March 12, 2017

About the Author: Stefan Joubert

Stefan Joubert manages the London Piano Institute, a premier destination for adult piano learners seeking individualised instruction and progress towards their musical goals. He believes anyone can learn to play regardless of age or ability!

An article on how to select a suitable piano!

Selecting the right piano for you is absolutely vital. In this article, you will discover a few tips to help you find a piano that will bring you years of musical pleasure!

Set a realistic budget

Pianos can be costly especially grand pianos. Therefore it is vital to set a realistic budget.

If you plan to purchase a digital piano a budget between £280 and £700 should do.

For upright pianos, we recommend a budget of between £1800 and £5000.

For grand pianos, a starting budget could be around £3000 for a good quality second-hand instrument.

A good Steinway grand can be as much as £100,000 so be prepared to pay if you are looking for a very good quality instrument.

The beautiful Steinway Alma Tamada was sold for $1.2 million at Christie’s in London in 1997.

What a truly magnificent instrument!

Talk to your piano teacher

One of the best places to go for advice when picking out a piano is to your teacher. They should always be your first port of call as they’ll have a good understanding of the level you’re playing at and plenty of knowledge to help you pick out the right piano for you to practise on. They may also know of people that are selling used pianos and can point you in the right direction.

Do some research

Don’t just buy the first piano you see. Instead, do plenty of research into the different types of pianos available within your price range. This could be something you discuss with your teacher and fellow students, as well as reading online reviews and magazines and visiting showrooms so you can get a feel for the instrument.

Visit our recommended digital pianos on the London Piano Institute

We do recommend a few high-quality digital pianos on our webpage and if you are looking for a good quality digital, simply look no further.

Here are two pages that you can browse with a selection of digital pianos:

Make sure you try (properly) before you buy!

When you’ve got a good idea about the type of piano you want, it’s an excellent idea to try playing on a few different ones too, this will allow you to see how comfortable you feel and how you like the sound and touch of it. If possible, take an experienced pianist with you so they can try playing on the piano as well and give you feedback on the one they personally prefer.

Sherlock Holmes

Inspect the instrument thoroughly

Once you’ve decided, make sure you fully inspect the piano to check that it is fully as described.

Remember a piano with a cracked soundboard may be worth far less than the asking price.

It is vital to have a piano technician or someone who really knows when buying a second-hand instrument. (Especially if it is an expensive instrument)

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