Frequently Asked Questions
What Sound Characteristics should a Piano have?
Professional pianists choose a piano on the basis of tone, touch response and the volume or power of the instrument.
Tone
The tome of your piano should be pleasing to you. The tone in a piano should be clear and produce consistent not-to-note tomes. Look for a piano tone that is well balanced and uniform through its entire range, from the high notes to the low notes.
There should be no mechanical noise when the keys are touched. A noisy action with clicks or buzzes indicated inferior workmanship and materials.
Touch Response
Look for a piano that has a comfortable and even action throughout the entire keyboard. Avoid pianos that have uneven tone or touch. Look for a medium to heavy touch so that the piano player develops good finger technique. A very light touch makes for poor finger work and hinders the development of piano skills.
The pianist controls the tome by touch. The action must be able to respond to the slightest variation in touch so that the player has control over how loud or soft the music is played.
Volume and Power
The sound of a piano is the result of all the parts working together. The size, length, weight, and quality of those parts and how they interact are referred to as the scale of the piano.
When looking at grand pianos, it is the length of the piano that determines the volume. The longer the length, the longer the strings and the larger the soundboard. The larger soundboard produces a better tone and a louder sounding piano.
Petite sized grand pianos are primarily furniture items and are not designed for serious players. Petite and baby-sized grand pianos typically lack the music dynamics and fall short in the bass sound compared to the larger grand pianos. As the sizes increase, the tonal quality plateaus but the music dynamics still improve. That is why professional pianists typically use 7 foot or larger grand pianos. Most concert grand pianos are greater than 9 feet in length. Most serious piano players insist on a grand piano not less that 5'6".
The height of the vertical (upright) pianos determines the volume that the piano will project. The small spinets and console uprights are usually bought more as furniture. To obtain good tone and bass sounds a player needs the larger studio or full size vertical (upright) piano.
What Brand or Manufacturer of Piano is best?
The story of the piano begins in Italy in 1709. Originally it was called the "gravicembalo col piano e forte" which means "soft and loud keyboard instrument."
The pianos represented a leap in technology over other music instruments. Classical artists like Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Handle, Mozart and Schumann pushed the development of pianos in Europe.
By the mid-1800s European craftsmen had developed the modern upright and grand type pianos. Hundreds of piano manufactures existed throughout Europe. It is during this period that the European master piano builders Bechstein, Bluthner, Boesendorfer, August Forester, etc. were formed. Innovative piano makers had also crossed the Atlantic and began making pianos in North America. Piano manufacturers such as Baldwin, Chickering, Heintzman, Mason & Hamlin, Steinway and Wurlitzer provided pianos for Canada and the United States. Many of these vintage pianos from the turn of the century have been restored and are still played today. Many of these vintage pianos from the turn of the century have been restored and are still played today. Most of the vintage pianos were built by piano companies concerned with reputations.
By the early 1900s, grand piano makers like Yamaha from Japan and the American Baldwin concert grand piano were winning Europe awards for the quality and sound of their pianos. After World War II, the production of pianos had shifted from Europe and North America to factories in Asia. Piano production shifted from producing only a hundred pianos per month to thousands of pianos per month. The Japanese were the first to incorporate modern mass production manufacturing processes and piano assembly plants. Other Asian piano manufacturers have since copied and expanded the mass production of pianos.
In the 1950s piano manufacturing started in China and in Korea. Today the Samick company from Korea, is the world's largest piano company.
By the year 2000, almost all major piano manufacturing is now done in Japan, Korea, Indonesia and China. The only major piano manufacturer left in the United States is Steinway. In Europe only a few companies still make pianos in Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy and in Germany. Although the big piano manufacturers are now found in Asia, small scale and specialty piano manufacturers can still be found in North America and Europe.
Many of the old grand names of piano have gone out of business or their names have been bought and are now marketed by Asian piano manufacturers.
The evolution of piano manufacturing has many similarities with the manufacture of automobiles. Today the finest and most expensive/luxury pianos are made in Europe (Bechstein and Bluthner in Germany, Bosendorfer in Austria and Faxioli in Italy), the United States (Steinway) and in Japan (Yamaha and Kawai).
The first Japanese pianos were inexpensive but today the top of the line Japanese piano commands a premium price and ranks as one of the best pianos technically and in quality. After the Japanese came the Korean piano manufacturers, who provided comparable featured pianos to the Japanese but at a lower price and with varying quality. Over the years the Korean pianos have greatly improved the quality.
The Chinese piano manufacturers are the latest to come into North America marketplace. There is a wide range of product, price and quality that is imported from China. Some Chinese piano manufacturers make pianos that are designed for the home market while others have modernized their factories and have entered into joint partnerships with established Japanese and Korean piano manufacturers. Some Chinese piano builders, also incorporate the piano expertise, equipment and technology from Japan and Europe when making their pianos.
Hundreds of piano models covering all the quality categories are offered for sale in Canada. Some are marketed using brand name labels while others are sold under private label names. Strong competition exists at every level of the piano quality categories, from the entry level to the professional level. It is impossible to generalize one brand or manufacturer as better than another as each piano has different features, strengths and price points based on the quality category it is marketed in. Prices vary because of tone, craftsmanship and brand name recognition.
Should I buy a Chinese piano?
Chinese pianos typically incorporate modern glues, wood processing methods and modern piano building techniques and technology. European components such as Renner action, Abel hammers and Roslau strings have been incorporated into some Chinese pianos.
The components in a Chinese piano can be world class. The issue becomes one of musicality on how all the components in a piano work together.
The volume and mass manufacturing of pianos by the Chinese, has resulted in lower priced pianos being sold in Canada today compared to the price of similar sized pianos 5-10 years ago. Chinese pianos are normally found at the entry level and not at the professional or concert level.
Acoustic Pianos vs Digital Pianos
Acoustic pianos have authentic piano keys and actions. Acoustic pianos have beautiful real piano tone where the sound vibrates from the string through the soundboard. The piano action responds to the slightest variation in touch. The player has control of the how loud or soft the piano can be played. In an acoustic instrument, by using various playing techniques, you can produce almost infinite kinds of "colour" to the tone.
Digital and electronic pianos imitate the sound of an acoustic piano by the use of amplifiers. The digital sounds is fixed and remained the same regardless how hard or soft the key is played. Digital pianos are electronic instruments that depreciate quickly and the technology quickly becomes obsolete. Acoustic pianos typically retain their value and offer a better resale value than an electronic piano.
A student can learn to play on an electronic instrument but as the student's piano skills progress, an acoustical instrument becomes more necessary.
The biggest advantage of an electronic piano is the very low price for the instrument. If you are considering an electronic keyboard piano, I strongly suggest a full size 88 keyboard preferable with weighted and touch resistance keys.
Grand Piano vs. Upright Piano
The primary difference between grands and uprights is the direction of the strings in the piano cabinet and the piano action of the hammer hitting the string.
An upright piano needs action springs to allow the hammers to strike the strings and to allow for repetition.
Due to the horizontal layout of the grand piano, gravity rather than spring allow the hammers to strike the strings. A good grand piano has good sound projection and a more responsive key action. A grand piano is the preferred piano for professional pianists and serious students.
A general rule of thumb is "the larger the piano the better the sound." Remember that the price also escalates with the size of the piano. Most piano purchasers are advised to buy the tallest vertical (upright) or the largest grand they can afford.
Both Grands and Vertical (upright) Pianos come in a number of sizes. The height of an upright piano is measured from the floor to the top of the piano. The length of a grand piano is measured from the front of the keyboard to the very back of the piano.
Size Categories of Grand Pianos
Size Categories of Vertical (upright) Pianos
Petite Grand - 5'1" & smaller Spinet - 36" to 39"
Baby Grand- 5'0" to 5'5" Consoles or Apartment Size- 40" to 43"
Medium Grand- 5'6" to 5'10" Studio - 44" to 48"
Studio Grand- 5'11" to 6'11" Professional or Full Size - 49" and up
(also called upright grand pianos)
Semi-Concert Grand-7' to 8'11"
Concert Grand - 9'0" & larger
New Pianos vs Used Pianos
A good piano is a very tough piece of equipment. With good maintenance a piano can last and remain useful for more than 25 years before it needs major servicing.
A vertical piano can have more than 8,000 parts and a grand piano has approximately 12,000 parts. Many of these piano parts wear out and must be repaired or replaced over time. The older the piano, the greater the need for a general overhaul. Natural deterioration of a piano occurs from extremes of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, normal use and player abuse.
A new acoustic piano has had a long reputation of maintaining its value. Older pianos have been known to actually increase in value over their original purchase price. Price is primarily the main factory why people purchase used pianos. Some people advocate the best value is to restore a vintage piano. Vintage or antique pianos are a specialized area and I would advise getting professional advice.
A new piano with a 10 or 12 year manufacturer's warranty and today's moderately price pianos, minimizes the price difference that exists between new and used pianos of comparable size.
Because of the high cost of pianos they are often treated as valued heirlooms to be past on from one generation to the next. Typically it is pianos with problems that are the first to be disposed or in the used marketplace.
As with a used car, you could be buying someone else's problems or a lemon with no warranty to bail you out. It is possible to find a good deal on a used piano but remember the used marketplace saying "buyer beware." When buying a used piano, ask about the history of the piano. If you are considering a used piano, enlist the help of a certified piano technician to do a complete inspection.
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