Piano Shopping with my Adult Student

Last month, one of my adult students asked me to accompany her as she went piano shopping. It was a delightful experience for both of us.

Our search began at Steinway Pianos of Calgary. I had booked a Look Inside the Piano workshop and Owner/President Brent Hay gave a fantastic presentation. His passion for our instrument was infectious we learned lot about how pianos are made. My student zoomed in on the Boston and Essex lines, which are Steinway's student models.

We learned about the manufacturing differences between the three product lines as well. For instance, Boston pianos are manufactured in Japan, whereas Essex pianos are manufactured in China. Steinway designs.

We learned to look at the posts in the back to determine if their functional posts or mere decoration (think joists in a home). And, we learned about little adjustments manufacturers make when the frame is just a teensy bit too big for the guts.

Our next trip was to St. John's Music to test out Yamaha pianos. I got to try the "silent" model of the piano I grew up on, the U1. It truly is a hybrid piano. It has the similarities to the piano I honed my skills on but the benefits that technology has to offer. Turn on the unit underneath and this acoustic piano becomes a digital piano. However, unlike digital pianos, this is first and foremost and acoustic piano.

We also tried Yamaha's new "B" line, manufactured in China (Yamaha has design control). The piano I tried had a nice, rich tone and for families just starting out, a nice price tag. The Cable-Nelson piano just felt heavy compared to the Yamaha's.

My student fell in love with the GB1. Those Georgian legs, the rich dark finish. More importantly, the piano sang for her. There was an instant connection, akin to when Harry Potter's wand chose him in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. For a 5'0" grand, it sounds more like a 6' or even a 7' grand piano.

Our last stop was Michael Lipnicki's Fine Pianos. She tried the student line (the Palatino) but found it a little "clunky". Then we both tried the Bechstein (I think it was the B120 but I'm not 100% sure). What beautiful tone. So rich. And those pedals! We're still talking about how smooth the pedal action is. It was on sale too! We even liked it better than the Grotrian pianos.

Just to give her a frame of reference, I urged my student to try the top of the line pianos in each store. Steinway & Sons, C. Bechstein, Fazioli and Yamaha's best melted for her - as they should! Half-jokingly, I compared it to test driving a Ferrari.

There is undoubtedly a difference between handcrafted and mostly machine manufactured pianos. Personally, I think both have their pros and cons.

In the end, the Yamaha GB1 was the winner. It was love at first sound and first touch. She went back a second time to just confirm.

Accompanying my student was a learning experience for me too. When I purchased my Yamaha WX-7F, I was a music student. My music teacher didn't accompany me. However, my brother and I were at a high enough level and on enough pianos to know what to look for in terms of sound and touch. Piano shopping as a teacher is a little different. I learned a bit more about piano construction and what to look for in terms of the soundboard and the the posts in the back. I paid more attention to the key action and the voice of each piano I played.

However, next time I go shopping for an acoustic piano for my studio, once I have a short-list, it will still come down to sound and touch. And which piano chooses me. For I think, like Harry Potter, the piano chooses the musician.

How Pianos are Made

When I was visiting Michael Lipnicki's Fine Pianos in the spring, I learned that pianists know the least about their instrument. I'd have to agree. Some things, you learn with years of lessons and performing, but with over 12,000 parts - there's a lot to know! The very first session I attended at the 2013 CFMTA Music Inspires Convention was The Physical Piano by Katharina Normandeau. That was only the tip of the iceberg.

Earlier this week, I attended a session at Steinway Pianos of Calgary. What I loved is that we got to stick our hands in and (gently) check out some of those 12,000 parts.

Interesting tidbits I learned:

• the inside of the grand piano must sustain over 20 tonnes of pressure from the strings (some sources say 30).

• the piano rims have to cure for months

• wood grain does affect tone

• the piano contains 10,000 moving parts

• the piano construction has to take into account the dynamic nature of steel (which changes with temperature fluctuations) and wood (which changes with humidity fluctuations).

• double escapement looks really cool close up

You can check out my Look Inside the Piano photo album here.

Another area of interest is piano construction, especially, outside-in versus inside-out construction. Does it make a difference? I think this is something people will debate about.

Instead, I will share with you some interesting videos for you to check out. Try not to mind the marketing slant. They all do things a little differently, so they are trying to maximize their competitive edge:

Making of the C. Bechstein Piano (12-part series):

Making of a Steinway Piano:

Yamaha Factory Tour

If you can, schedule some time (or ask your piano teacher to organize and event) at your local piano dealer. It's one thing to see a video but it's much better to see this up close.

Actually, if you have the time and the inkling, visit more than one piano dealer. I will be taking my students to visit the other showrooms as well.

"Why?" you ask? Each piano is unique. Each dealer, like teachers, is unique. Pianos are a huge investment, so you want to find the right fit for you and your family.

And, if you're blessed to be in a city that has a piano factory - book a tour! I know that when I finally make it to Japan, I will ask my contacts with Yamaha, Steinway (which also produce the Boston and Essex pianos) and Roland to book factory tours.Thankfully, they're all in the same area - Hamamatsu.

Drowning in Music Lesson Planning

Once again, summer has flown by. My big list of summer projects? Pfft. Don't ask me about them and we'll be fine.

I'm currently in the throes of planning the group class schedule for my music studio. One idea launches into another idea and so forth and so on. The result is that I can barely get my ideas committed to paper (or in this case, the screen) quickly enough.

I'm quite excited about the activities that I have nailed down so far. Thanks to the staff at Caffe Crema, our first Studio Winter Music Showcase will be held there. My students will perform a set of contrasting selections. They will have to script their patter. I can hear them now, "It'll be like, a real gig!" Well, yes, kids. You'll be performing in public, so it will be a real deal gig. They'll have two "Open Mic Days" at my studio to get a feel for it all.

The year-end recital has been booked too. We have a few things planned to make it less recital-ish.

My students also be heading off-site for a few studio events too. So far, St. John's Music and Steinway Pianos of Calgary are booked.

But now, it's back to planning for the music group classes happening next week. My brother will be teaching my students about all the multimedia projects they'll be working on throughout the year, while I'll be doing a few interactive workshop-style classes with his students on practising, conducting and rhythm.

I suppose I should get back to figuring out why Libre Office refuses to print my handout with my stick-girl conductor properly.

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