Eight Keys to Buying a Piano #4 - Craftsmanship Determines Quality

Craftsmanship is Another Essential Key That Determines the Quality of the Piano

Craftsmanship breaks down into three categories. There is the craftsmanship of how they build a piano at the factory and delivery to the retailer. Then there is the craftsmanship of the dealer in prepping the piano so the piano will work properly in your home. And then there is the craftsmanship of your tuner/technician who will help you preserve and maintain the quality of the instrument so it will work well for you and sound good over the lifetime of the instrument.

All the piano manufacturers I've mentioned earlier have excellent craftsmanship in their factories and work with certified dealers who they make sure know how to correctly prep their instruments for sale. So it is important to go with an accredited dealer when you are buying your new piano - this insures that your new piano will have the proper craftsmanship when you bring it home.

A Retailer to Check Out - Woods Piano Company

A dealer that I highly recommend is Joe Woods, of Woods Piano Company. Joe sells the highest quality pianos (Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Yamaha, Petrof, Seiler, Bluthner, August Forster, etc.), and his store's prepping of these fine instruments is the best you can find anywhere. His reputation as a dealer is simply unparalleled.

He does focus on the higher end acoustic pianos and as with most things, you do get what you pay for. However, due to his special way of doing business, Woods Pianos are of the highest quality, while his pricing is moderate as compared to other dealers selling instruments of a similar caliber.

Woods Piano Company does ship nationwide. Joe is also great at giving piano buyers service and helpful information. So if you have an interest in high end quality acoustic pianos, check out Woods Piano Company where they can at least help you sort out what type of instrument might best meet your needs.

See this video on the piano soundboard.

For more information about pianos, see this Piano Newsletter Site - Piano Talk Online and a Colorado Piano Site - Colorado Piano Buyers Guide.

Eight Keys to Buying a Piano #3 - Materials Make the Piano

The Quality of The Materials Make the Piano

After the design, the next key component of a piano is the quality of the materials. What are the materials used in a piano? Pianos are 80% wood, and the rest is made up of felts and metals (cast and iron frames). What type and quality of wood is used in the different parts of the piano, whether the wood was kiln dried, etc, all make can make a difference in the way the piano plays and sounds.

How can you judge the quality of the materials used in a piano. Actually, this is very tricky because you can't really judge the quality of the materials from the look of the piano. All pianos look pretty good new, and even if there were flaws you might have a hard time noticing them.

Since the quality of the materials used in a piano can be so hard to gauge, here's what I generally recommend: your safe if you go with Mason & Hamlin, Steinway, Yamaha, Bluthner, Seiler, Petrof, August Forster. I'm comfortable with these manufacturers, and you can't generally go wrong buying one of these pianos.

A Retailer to Check Out - Woods Piano Company

A dealer that I highly recommend is Joe Woods, of Woods Piano Company. Joe sells the highest quality pianos (Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Yamaha, Petrof, Seiler, Bluthner, August Forster, etc.), and his store's prepping of these fine instruments is the best you can find anywhere. His reputation as a dealer is simply unparalleled.

He does focus on the higher end acoustic pianos and as with most things, you do get what you pay for. However, due to his special way of doing business, Woods Pianos are of the highest quality, while his pricing is moderate as compared to other dealers selling instruments of a similar caliber.

Woods Piano Company does ship nationwide. Joe is also great at giving piano buyers service and helpful information. So if you have an interest in high end quality acoustic pianos, check out Woods Piano Company where they can at least help you sort out what type of instrument might best meet your needs.

See this video on the piano soundboard.

For more information about pianos, see this Piano Newsletter Site - Piano Talk Online and a Colorado Piano Site - Colorado Piano Buyers Guide.

Eight Keys to Buying a Piano - Key #2 - The Blueprint of What a Piano Will Be

A Piano's Design Is the Blueprint for What a Piano Will Be

Pianos are still essentially an old world technology. Bottom line - the sound quality, playability and durability of a piano begins with the following three factors. Its design, materials and the craftsmanship in assembling it. On the outside pianos can look to be very similar. But there are many intricacies that go into constructing a piano that affects how it plays and sounds. Some of these include scaling, action design, and the tension resonant structure (the soundboard, the pin block, plate, and rim or back of the piano).

I know that this area can get kind of technical, so I want to give you some easy guidelines on picking the right design for the kind of use you intend for your piano. Generally speaking, it is always optimal, if you have the resources, to go for a grand piano. Grand pianos just have a superior design over an upright and the action and sound is just better. But if you don't have the space or don't want to spend the money for a grand piano, then you should look for a larger upright (a studio to a full size upright). Consoles can be ok if you are a beginner or beginning intermediate player. But if you want an instrument with more sound and resonance a full or studio upright is something you should consider. I would generally recommend staying away from spinet style uprights - they just don't have the action or sound that will measure up to any type of players' needs.

A Retailer to Check Out - Woods Piano Company

A dealer that I highly recommend is Joe Woods, of Woods Piano Company. Joe sells the highest quality pianos (Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Yamaha, Petrof, Seiler, Bluthner, August Forster, etc.), and his store's prepping of these fine instruments is the best you can find anywhere. His reputation as a dealer is simply unparalleled.

He does focus on the higher end acoustic pianos and as with most things, you do get what you pay for. However, due to his special way of doing business, Woods Pianos are of the highest quality, while his pricing is moderate as compared to other dealers selling instruments of a similar caliber.

Woods Piano Company does ship nationwide. Joe is also great at giving piano buyers service and helpful information. So if you have an interest in high end quality acoustic pianos, check out Woods Piano Company where they can at least help you sort out what type of instrument might best meet your needs.

See this video on the piano soundboard.

For more information about pianos, see this Piano Newsletter Site - Piano Talk Online and a Colorado Piano Site - Colorado Piano Buyers Guide.

Eight Keys to Buying a Piano - Key #1 - An Introduction

I have been passionate about pianos for as long as I can remember. Over the years of working on pianos (I've been a registered piano technician and a performing pianist for over 25 years) and in talking with my customers I've seen over and over again that buying a quality piano can be a challenging and daunting task. So I've finally decided to put together this Piano Buying Guide - to share with you the essential keys I've learned over the years to make sure you buy a quality instrument that will bring you pleasure for a lifetime.

An Introduction to Buying a Piano - You Get What You Pay For

Never get a piano simply because it is cheap or free. In the absence of an accurate appraisal, you may succeed at first with an inexpensive front end acquisition that soon after turns into a rear end headache. I have seen too many people under such circumstances giving up on their excitement and enthusiasm towards playing the piano simply because they made a poor buying choice. You should consider the purchase of your next piano to be a major acquisition that requires careful consideration. As with most major purchases, you do get what you pay for. If you want to buy a piano that will work well and last for many years, you should to expect to pay at minimum $3,500 to 5000 for an entry level console/studio piano and $10,000 to 12,000 or so if you are looking for an entry level grand piano. Of course you can expect to pay a lot more if you are looking to get a more precious brand like Steinway, Bosendorfer or Sauter but this gives you a basic range to start with. If you see a new piano for less than this, chances are that it just won't measure up to your needs over time.

A Retailer to Check Out - Woods Piano Company

A dealer that I highly recommend is Joe Woods, of Woods Piano Company. Joe sells the highest quality pianos (Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Yamaha, Petrof, Seiler, Bluthner, August Forster, etc.), and his store's prepping of these fine instruments is the best you can find anywhere. His reputation as a dealer is simply unparalleled.

He does focus on the higher end acoustic pianos and as with most things, you do get what you pay for. However, due to his special way of doing business, Woods Pianos are of the highest quality, while his pricing is moderate as compared to other dealers selling instruments of a similar caliber.

Woods Piano Company does ship nationwide. Joe is also great at giving piano buyers service and helpful information. So if you have an interest in high end quality acoustic pianos, check out Woods Piano Company where they can at least help you sort out what type of instrument might best meet your needs.

See this video on the piano soundboard.

For more information about pianos, see this Piano Newsletter Site - Piano Talk Online and a Colorado Piano Site - Colorado Piano Buyers Guide.

Harlem Stride Piano - Early Jazz Performances - 1920's Music

Performing the Early Jazz Style - Harlem Stride

by Eben Goresko

About eight years ago I began a quest to broaden my piano
performance repertoire into the early jazz,
Harlem Stride style. I previously studied jazz with a number of teachers and listened
extensively over the years to a wide range
of jazz greats from Charlie Parker
on through Mile Davis and into the present.

After hearing Fats Waller's piano solo performances I
was blown away. I decided from then on to learn to play
as much of his music as possible. I proceeded to work up
to the task at hand by transcribing his solos, through
intensive listening and review of his
performances. As a practical matter all of this required
on my part a total revamp of my playing approach and
style.

I will write further about early jazz, Waller, and what I
have learned about performing his music. This is my
most recent recording and performance of "Handful of Keys".
It is one of the great piano solos in history of jazz.

Handful of Keys

I also have included for contrast and as a change of
pace, my most recent performance of a Judy Carmichael Arrangement of Hoagy Carmichaels's
"Lazy River".

Lazy River

You can get additional information about pianos on a number of different sites that I have built. Piano Talk Online is a piano site that has a variety of articles and resources that relate to piano maintenance, playing, history and Colorado Piano Buyers Guide is a rich regional piano site that has exhaustive information about buying and selling pianos and other related resources.