| So you want to buy a piano. What a great musical | | | | greatly depending on where in the world it is made. |
| adventure you have before you. Starting out on the | | | | American pianos: American piano manufacturers are |
| journey, however, can be overwhelming, what with so | | | | reputed for producing pianos of top-quality construction |
| many types and brands of pianos to choose from. | | | | and design and, as a consequence, are typically more |
| That's why I've provided this primer on piano types and | | | | costly than most European pianos. At the top of the |
| brands for you, so that you can quickly and easily find | | | | list of major U.S. brands of pianos is Steinway. |
| the right piano for you and get on with enjoying a | | | | Steinway pianos are considered by many professional |
| lifetime of making beautiful music together. | | | | piano players to be the premiere pianos, as well as |
| Types of Pianos | | | | among the most expensive. Steinway is best known |
| Grand pianos vs. Upright pianos: Grand pianos have an | | | | for their line of grand pianos; |
| average of 10,000 moving parts and range in size from | | | | Other major U.S. piano brands include: |
| 4' 6" to over 9' long. They have a winged shape with a | | | | * Baldwin (also produces the Chickering and Wurlitzer |
| curved right side and flat left side. Grand pianos are | | | | brands); |
| generally owned by professional and more serious | | | | * Mason & Hamlin (limited production, high-end |
| amateur pianists. | | | | pianos); |
| The two primary types of grand pianos are Concert | | | | * Hobart M. Cable |
| Grand pianos, the largest of grands reaching 9' and | | | | * Winter & Company. |
| over, and Baby Grand pianos, any grand piano that is | | | | Asian pianos: Asian-made pianos are also highly valued |
| smaller than 6' tall. Different sizes of grand piano differ | | | | today, with the two premiere Asian brands of piano - |
| in the potential volume of sound it is able to produce, | | | | Yamaha and Kawai - coming from Japan. Yamaha |
| the tonal quality of its lower register (the bass notes), | | | | produces some of the world's most revered pianos, |
| and the overall sound quality. | | | | which explains why they must produce 200,000 pianos |
| Also known as vertical pianos, upright pianos have an | | | | each year to keep up with demand. Kawai is |
| average of 5,000-6,000 moving parts. They typically | | | | renowned for having been the first to utilize plastic |
| cost less and take up less space than grand pianos, | | | | parts in their pianos. |
| and are more commonly owned by amateur and | | | | Other major Asian brands of piano include: |
| hobbyist piano players. | | | | * Daewoo; |
| Upright pianos come in various types depending on | | | | * Hyundai. |
| their size, the tallest reaching about 60" in height. The | | | | * Nordiska; |
| taller an upright piano is, the better the action. | | | | * Pearl River; |
| * Spinet pianos - approx. 36" tall | | | | * Samick; |
| * Console pianos - approx. 40" tall | | | | * and Young Chang |
| * Studio pianos - approx. 45" tall | | | | European pianos: Many countries in Europe - the U.K., |
| * Professional pianos - approx. 48" tall | | | | France, and the Czech Republic - also produce great |
| It is entirely possible to achieve the same quality with | | | | pianos, though arguably the best European pianos |
| an upright as with a grand piano and, in some cases, | | | | come from Austria and Germany. |
| better quality of tone than certain baby grands. | | | | Among the finest of Austrian and German pianos are: |
| Digital pianos vs. Acoustic pianos: In contrast to | | | | * Bechstein; |
| traditional grand pianos and upright pianos, digital pianos | | | | * Bluthner; |
| utilize the technologies of audio microchips and | | | | * Bosendorfer; |
| speakers to reproduce the sounds of a traditional | | | | * Feurich; |
| piano as well as those of other keyboard instruments | | | | * Forster; |
| like organs and harpsichords. Digital pianos also offer | | | | * Grotrian; |
| players the ability to record their practice sessions and | | | | * Hamburg Steinway; |
| performances. | | | | * Ibach; |
| The following brands produce some of the best digital | | | | * Sauter; |
| pianos available: | | | | * Schimmel; |
| * Alesis; | | | | * and Seiler. |
| * Casio; | | | | How to Evaluate Pianos |
| * Daewoo; | | | | To decide on what type of piano to get, first consider |
| * Kurzweil; | | | | where you plan to keep it and how much you'd like to |
| * Roland; | | | | spend on it. That will help you hone in on what types |
| * Suzuki; | | | | and brands you can feasibly choose from. Then you |
| * Technics; | | | | can start looking at (or listening to, as the case may) |
| * and Yamaha | | | | such other factors as piano tone quality, tuning stability |
| Brands of Pianos | | | | (or life expectancy), action (or piano touch), and piano |
| Because of differences in materials and construction | | | | finish (ie. clear or opaque). |
| and design techniques, a piano's sound and action vary | | | | |