AIBU to want a piano?

[ShouldIStaySelfIsolated]

I'd love a piano. I've looked on ebay, marketplace etc and they are a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. We don't currently have the space but are looking at buying a new house after Christmas (not completely piano related).
I have lovely ideas about Christmas songs round the piano, my children being very cultured, learning Mozart, and having time to myself to play...

So, does anyone already have a piano and can confirm that my piano related dreams will become a reality, or will it just be another thing to dust/hoover around?

DD had a few lessons years ago so knew the basics. She didn't want to go down the formal route with grades etc. She's more or less taught herself using an iPad, I think with YouTube, or other programmes. She really enjoys it and we love to hear her play. We haven't sung carols round the piano though

A friend of ours is a piano restorer and tuner and one of his favourite phrases is "There's no such thing as a free piano". Now you might get lucky, but most pf the pianos that you see for sale at low prices or being given away are junk that people just want to get rid of. Our friend says he fairly frequently gets asked to tune pianos that people have acquired in this way and it's rarely that simple. Often they have deteriorated to the point where they are impossible to tune, at least not without costly rebuilds.
We have an Edwardian piano (hence the friendship with the piano guy....) and it does sound beautiful but honestly it's almost like having another child- DH is continually monitoring the temperature and humidity of the room to make sure his beloved piano is healthy! We had it restrung and parts of the action replaced a few years ago which cost a small fortune and we get it tuned 2 or 3 times a year.
I'd try and find someone who knows what they are looking at if you decide to buy an acoustic piano or you could end up with a white elephany unfortunately.
We have a digital piano too so that DS can practice with headphones on if we've got visitors or something, and whilst its nowhere near as nice, its certainly more practical, and probably a safer bet in your circumstances.

Aside from the moving/buying costs, how much is it roughly for the yearly upkeep?

We have a digital piano. It’s really very handy as a shelf for the books that don’t fit on our actual shelf 😬

I bought ours for 30 quid from EBay. We had to pay for a van to transport it but it’s nice to have and I’ve painted it to make it look pretty. My kids both play other instruments so could already read music and have been able to teach themselves how to play the piano to a decent standard. We don’t bother getting it tuned regularly because we’re not that serious about it but probably would if it was their first instrument. It is nice to hear them playing it and it’s definitely less painful to listen to in the beginning stages compared with certain other instruments..

A house without a piano isn't a house so YANBU

I got one out of a skip, loaded it into the stock trailer and put it in my barn. It gave me 2 years of enormous pleasure, playing it for hours several times a week. My childhood lessons 20 years ago proved to have been priceless. It was my escape from the world and saw me through lockdown. Sheer joy.

In the winter it would seize up, in the early summer I’d tune it and unstick the keys, but it couldn’t recover from its 3rd winter and is now dead. I knew it wouldn’t last forever and just feel grateful for those 2 wonderful years. I also have a good digital piano but I never play it, I just don’t enjoy it. So I’m looking out for another freebie.

If you think you’ll play it and enjoy it, get one. I don’t have space in the house which is a real tragedy!

My DH commented that if he hadn't grown up with a piano in the house he'd possibly never have ended up as a professional musician. I'd never considered that but I guess it's true. You can't learn to play tennis if no one gives you a racquet.

You definitely won't be singing those Christmas songs round the piano if you haven't got one, OP. So - new house, new piano and, maybe, a few lessons?

I inherited a piano when I moved into this house. I decided to have lessons to learn to play it. I'd be good if I practiced more. But it makes me feel cultured and superior. Ha!

They cost £64 for four weeks. I have the piano tuned once a year for about £80.

If you really want a piano, I second what others upthread have said about cheap ones.

What I would recommend is to find, if you have one, your local piano tuner. They often know of people looking to sell, and will be able to advise on whether a piano is worth spending money on or not.

Just about to move house for the 15th time and my piano is coming with me as usual, I've even written a new song to celebrate this event, if you want one get one and enjoy every second of it.

I played keyboard up to grade 5 as a teen and unearthed the 30 year old Yamaha from a cupboard. My 7 year old is now having lessons on it and I’m teaching myself bass clef (as opposed to keyboard chords). My son enjoys lessons, but I’m practicing more than him! It’s been great to go back to it. I have considered an upright piano but may settle for a digital one. That said, a decent sized second hand keyboard may help you decide if it’s for you. And in this case, revisiting music after 25 years means money and time spent on my childhood lessons has not been a waste 😊.

I'm a piano teacher. Go for it, definitely. but get a digital piano. So much cheaper and takes up little space, no tuning required. If anyone in the house really takes to it and looks like they're going to go all the way to Grade 8 etc, then invest in a nice acoustic at some point, if you can afford it... but you don't need to worry about that for now. I always recommend the website gear4music to check out the different digital pianos, you need weighted keys which is why you go for a digital piano and not a keyboard, but they start at very reasonable prices, a couple of hundred and up.

I'm standing in the queue behind @billy1966. The constant nagging to practice has been going for 18 months and we are no where near grade 1.

Sorry op, nothing to add. I simply related to a true reflection of my current parenting and sighed.

@ShouldIStaySelfIsolated

Aside from the moving/buying costs, how much is it roughly for the yearly upkeep?

Tuning isn't hugely expensive. We get ours done twice a year at £60 a time. Which is fine if you get a piano that can be tuned and will stay in tune for a reasonable length of time.The problem is, that's often not the case for free/cheap pianos and you are then left with either needing to get rid of it or paying thousands for repairs.

We bought a digital piano (with weighted keys) when my son started piano lessons and it has been brilliant. Our digital piano is a Yamaha P125 which was recommended when we asked in a piano shop.

Before starting piano lessons my son (8/9 years old at the time) taught himself using a cheap keyboard (£35 maybe?) and the Simply Piano app. When he started lessons he was ready to learn the pieces for his grade 1 exam off the back off what he had taught himself. I would really recommend this app to get started and with a large family everyone would be able to use it for the one subscription fee. Then you won't be paying for lessons for basics like learning the notes and to read basic music. We probably wouldn't have paid for lessons if it wasn't for his continued commitment to teaching himself using this technology.

I decided on a digital piano after reading that pianos don't like the central heating in modern housing and not wanting the ongoing expense of tuning. It can be connected to an ipad (I think the cable is HDMI) so it can be used to record directly for example to Garage Band (via the signal rather than the sound in the room) then this can be layered with voice recordings and other instruments (these can be virtual Garage Band ones) and then exported as sound file. My son has used this type of this to enter song competitions recording his own backing.

Just lately he has been looking at the app Synthesia. This uses the keyboard connectivity to make video that shows the notes you play, for example for a youtube tutorial.

What I am getting at with the technology is that while none of this existed in traditional piano, and might not be of interest to you or me, a young family may very well get into some of this stuff at the right ages.

In my opinion key to getting use out of your piano is having it in the heart of your home. Ours is in the living room - the same room as the TV and Xbox so at some points in the day it's TV/xbox off piano on. We do have to nag for practice but I gather it is normal to have to nag younger players to practice until hopefully they become self motivated when they are older.

My son is just about to start secondary school and is so excited about the music block and practice rooms. He hopes to meet young musicians/join a band etc. At the moment he wants to work in music - teach piano or create music but we always say if he decides to pursue something else it will still always be a lovely skill to have.

our piano is just tuned once a year regardless, if you have the money for a piano and not for the digital go for it imo

@safariboot

Consider a digital piano. Light and easy to move, no need for tuning, can practice with headphones, some have other instrument sounds too. On a low budget digital generally gets you better quality than acoustic (on a high budget it's the other way round).

Any particular makes? I am in the same position as OP.

@Hawkaye

I'm standing in the queue behind *@billy1966*. The constant nagging to practice has been going for 18 months and we are no where near grade 1.

Sorry op, nothing to add. I simply related to a true reflection of my current parenting and sighed.

Full sympathy .

The funny thing is, mine NEVER wanted to give up.
They enjoyed it.

One thing tbough that we got wrong was the exams.

All I ever wanted was the skill.

All of mine spoke later, especially the first.
Language comes from the right side of the brain and learning an instrument stimulates this.

I read this and promptly bought a piano.

The early years are difficult but mine grew to enjoy playing.

The real problem were the exams and some god awful pieces that had to be learned over the months.

It's very hard to continuously play a piece you don't like.

This definitely has been an issue.

I hadn't been that pushed about exams but the teachers insisted that they needed to be done to progress.

If I was to do it all again I would ditch the exams.
The boys continued lessons for several years after grade 6, at their bidding, just learning pieces they liked but gave up a couple of years ago.

Hopefully it will be something they will pick up again.

We have a piano—my husband plays. It’s a really beautiful piece of furniture to have in the home IMO regardless of who plays it or how good you are or anything. BUT it takes up a lot of space and requires regular maintenance (tuning, cleaning etc). Not to put you off, just to make you aware. It was also a bit of a nightmare when we moved. We hired professional piano movers and even then it was a struggle because of the layout of our house.

Of course if you really want to learn it’s so much easier having your own for daily practice. It’s actually so lovely to hear my husband playing just randomly through the day.

The real problem were the exams and some god awful pieces that had to be learned over the months.
It's very hard to continuously play a piece you don't like.

Thank you @billy1966! I am beginning to feel a bit insecure as everyone talks about grades and I'm not even sure we'll make it to the first one. As long as she doesn't end up hating playing, I'll take that as a win!

@Junkmail

We have a piano—my husband plays. It’s a really beautiful piece of furniture to have in the home IMO regardless of who plays it or how good you are or anything. BUT it takes up a lot of space and requires regular maintenance (tuning, cleaning etc). Not to put you off, just to make you aware. It was also a bit of a nightmare when we moved. We hired professional piano movers and even then it was a struggle because of the layout of our house.

Of course if you really want to learn it’s so much easier having your own for daily practice. It’s actually so lovely to hear my husband playing just randomly through the day.

How lovely. It is such a beautiful instrument.

There is nothing nicer than the sound of a lovely piece being played well.

Several of my daughter's friends play violin in an orchestra and I give their parents full credit for their years of support.

The early clanging of the piano is tough going, but Lord above, the violin is beyond torture to listen to.

The only issue if your children are very keen, is when your son decides to buy a square piano (in addition to the upright) in order to play 19th century music more authentically, and then he slso gets a virginal...
I no longer have an office .

I would love a piano - can’t play though

@safariboot

Consider a digital piano. Light and easy to move, no need for tuning, can practice with headphones, some have other instrument sounds too. On a low budget digital generally gets you better quality than acoustic (on a high budget it's the other way round).

This. We have an excellent digital piano.