Piano pickiness

Filed in Free Lessons on February 03, 2009



This morning, I found myself driving to Kennesaw State University (50 miles away) to try out their Steinway D in their recital hall in the hopes that it would work for my new project.  I had played it once before but not in the recital hall, and wanted to make sure it felt good in there.

Many people would wonder why I would waste a trip on that.  Why would I need to try the piano just because it is in a different room?  For that matter, why did I need to try the piano at all?  It is an almost new Steinway 9 foot concert grand!

I guess I am just very picky about pianos.  It is a curse.  It does not mean I am any better than pianists who are not as picky.  It also does not mean that I will not play pianos that are not so great when I need to.  I am not going to come into your church and start picking apart your piano.  But when I am going to record a piano, I want the very best option and I look long and hard to find it.

Over the past several months, I have tested many pianos in the area.  I have considered all the decent pianos in the recording studios around Atlanta.  I have also considered renting a Steinway D from the local dealership.  I have even considered moving my own piano into a studio, which is not a bad option.  I like my piano better than almost any piano i have ever played.

At the end of the day, I chose Kennesaw State's hall not just because of the piano but also because of the technician that works on it.  The technician is almost as important as the piano itself.

Steinway dealers are fond of saying that every Steinway is unique.  They could not be more right; there is a world of difference between them.  Unfortunately, that means that some are worse than others.  In fact, some are very good and others are very bad.  Don't ever buy a piano just because it says Steinway on it.  I have played some very bad Steinway pianos.

Our local dealership apparently believes that all it takes to sell a Steinway piano is to put it on the show floor.  If you walk into the dealership and sit down at their pianos, you will quickly see how bad a Steinway piano can sound.  That is because little if any technical work is done to those pianos after they arrive.  An unprepped Steinway sounds as bad as any piano you will every play.

Here is the unfortunate truth.  A Steinway D costs more than a small house and possibly costs more to maintain too.  If you are going to get great performance out of one, you are going to have to have it maintained by a qualified technician.  A good technician will often have a long term plan for maintenance of a piano.  And if the technician babies it like his own child, that piano will still not be perfect.

But when a Steinway is good, it is very good.  For those like me who like dark-sounding (rather than bright) pianos, it is probably the best option available.  The piano at Kennesaw State is very good.  I was happy with the way it felt in the hall and was thrilled that the technician took a lot of time to talk about the piano and my project.  It was obvious that he wanted the best for both the piano and me.

 

 



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Janet Dubec
2/4/2009 11:15:05 AM

I would never have thought that picking a piano is so hard. I guess I would have just assumed a Steinway is going to be perfect.

On the other hand, I remember reading a book about the way Steinways are built and looking back, they did talk about how some became special and some were simply average.

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Charles M.
2/4/2009 8:48:46 PM

I know what Steinway dealer you are talking about. They give Steinway a bad name. I assure you that playing a Steinway is the ultimate experience a pianist can have if the piano is maintained carefully.

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Jim
2/19/2011 6:38:49 PM

Great piano, Steinway.

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todd
9/9/2011 4:29:58 PM

I formally played for a choir that travelled a lot. I've played on some dreadful pianos. In your case as a traveling soloist, I'd guess that the piano could make or break your whole performance. I'm also guessing that is why some of your youtube videos you travel with your keyboard. By the way I don't think any piano seller in Atlanta actually keeps the pianos tuned. They really don't act interested in getting one tuned for you to try out either (at least the retailers did not when me and my pastor went to try out pianos for our church).

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