Does anyone fancy a piano chat thread?

[LemonViolet]

I’m awaiting delivery of a new piano, squeee!!! I haven’t played regularly for 20 years. I got to grade 6 as a teen, failed grade 7, carried on tinkering for a bit but have not really lived anywhere with a piano since age 18 so am well out of practice.

Whilst I hope/plan to put a baby grand in our front room, once it is done up - which may be some time - at the weekend I just realised, what am I waiting for, I want a digital anyways for playing at less sociable hours, so went ahead and ordered myself a nice Kawai digital and it arrives on Friday!!!

There’s a music chat thread on the extracurricular board but that’s more parents discussing their offsprings’ exploits, I have seen on the music board it’s quite pianissimo but there clearly are other grown up women around here playing/learning/relearning piano for our own pleasure, entertainment, therapy etc! So thought I’d post to see if anyone else is interested in hanging out on a piano thread to chat about our piano journeys, successes and failures, pieces we like, what we’re practicing etc?

It could be called the piano bar or the pianist beaker, seeing as this is MN

If there is one I’ve just failed to find, please point me in that direction.

Nobody else in my house plays piano beyond the very beginners books so they’re all awed by my playing, inept and plonky as it is! I recommend this if you want to feel like Lang Lang while clumping your way through a Grade 2 piece.

I’m glad everyone is happy with their new pianos. I must say, I’ve lurked on other piano threads where people got quite sniffy about digitals, so it’s nice to see a thread where we’re all getting great amounts of joy from whatever piano we have. Surely that’s the important thing? It’s not like entry-level ones don’t have any black keys or play the wrong notes or anything!

Thanks to this thread, I'm now considering a performance diploma. Not sure my digital is up to it though.

Anyone any experience of preparing for diploma level performance on a digital? It's a niceish Kawai.

I thought I'd post a picture of my piano - have had it for 11 years now and this was the day it was delivered 😍.

@GravityFalls I totally agree about the sniffy attitude to digital pianos.
I mean, I started playing age 40 so I'm not going to be a concert pianist.
My two young daughters play and if they prove talented and their teacher says it is holding them back I would consider an analogue but otherwise I think digital pianos are fantastic.
A friend of mine spent a lot on an upright, it has some kind of watering system to prevent it drying out inside? I think it sounds awful! Really doesn't justify the spending!
I like watching piano videos on YouTube. There's a Brazilian pianist called Lord Vinheteiro(?) I think that's right and he went to the Steinway showroom and played the pianos. It was really nice and he showed you the difference in the sounds as he went up the price range. I think the last one was about £250k.

Does anyone have a Yamaha Clarinova? I have just got one from a friend who didn’t use it so I am minding it long term. Only problem is the keys are awfully clattery? It’s old, maybe 20 years.

I have an even older clavinova, @MuchasSmoochas. I don't think it clatters but it does hiss! Thankfully not through the headphones. I've kept it all these years since the kids stopped playing in the hope I would magically learn to play it. This thread has inspired me to make an effort to learn.

Thanks @DreamingOfTheSouthOfFrance I think I need a service!! I had the Roland one and this one looks better but doesn’t sound as good.

@MartyHart it will hold your dds back from truly playing the piano but they will still be able to sit their exams regardless and also play a tune if they don't have an acoustic piano.
The range of sounds that can be created are so much deeper and the pedalling alone is completely different, also the way your fingers work on a digital piano is different to the way you need them to work on an acoustic piano. One thing to consider if your dds do do exams as well is you must have two pedals for the later grades. Some digital models don't have two only the pedal that slides around underneath. This is important for the better marks anyway.

I have played £100k + pianos and there is most definitely a difference between them and lower end acoustics or digital pianos. The good thing in favour of digital pianos is no tuning costs. They're easy to manage once they're set up. A really good one will get you through your exams but not necessarily get top marks.

Anyway just my opinion there. Not saying nobody should own a digital as I have had a few and if it's between learning and not learning I'd say go for it but if you can stretch to an ok acoustic and can maintain it, for dc who don't yet know their potential this can be a game changer on what they learn. I had digital because until now I've generally lived in flats. Pianos and flats don't make for neighbourly friendships

@fluffytrees perfectly happy with the digital.
We live in a terraced house and the girls aren't doing exams (we don't live in the UK and there is much less emphasis on grades for instruments here).
They do their lessons on an acoustic piano at the music school.
The school system here is so high pressure, there are constant tests and exams. If your grades go down then you have to change school. Neither girl wanted to sign up for more tests.

Life isn’t all about exams! And I assure you, my digital does not hold me back from ‘truly playing’ the piano, that just makes you sound daft. My fingers do not work differently. Perhaps your own digitals were older models and you haven’t experienced the advances in tech.

Anyway, this thread is decidedly NOT about parents discussing children, this is US playing for ourselves. Back to the joy!

My “Contemporary Piano Masters” book arrived yesterday so that was my evening taken! Is it just me or does all Einaudi sound the same? Relaxing to play and surprisingly accessible to sight read, but, all very very familiar even though never played him before!! I also enjoyed “Light of the Seven” from Game of Thrones. Felt like I was evil Cersei plotting and again quite quickly playable.

I do feel an urge to get back to Bach today though!

Apologies for any offence caused. From an ex professional pianist, classically trained in a top conservatoire, who has also had many a digital piano! I don't like it when people suggest digital pianos are the same as a good acoustic. They are not, be that for adults or dc.

But that is not to say digital pianos cannot be enjoyable or won't work to play a lot of pieces, and I won't deter from that any longer.

Re digital vs acoustic, it surely depends on the player’s aspirations. If I were buying for an evidently talented child who might go far, then I’d def. want an acoustic. However I was past retirement age when I went back to the piano roughly 50 years after a grade 2 pass, so at the time I wondered whether I’d ever be able to play even G2 pieces halfway competently again.

I have no dreams of ever getting further than about my current g5-ish level. By which I mean I feel able to tackle them and can get them sounding reasonable if I put enough practice in.

This is my converted old upright. The tuner told me it dated from the 1880s! It still has the bases of the candle sconces.

A lot of my music (masses) consists of old ABRSM exam books, with the CDs, so I can tell which I really like - I.e. enough to spend so many hours on. Does anyone else do this?

@Buggerthebotox I had no idea what a performance diploma involved, so looked it up. Is it something that has been brought in during covid where you send recorded pieces to be marked? Or have they always been an option? It seems you can do them at any stage of playing- as you can tell, I didn't get much info from the website!

It would be great to hear the sound quality of some of the digitals on this thread, if anyone is feeling brave and wants to post a video? I have an upright acoustic piano but it feels very different to my teachers Bechstein. I think there's always a difference in how one piano feels compared to another, regardless of acoustic or digital. The Bechstein sounds absolutely beautiful. Apparently it was 100 years old when she got it, 30 years ago.

@lilagrace the Diploma is a post grade 8 assessment of performance (or used to be - I assume it still is! Most of the Boards have them); I think you have to actually have completed G8 to be eligible).

As far as I recall, it's a mix of pieces selected from a very long list. I've been toying with the idea of working towards this (although the prospect terrifies me) but I'm not sure if it is possible to properly prepare on a Digital.

I've dabbled in piano teaching in the past and started (and abandoned) a Teaching Diploma. I understand (perhaps someone can enlighten me) that some form of Diploma is necessary to teach.

There's also something called (I think) a performance assessment - I did one of those - which is aimed at people who don't want to take an exam but want their playing to be assessed but in a less formal way than an exam. You get a mark (I think) and some useful feedback on your playing. I picked my own pieces.

I’m not at all brave enough to post a video of my playing yet! I do think there’s obviously a sound difference between digital and acoustic, and I’m sure it’s important for someone aiming high to get practice on an acoustic, but for me it’s as if I’m learning to drive and people shake their heads and say I’ll never be a formula 1 driver in a Nissan Micra - very true, but I’m just trying to do a three point turn without stalling. A KitchenAid makes far better cakes than a £5 hand mixer, but with the cheap one you still get a cake!

@GravityFalls - I absolutely agree.

Mmm cake.

(But yes, I agree too!)

@MuchasSmoochas I have a clavinova but it only 3 years old. It has the same case and keyboard as a real Yamaha piano, it s just the insides that are electronic. The sound isn't quite the same, but given a) how lousy my playing is, and b) that is has a headphone socket and volume , I'll take that

Thanks @ablutiions! I found a lovely repair man who is going to come and service it. My Roland had a better sound but doesn’t look as good in the room! So turns out Clarinovas were extremely expensive back in the day, price has come down a lot. I suppose technology gets cheaper.

@Buggerthebotox yes, performance assessment is what I must have been reading about- what you're talking about sounds daunting. Are you already a teacher/or do you want to become one?

@LilaGrace I'm not a teacher at the moment. I'm working ft doing something else.

I'm thinking of doing some teaching again as a side hustle but I'm not sure if I'd need a Diploma for that. The alternative would be the Epta course but that hasn't happened recently obviously.Pricy too.

I am a qualified teacher though (not of piano) and I'm never sure if my dusty old PGCE would be of any use at all. Not sure how regulated piano teaching is these days.

SingToTheSky

Mmm cake.

(But yes, I agree too!)

😁

You've all inspired me! Have tried to start learning Schuberts Impromptu D935 no. 3 one variation at a time (well the aim is to get to the stage where I can hack through it rather than polishing it).

What are the semi weighted keys like, I would like to get one but my budget is limited and the ones with semi-weighted keys seem to be cheaper. Haven't played for years and it would just be for my own enjoyment.