How To Choose The Best Piano For Your House

Often times the image of a piano fitting in a room brings to mind well-aged cartoons with ridiculous ends. Sometimes with a piano falling on the villain’s head. Perhaps it brings to mind a fabulous ballroom with a gleaming grand piano sitting in the center of it.

 

Whatever it brings to mind, choosing the best piano for your home can be a bit tricky. There are numerous details to consider, such as acoustics and the way the room is set up. Even if choosing a keyboard, this is still a substantial investment. And placement is everything. From tiny keyboards to full grand pianos, putting the right piano in the right room will make or break an instrument.

 

Stairs

 

Stairs should always be a consideration when buying a vertical or grand piano. It doesn’t matter if these are 2 steps leading into your home, or an entire flight to the second story of your house. Stairs don’t make putting a piano in the basement impossible.

 

They may just make it a little complicated. Due to the nature of the instrument, most all pianos other than keyboards are rather heavy. There’s a lot that’s going on when you hit the key and produce a sound, after all.

 

If there’s simply no way you’ll be able to pull a heavier piano up your stairs, fret not. You have a great many options still. As mentioned before, keyboards are always in the picture. Though they may not have the exact same tone, performance or appearance as an acoustic piano, keyboards will still serve your needs for practice and quick playing.

 

There are also electronic or digital pianos, which saw a high fad during the 1980’s as an alternative to heavier uprights. While these weigh a good bit more than your typical keyboard, they are still easily managed by a pair of adults up and down short flights of stairs.

 

If you simply have your heart set on a larger piano going up a set of stairs, consider hiring a moving company for assistance. They often have ways of rigging your new instrument so that it remains safe and in tune.

 

Small Spaces

 

Small spaces with low ceilings may not offer the best acoustics in the world, but that doesn’t mean that a vertical piano won’t do well. Vertical pianos are the typical contained instrument that most people remember seeing in old western movies. Usually the piano player in the saloon is playing on a vertical piano, most often times an upright.

 

Vertical pianos come in four major sizes. From smallest to largest these are; the spinet, the console, the studio and the upright.

 

A spinet or console will likely snuggle into any corner in a small room. Even their benches are a bit smaller than some of the other piano benches out there. These smaller pianos are excellent for children and adults just making their way into the piano world. With a lower cost, easier movement and simple but clear sound, they make a solid investment for beginners and intermediate students.

 

Studio and upright pianos are beautiful pieces, but will likely sound better in an area with more room. Unless ceilings are high, a studio piano or an upright may overpower a small room when played.

 

Large Spaces

 

For those with room to stretch, the sky is the limit. Studio and upright pianos will glow in these situations. With everything from churches to dance halls often having upright pianos in them, these instruments are made for these spaces.

 

That said, often people with room to stretch out will pursue grand pianos. Grand pianos come in a variety of sizes and styles, with many private owners choosing small grand or baby grand pianos.

 

And then they’re disappointed.

 

While a baby grand piano may work in a mid-sized room, they are, commonly, known to have less tonal strength and be less impressive overall in large areas. This doesn’t mean that they’re bad pianos. In the right space, the smaller grand pianos have plenty of merit. But that space is a very touchy area and will depend highly on your own personal preferences. Test small grand and baby grand pianos in the store before you take one home. If pleased in the store, you will probably be pleased at home too.

 

Formal Areas

 

With no doubt, the grand piano is the front runner for the formal area. With it’s sleek design and multiple sizes, it’s classic appearance and it’s gorgeous sound quality, almost everyone buys a grand piano and sticks it in a formal area.

 

Now these formal areas don’t have to be ballrooms or wedding areas, though they often are. For those with formal areas in their homes, including formal dining rooms, finding the right grand piano is a challenge. Black, parlour grand pianos are the standard ones you find in homes. For those with seriously large areas, concert grands are an option.

 

The largest problem lies with finding how large your area is and how high your ceilings are. If in doubt about a particular piano, ask a music technician to come into the room and measure your acoustics. An enormous room with high acoustic quality really doesn’t need a concert grand piano in it. A parlour grand, or even a professional grand piano will work just fine.

 

However, in huge rooms with poor acoustics, full size concert grand pianos are nearly a must. Though these are simply enormous, they may not be enough without the lid lifted in certain rooms.

 

When trying to find a perfect piano for your house, the best advice we can give is to go to the store and play on the multiple types on display. You know your home better than anyone else does. Between yourself and the advisor at the store, you will be able to work out what will sound the best in your home and if the chosen space you’ve decided on will be best for your instrument.