Over the last couple of months, I have been looking for a new teaching piano and it has been exciting and a little daunting.
It all started right after Christmas when my wonderful piano tuner came to put my Baldwin studio piano and my little living room piano back in to top shape for me. At the end, he said the pianos did great but he had to replace a few parts this time and said it was time to start seriously thinking about replacing one or even both. Both pianos have logged a lot of miles over the years.
So, I have decided to move my Baldwin to my living room and buy a new piano for my studio….and I’m hoping to buy a grand! Much to the dismay of my husband who said, “How much is that going to cost us?”
I started my search in January and over the last couple of months have visited every piano dealer in Edmonton and played a lot of pianos. I even checked out grand pianos on kijiji, but what a disappointment to find that they were mostly bay window trophies that hadn’t been tuned in several years. Seeing and playing those pianos was a good reminder of how important it is to keep your piano tuned. Both owners (who never played) thought their pianos were in wonderful shape because they had no scratches and were never “abused”, not realizing that neglecting to keep them tuned and out of the hot sun was doing a lot of damage.
It’s definitely been a interesting journey as I’ve never had to really buy a piano before. My Baldwin was left to me in my great-aunt’s will the year I graduated from university and the Schubert I have upstairs was purchased second hand privately as an extra instrument for my own children to practice on while I was teaching. So, I have really been trying to do my research: lurking on Piano World forums, reading the “blue book of pianos” and piano buyer and checking out different comparisons on youtube….as well as trudging back and forth to dealers.
It’s exciting but I’m hoping to be done soon, I’d really like to have the new piano before June so that my exam kids can prepare for their exams on my new grand!! I think I know which piano I want…..now to break it to my husband…..