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AIBU?

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Original poster

Do you need a big house to have a piano?

66 replies

JonahAndTheSale · 02/09/2016 09:56

We had a piano when I was growing up.

I enjoyed playing it, got to grade 6 !

Fast forward years and now I've my own dc, I'd like them to have the option of playing, if they wanted to.

Question is, I've no idea where I'd put a piano.

House is smallish 4 beds.

If you have a piano, do you have tonnes of space?!

Thanks

OP posts:
Witchend · 02/09/2016 11:07

4 beds is a big house!

There's space for a piano if you want one in pretty much any size house. You just have to put a priority on it*

  • That's assuming you don't want a grand piano.
SugarMiceInTheRain · 02/09/2016 11:10

I live in a 3 bed semi and have an upright piano. Really it doesn't take up much more floor space than a large bookcase. In fact, I'm going to shortly be replacing it with a baby grand which is being handed down to me by someone upgrading theirs. It's at one end of our long thin living room. The sitting area is at the other end and the area behind the piano largely gets filled with junk, toys etc, so I figured I'd rather have a larger piano filling the space and get rid of the junk.

MrsRhubarb · 02/09/2016 11:11

We have a small house, only one reception room, but we love our piano. Occasionally I fantasise about the extra space but it looks so lovely, and we all get enjoyment from it. We always had a piano growing up, I just feel a home needs one.

allegretto · 02/09/2016 11:11

We have a silent acoustic in our 3 bed flat - you can play it with headphones if you want to play at night or normally if you prefer. Tbh we don't really have the room but it is a question of priorities- if we got rid of the piano then we could fit in a sofa where we could all sit down

LittleCandle · 02/09/2016 11:14

Another vote for a Clavinova and I also don't work for Yamaha. I thoroughly researched electric pianos for the church where I was the organist a few years ago. We were looking to find an alternative to the beautiful grand piano in the church. It was a glorious instrument, but churches are not good places for piano. Not everything can be played on the organ. We also wanted to tie it in to the new sound system. So I went to an organ studio which sells electric pianos and proceeded to play every single one in the place. We got a lovely one that fitted the needs of the church and which also had weighted keys, like a real piano. When my own old upright had reached the end of its life, i knew exactly which electric piano I wanted. I didn't opt for one with 600 million extra voices, nice as that is, as I just wanted a piano to play, as I have had all my life. It takes up less room and I am not paying a fortune in tuner's fees.

Avoid a keyboard at all costs if you are a pianist, because the keys are often narrower and the lack of weight on them is disconcerting.

CloudPirate · 02/09/2016 11:16

I agree with all those saying clavinova... we have a piano in a small house but it does take up a lot of room and gather a lot of dust DH wants to get rid of it but I love it and it was free

If you do go for a traditional upright piano, yes to the putting it against a wall, but not if it's an adjoining wall to the neighbours. I know someone who has a back to back house, and the neighbour's DS wakes her up at around 7am every morning playing the same 'tune' on the piano over and over again... the piano is pushed against the adjoining wall and it seems to carry the sound somehow? It's as loud as if it's being played in her house.

YelloDraw · 02/09/2016 11:20

We also have a "get out of washing up by playing the piano" rule, which means I sometimes have the pleasingly surreal situation of washing up to live classical music

I love this Merrow

RatherBeRiding · 02/09/2016 11:50

Echo the Clavinova - DS has had one for years, takes up very little room, and he's done all his ABRSM with it. Plus as others have said it can be played on silent through headphones so everyone else can get on with watching TV!

RockNRollNerd · 02/09/2016 12:02

We have a Roland, it was a bit cheaper than the Clavinova which I couldn't afford at the time but it has the full range, weighted keys, three pedals etc. I'm Grade 5 standard and it's done me and DS fine. Headphones are a huge advantage as well if you don't live in a detached house.

lilydaisyrose · 02/09/2016 12:15

Haha no! We live in a 2 bed maisonette (5 rooms and a corridor) and have our upright piano in the living room.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2016 12:27

I had a tiny 3 bed house as my first one - 2 beds and a box room (box room was about 7' square). The living room was the only option for a piano, but I couldn't fit a full length one in - so compromised by getting an electric piano that was an octave short of a full-size one, so it fit in. Useful in that it also took headphones so I could play without pissing off the neighbours!

Proper electric piano, not a "keyboard" - mine is a Roland, with weighted keys etc. Most of them are probably like that now but I've had mine 25 years! Grin

grimupnorthLondon · 02/09/2016 12:30

We have a boudoir grand (half way between a baby grand and a full concert grand) in our two bedroom flat. DH is a pianist and it moved into my flat when we got together. It kind of dominates the sitting room but we make good use of the space underneath it for storage and the lid is always stacked with music and books. Our house "aesthetic" is what politer guests describe as cluttered - we have a few thousand books plus several hundred CDs - so it fits right in. Luckily our neighbours are young and noisy so don't complain about the noise, which is lucky because it is CONSIDERABLE but I think it's a great thing to grow up in a house where live music is made. The Clavinova is much better than old-style keyboards but DH always tells his students to go for a real piano if at all possible - sadly difficult for many of them as they tend to be postgrads renting tiny London spaces. You should go for it OP.

grimupnorthLondon · 02/09/2016 12:31

ps. if you do go for a keyboard, for god sake don't get one without all the octaves - you simply can't learn to play that way!

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2016 12:35

I think that's a bit silly, Grim - there are very few pieces of music I play where I miss that last bottom octave. Jerusalem from Chariots of Fire is the only one I can even think of!

daisypond · 02/09/2016 12:36

DD is a "serious" hobby pianist - Grade 8. We have the Yamaha Clavinova with its weighted keys and pedals. It's not very deep, so doesn't stick out too much in the room. We did consider a proper piano, but the only place it could have fitted was up against a radiator, which isn't good for pianos. Plus, the added factor of headphones and no tuning meant it's a winner for us. I'm told it's not quite the same as a real good-quality piano, but it seems good enough at this level.

grimupnorthLondon · 02/09/2016 12:39

It's really not Thumb. Loads of repertoire requires the full keyboard and lots of technique exercises will also do so. Absolute beginners can manage with less but even casual players like me (I have my grade 8 but from many many years ago) bashing through easier classics will need the full range. Sorry - I'm not trying to be snotty about anyone's ability - just warning OP that if she/any of her family want to take the piano even reasonably seriously, it may be a bit short-termist to opt for a reduced keyboard.

LordTrash · 02/09/2016 12:41

We're in a small 4-bedder too (they do exist), and have an electric piano in our (overcrowded) living room. There's not enough wall space to put it up against, so it's formed a kind of partition between the living and dining spaces. I love it, the dds love it, it's all good.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2016 12:42

OK. I only have grade 7, so not to your standard, but I've never found it an issue except for that one piece.

grimupnorthLondon · 02/09/2016 12:52

It won't generally be an issue Thumb for things like film scores or indeed for early music like Bach, because they were writing for smaller keyboards back then (though purists argue you shouldn't play that stuff on modern pianos in any case). But if you want to try romantic or 20th century music the whole keyboard is necessary. You don't have to be a great pianist to have a proper go at some Debussy and Rachmaninoff - I am really really not good but love trying my hand at the easier bits of that stuff.

Also weighted keys are crucial to developing a proper technique. Of course any keyboard is better than nothing, but if cost and space is not an issue, it seems pointless to compromise. Of course no one in the house may ever want to go beyond exam pieces etc. but if you are going to learn to do something, why not allow yourself the possibility of learning to do it as well as you can :)

RunningLulu · 02/09/2016 12:56

Nope. Gran had a full size one in her 2 up 2 down terrace. It took up pride of place in the living room instead of a TV. Brother has it now but he has a mansion so keeps it in the downstairs hall.

Thingmcthingyface · 02/09/2016 12:59

Oh please get a real one not a keyboard they are so very much more rewarding. Yes they are a bugger to move and should be tuned at least every six months or more but they are just lovely...and they look pretty and there are often quite good ones available for free as long as you collect. Where do you live- pm me if you decide on a real one and want pointers for what to look for in a piano to make sure you don't get a duffer...from a piano lover Grin

BackforGood · 02/09/2016 13:08

Of course not. (and a 4 bed house, is generally considered larger than average anyway).

GobblersKnob · 02/09/2016 13:17

We used to have one in a our two bed terrace with six of us living there! Also in the kitchen, it was great.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 02/09/2016 14:48

Grim - I already said my Roland has weighted keys. Decent electric pianos do. Full size keys as well, not thin ones. And pedals too.

Anyway, I'm not going to continue this beyond saying that I play plenty of classical music as well as "film" stuff - but maybe not 20th C stuff - and even in Mozart and Beethoven sonatas etc., haven't had a problem. ONLY problem was Jerusalem from the film I mentioned.

The point is that it is possible to get a slightly smaller piano than standard if the OP is pushed for space, which SURELY was the point of the thread?

ElleDubloo · 02/09/2016 14:58

Used to be a serious pianist before I started working, got married and had kids Sad

We have a Clavinova now, because we used to live in a flat and kept it when we moved into a house.

I'd definitely prefer to have a real piano if I could afford it (and plan to save up for one) because it's very much better than a Clavinova.

However if space is limited, or you have fussy neighbours, then a Clavinova is a good alternative. I do love playing mine - it doesn't quite have the same feel as a real piano, but it does the job - probably much better than you think.