Saying Hello to a new Family Member

Do you have any heirlooms that are special to you? Do they seem like a part of the family? I know that animals can seem like part of the family.

Recently I said hello to ….. a new piece of furniture! A neighbor was giving away her piano, and I decided that I would like to have it!

Prior to this, I had a Story and Clark console piano for 22 years. It was given to me. I really loved playing on it. It had a good sound to my ears, and the keys responded well to my touch. I made friends with that piano, and was able to make it “sing.”

My new piano is a Kawai 502F with a Cherry finish. It’s a few years newer than my first piano, but age is usually not a factor in the quality of a piano. The keys are whiter, and it looks nicer in my house than my old piano.

I look forward to “making friends” with my new piano, as I play it and learn how to make it sing as well as my other piano did. It gives me great joy to have a new-to-me piano— and a free one just like my first one was free!

Many people have inaccurate ideas about pianos. They think that if they get a real piano versus a keyboard, that kids will bang on the real piano and break it. In fact, a real piano is built for “banging.” When I say that, I mean that a real piano is meant to be played loudly and forcefully by an adult– and therefore it can handle all the banging that a kid wants to do.

What Will Hurt a Piano

So what will hurt a piano? Spilling liquid in it. Never set a drink or any container of anything– even water– anywhere near the piano. Spilling slime or any other substance between the keys will also hurt it.

Now, an electric piano is much more delicate, and I would be much more cautious about letting children around an electric piano unsupervised.

Are Pianos Huge?

Another inaccurate idea people have about pianos, is that they think they are too large and they don’t have room in their house for one. Let me assure you, that a piano takes up a space of about 30 inches deep and 60 inches long. Plus the bench will stick out a little further. So if you cut a piece of fabric or paper that big, you will see how small of a space a piano really takes up.

The room that my piano is in, is about 7 feet by 8 feet. It’s a pretty small room! And yet I’m able to fit a bookshelf, a filing cabinet, and a teacher’s stool along with a stand for my notebook too!!

Are Pianos Expensive?

Another inaccurate idea that people have about real pianos, is that they are expensive. Now yes, pianos can be expensive– especially if you look at grand pianos. But many people are giving away perfectly good pianos for free. Why are they doing this? I think the main reason is– nobody can play it. Maybe the person that used to be able to play it lost interest, or grew up and moved away, or maybe got older and passed away.

And many people are sentimentally attached to their pianos. So while they don’t want to get rid of it– they are forced to for one reason or another (maybe they are moving and are unable to take it with them). So they may try to sell their piano but are unable to find a buyer. So then they offer to give it away for free.

And let me tell you– sometimes it is very hard to even find someone to take the piano for free.
The expense in owning a piano comes from 2 places. Paying someone to move it is the first one. Unless you have some strong friends and maybe a shoulder dolly to help, you will need to pay a piano mover. Pianos are very heavy.

The second expense in owning a piano is paying the Piano Tuner. It can cost $150-$250 or more for a reputable piano tuner to come to your house and tune your piano. They will want to come every year, but really, if you have a good piano and you keep your house near the same temperature and humidity year round– then you can get away with the piano tuner coming every several years.
I will warn you though– it is getting harder and harder to find a good piano tuner. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the same one for 22 years, and I have no idea what I will do when he retires!

I’ve said that I’ve owned 2 pianos. I actually owned a 3rd piano for awhile. It was the baby grand piano that I purchased for my piano studio.

Any guesses as to how much I paid for it?! I loved this piano, too. It had real ivory keys because it was that old– before plastic keytops were used. Oh, it had a very nice sound and was easy to play. I made a custom vinyl covered bench cushion, and taught many students at this piano over a period of about nine years.

I didn’t want to let it go– but at the time my kids were young and I was cutting back on how many piano students I taught so it didn’t make sense to keep the studio I was renting– and there wasn’t enough room at our house.

I paid $500 for this piano from a college student in 2006. He had advertised it for $300, and then when I looked at it and wanted it, he said someone else was coming to look at it, too– so I offered $500. I’ve always wondered if I could’ve had it for $300– whether he told the truth….

And where did this piano go? Well— I tried to sell it, and couldn’t– so I let it go for free– thankful that it had found a good home. Kind of like giving a pet to a good home, right?!

See? I told you that welcoming a new piano was like welcoming a new family member!