What brand of piano to buy?

LittleLams

Registered User
My daughter has been bugging me to let her have piano lessons for a few months? I have doing some research into teachers and piano etc. Does anyone know what brand of piano to buy for a beginner and in what price range? If yamaha, should i get china or japan made? Thanks for any advice!
 
for a beginner who is a young child, i would NOT buy one to start. i would rent... at least for the first 6-12 months to make sure she REALLY wants to have piano lessons.

after that, i don't think it really matters for a young child... MAYBE if/when she gets to competition stage you might want a better piano, but until then, it shouldn't matter much.

my mum is a FANTASTIC pianist and organist (she can play the HUGE pipe organs in churches with 4-5 keyboards!) and her piano at home is about 40 years old. it was a gift from her parents and she can't bring herself to sell it...
 
I agree, for a beginner, as long as it can be tuned correctly, and as long as the keys are not damaged, it doesn't matter. Of course people will tell you what the "best" brands are and if you want to spend the money, you can always go ahead. But it's really not necessary.

I did piano for years and years, thought of becoming teacher qualified even (probably only a year or two extra study for me), and our home piano was a nearly antique "pianola" (the piano that can play rolls when you pump the pedals) - I have no idea how old it is, it was my great uncle's and we got it when he passed away when I was a kid...

I would LOVE a grand if I ever had the money/space for one. I do think they sound better and are more enjoyable to play. But I view it as a luxury, not a necessity. As long as it is in tune and isn't damaged, that's really all that matters...
 
yes - i would definitely rent one to start with and then if your child decides it's something to take seriously, then maybe you could consider investing in one. not at this point in time though...as long as you have the piano tuned periodically, it shouldn't make that much of a difference for a young child
 
You may also want to consider a digital piano. They are small and lightweight, which is a huge plus in Hong Kong, and come with headphones for when your child wants to practice or just bang around and your neighbors (or you??) don't feel like listening. Parsons Music store has several on display for you to try to see if it works for you - the keys are made to feel like you are playing a real piano. I believe the cost can be as low as a few thousand and ranges to the low tens of thousands. And the nicer ones close up to look like an end table. Obviously piano purists will not like this idea though!
 
I actually have a great Roland digital piano which I love - although if my child was learning piano, I would get a real piano. I got the digital piano because of space. Even though it's meant to feel like a real piano, it's actually much lighter. I think that with digital pianos, the touch of a Yamaha is better, but the sound of Roland is better...
 
Thanks for the head-up. We are thinking of getting a used piano from a proper shop that does restoration of old pianos - does anyone know of any?
 
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