if clearly the pieces do not suit them. And I also encourage alternative pieces as the examiners may get tired from listening same pieces too many times. Some teachers assign exactly same exam pieces for all students of the same grade for convenience sake; this should not be the way.

3. Good examiners
Now, I know that we should not blame the examiners for our marks and there was no way we could know how our students performed inside that room. But I have experienced at least a few occassions where the examiners did not mark according to the marking guidelines or demonstrate knowledge of repertoire being assessed. ABRSM has laid out very specific marking guidelines for the grades in their syllabus that can be read freely in their website and I normally give some mock scores according to these guidelines. I was most of the time on the dot, but a few errant examiners seem adamant not to follow them, mostly deducting more marks than necessary (4 marks deduction for slightly off pitch echo singing!!!). And there are at least a couple times I totally disagreed with the comments the examiners wrote for the pieces; coincidentally the examiners were non pianists. But such is the nature of music; even the best pianists can polarize opinions (can read up the local concert reviews for Nojima who performed in Piano Festival a few years ago).

As for your daughter wishing to do diploma, that is still quite far off and she may change her mind. But be forewarned that it is quite costly. Engaging proper diploma teachers are not cheap and total the piano fees may well go into more than 10K. She also will need to devote at least one to two hours or more consistently for an extended period of time. As for whether she should do diploma if she has not scored a distinction before, plenty of distinction scorers for grade 8 has failed diploma exams before. Diplomas are totally different ball game altogether. How she do for the grades do not really matter; what matters more is her passion and work ethic. I scored only 118 when I self-taught myself to take grade 8 piano, but I still went on to join NAFA full time and graduated from it.

An actual grand is not really necessary. My K80 upright grand served me all the way from grade 8 to my full time study. But if you are looking at actual grand, consider entry level Yamaha C or Kawai RX. Hailun's grand is below 20K and worth considering as well.

[Champagne1975]

I’m overwhelmed and thankful for the thoughtfully crafted replies. I’ve been trying to digest the info. hence my delayed response. I’d be back when I’ve considered things over more.

[buzzmario]

hi,my girl just pass her grade 2. using second christopoti piano, think it tall at 121 cm. I got it at 2700 few years back. was think it is a good time to change to a better piano? as grade go higher is there diferent on learn on a low level piano to a high one? thanks

[jce]

Yes there is a difference as things get more technical in the higher grades. A good (better) piano will help the child hear and feel the differences in touch, sound that the teacher is (should be) teaching.

[bebebub]

I am looking to upgrade our piano.


May I seek comments/advice/reviews on Kohler & Campbell(made in Korea)and Ellington(made in China). Both models stand at 131cm, similar pricing.

The respective dealer ‘claimed’ their piano is made of European/German parts. Should I be concerned with their assembly origin? If u hv to make a choice, which would you go for, or none at all? TIA.

[Dreamaurora]

jce:

Yes there is a difference as things get more technical in the higher grades. A good (better) piano will help the child hear and feel the differences in touch, sound that the teacher is (should be) teaching.

I am actually curious if there are grade 8 students who manage to score distinctions even without having a proper exam model piano to practice at home. I always recommend good pianos for my students, but there are a few times where I accompanied students to exam rehearsals and I found the pianos lacking and not properly maintained. So I am kind of wary of assigning pieces that require very careful shading and details for higher grades e.g. Bach's Preludes and Fugues. Those less transparent ones such as Scarlatti sonatas seem to be the safer choice, but sometimes no choice teach some pieces because students like them.

[jce]

I have had quite a few scoring distinction (high end and low end) despite having so-so pianos. I do choose Scarlatti over Bach as it is more straight forward. But even with that, B choice pieces will require more sensitive playing.

[ruby77]

Hi all,

I am looking for the good condition preloved kekboard. If anyone has to let go, ps pm me with the model,how long have been used and where to collect. Thks.

[pianoprincess]

Champagne1975:

Hi all, I read the entire thread but still need advice.

1. I would like suggestions on upgrade to a final piano.
2. Whether a poorer instrument hampers piano progress/ results?
3. Is there an affordable Grand piano (possible Diploma down the road?), around what price tag?

Edited for length.

Hi, I read your earlier post, and my personal opinion is that there is no doubt a grand piano will be a much better instrument to be practising on due to the action of the piano, however, the teacher must be sufficiently used to how a grand piano truly works in order to impart the skills needed to the pupil. Not every teacher in Singapore has a grand piano, therefore, even if you buy a upgrade, the teacher may not even know how to use a grand piano to it's full potential.

Does a poorer instrument hamper piano progress? Yes, for example, a upright piano does not have a responsive action in comparison to a well made grand piano , therefore, when playing higher level pieces like concert etudes, or even trills , you can feel the difference. The usage of the pedal, also differs. However, at grade 5, I do not really think it makes a big difference.

As for regards to scoring a distinction, even if you do buy a grand piano, the exam pianos are almost always an upright, therefore, even if you do prepare sufficiently on a grand piano, you may not be able to recreate the same sound on the upright in the exam room. So it is very hard to say if buying a grand piano will enable your daughter to score a distinction.

Is there an affordable grand piano? It does depend on your budget. As many posters here have recommended, china made models or even indonesian made models are available at good price points. However, quality does suffer in my opinion (no offence to anyone!), and technicians back in Vienna have discussed at length with me about how the china made models are made shabbily and of inferior metal and wood quality with very odd ways of assembling the piano together, making them unable to last long. Well made ones can easily last you a lifetime when taken care of properly,and when a grand piano is of inferior quality, it may be that a much better quality upright will be superior to the grand.

Hope that helps!

[Champagne1975]

Thank you very much for those valid points, Pianoprincess!


I may have been reading too much in other non-local forums about grands. My online research on China-made and Indonesia-made pianos turn up similar reservations you raised. Still putting careful thought and weighing all considerations- now I have an idea of which aspects to look into regarding child's skill devt, and which recommended piano models. Not ready to take the plunge yet...