With two schools that give piano lessons, I get asked quite a bit about how to buy a piano. So here’s my quick and easy guide to purchasing your new piano or keyboard.
What you may not know is that the piano is such a specialized and highly technical contraption, that a piano teacher is not always suited to tell you how to buy one! In fact, if you really want to know about a particular piano, you’re better served by asking a piano technician than a piano teacher.
Still, I’ve worked in the field for a long time and I’ve purchased many pianos myself, so while I don’t want to write an article advertising a particular brand (even though I have my preferences) I do think I can give you some pointers:
1. Narrow it down: Keyboard, Upright Piano, Grand
What you decide to buy really depends on your own context: why you’re buying the piano, what you plan to use it for, how serious you are about playing, and so forth.
What about digital pianos and keyboards?
While digital instruments are no the same as acoustic pianos, a decent quality keyboard often suits the needs of many piano students. In fact, I have a digital piano of myself that enjoy quite a bit!
It’s important that you have something to practice on, and for many students this is a way to get started with less money than and upright or grand piano.
There are a couple things you must know about how to buy digital pianos.
First: please at least get something with a full 88 keys and a weighted keyboard. Also, keep in mind that many keyboards you’ll find in big-box retailers for only a couple hundred bucks are not as good as the higher end versions by the same manufacturer. Do your research.
What digital pianos do I recommend?
There are several manufacturers of digital pianos. I have enjoyed both Kawai and Yamaha in the past. Most recently, I had a Kawai keyboard in my condo and loved it. (It currently lives in one of my music schools.) We also use several Roland models in our music school and they have done very well! You might consider one of the options below if you’d like to purchase online:
Continuing our discussion on how to buy a piano, let’s talk about acoustic pianos! Here, the terrain becomes very diverse. For many people, space and cost are both issues. An upright piano is an excellent choice of a beginner or intermediate student where a grand piano is not an option.
There is a huge difference between an upright piano and a quality grand piano. One that you’ll notice more and more as you progress.
2. Consider your options. Even ones you didn’t know about.
Did you know that you can rent a piano? I bet you didn’t, and it might be cheaper than you think! If there’s a dealer near you, it’s worth looking into. Besides renting, here are some other options to know about:
- Buying a new piano from a dealer.
- Buying a used piano from a dealer.
- Buying a used piano from an owner
- Renting or Renting to own from a music store.
It’s helpful to think of this like you would when buying or leasing a car. If I buy a new or used Steinway from the local dealer, or a Yamaha from the local music store, I’m probably paying a premium for the fact that they will agree to some sort of warranty, will stake their reputation on the instrument, and will likely provide some sort of followup service.
Also, like a car dealership, a piano store will likely have put some work into your instrument before purchase. If you’re buying the piano brand new, then you’ll often get a factory warranty of some kind.
On the other hand, if I buy directly from a current owner, I may get a cheaper price, but I’ll probably end up buying “as-is”. Also, I’ll probably end up putting in some extra work bringing the piano up to shape after purchase.
For example, I bought a beautiful Steinway Model L directly from the previous owner. After the purchase I put 3K or so into the instrument to bring it up to a level I was happy with. (I was aware I’d be doing this by the way, so I factored that into my purchase decision!)
Renting or renting-to-own carries much less commitment than buying a piano. Like leasing a car, you want to be sure of what you’re signing before you jump in. Some piano stores will have a minimum rental policy. In some cases the instrument is insured whereas in others you’re liable for damage. I know that some stores even provide periodic piano tunings for rented or rent-to-own pianos.
3. Take your time and get the right piano for you.
You’ve done the right thing in researching how to buy a piano, so don’t make an impulse decision! You’ll want to take quite a few out for a test-drive. A good piano salesman will never try to push you into a purchase, and you should never feel pressured. If you feel like a novice, try to find a friend with a musical background, or even offer to pay a pianist to come with you once you’ve started narrowing down your options. And experienced ear will pick up on many things you might not.
So how do you select which piano you want? Here’s the best advice I ever got on the subject: choose the piano that you like the best. That means the piano that sounds and feels the best for you. Because most of the time you will be the one playing it! It seems simple, but often people let marketing or brand make the decision for them.
Also, don’t limit yourself in your piano search. I’ve seen some amazing pianos listed on Craiglist type sites, and on Ebay as well. You can also check with local schools, universities, and churches. Sometimes universities will even have “piano sales” to clear out older inventory.
I have to add in that respect, I would never purchase a piano without seeing and inspecting it first hand – at least not unless it came with some sort of incredible rock solid refund policy.
4. Always, always, have an independent expert look and the instrument before a substantial purchase.
If you end up making a substantial purchase, please don’t do it without having an excellent piano technician look the piano over for you. Many technicians will do this for a fee, and it can save you thousands of wasted dollars. Try to find someone who isn’t affiliated with the store or person you’re buying from, and who has an excellent reputation.
Sometimes people find it hard to distinguish between the good and bad in piano technicians. A good piano technician is like a dream come true! My advice: ask the best piano teachers and pianists in town. They will have pianos of their own and will be very picky about who they let work on them.
Remember: never, ever, make a substantial piano purchase without having an excellent technician inspect the piano first.
And don’t forget to check out my free piano lessons while you’re at it!
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So those are my tips for buying a piano, used or new. As you can see, I’m not trying to really sell you on any particular piano, but just to give a few tips that I’ve found handy throughout the years.
Happy Piano Hunting!
Hey Matt, this is quite a good guide. I will be sure to share it with our community of piano teachers and piano students here at Singapore Piano Hub.
Thank you! I appreciate it 🙂