One important consideration in regards to the purchase of any music instrument is to decide if a used or new one is the best route to take. Similar to previously owned automobiles, used pianos and other musical instruments can come with their own set of problems. Used pianos may or may not have been well-maintained or taken care of by the previous owners. However, new pianos almost always cost more than comparable used ones. Music supply shops usually have payment plans for a new piano, whereas sellers of used instruments generally require full payment up front.

For people  considering the purchase of a piano for young children or who cannot afford the price of an expensive musical instrument, a used model generally is the wisest option. Also, individuals often purchase a piano and the child loses interest and no longer wants to play. A previously owned piano is generally the best option for those purchasing solely for an instrument for their children. People can always choose to sell their used instrument later and upgrade to a newer model based on their circumstances.

Another consideration is in what kind of conditions and for how long a piano has been stored. A piano kept in a moist, damp, and unconditioned basement is certainly going to decline in value and quality if stored in this manner for any length of time. A piano that is kept in a well conditioned space and played often, or at least periodically, is going to be a much better choice than the musty mildewed one. Any piano that is taken care of and played often is a preference. For more information see Why Does My Piano Go Out of Tune?

When evaluating the cost of the piano, people also need to know if they will incur any additional costs after the purchase. For example, it will be an added expense to hire a professional tuner/technician to return the instrument to playable condition. Transporting a piano is not a simple job by any means, and usually best left to professionals, so people additionally need to know if moving and setup are included in the price. A piano in a large space or music shop looks smaller then it will when it is moved to the buyer’s residence. Better safe than sorry, so it is essential to measure first, purchase later.

Purchasing a piano is an important step, and it should be taken unhurriedly and following some basic guidelines. People thinking about buying a piano must take into account several things prior to going through with the final purchase.

You Might Also Want to Read:

• Quick Reference Guide for Piano Owners and Prospects
• How Good A Deal Is A Used Piano From A School?
• Lifesaver for your Piano
• Care of Your Piano
• Review-The Piano Shop On The Left Bank

A Lifesaver For Your Piano

In the last few months I have been having a piano problem common to many of you in more humid regions, but somewhat rare here in South Texas, especially with the record drought of the last few years.  It has been raining.  Not the light drizzles that we would have relished for so much of this time, as much for the cooling effect as for the actual water, but the gully-filling downpours that, in this area at least, usually end up with major flooding.  Fortunately that has not been the case this time (so far) but, just as an example, we did gain over 10 inches of rain in one two-day period recently, and everything is sufficiently soaked that another rain of that magnitude would probably send some of the small communities in this area floating down the river.

So what, you ask, does this have to do with pianos? The piano I play at church is a medium-grade Asian-built baby grand (nice, but something less than a Baldwin) from the late ’80s or early ’90s.  Our cooling system has been working overtime for the last few months as the average temperature most days has been in excess of 100 degrees.  Then, when the rains started, the temperatures dropped, so the cooling has been running much less, allowing the humidity to build up in the sanctuary, leading to sticking keys.  Fortunately, since our piano technician came out once, only one key still sticks.  Unfortunately, that one key is used in over half of the hymns I play and our tech is currently booked solid and unable to make a return visit.

Two previous posts, Why Does My Piano Go Out of Tune? , and Care of Your Piano talk in more detail about piano humidity problems.  Here I want to tell you about one way to help combat these problems, called the Piano Life Saver, a piano humidity control system made by Dampp-Chaser Corporation of Hendersonville, North Carolina.  The system consists of three primary components, a humidifier, a dehumidifier, and a humidistat that work together to create a micro-environment around the piano.  The humidistat is the control unit that senses the humidity and turns the humidifier and dehumidifier on or off as needed to maintain an ideal level of humidity in the piano.

These systems are not cheap ($500-800) and the company does require that they be installed by a professional for warranty purposes, but if you have more than $3000 invested in a piano, it would be worth the cost to protect your investment.  Will they prevent all piano humidity problems? I don’t think so.  I was called out once to look at a piano that “needed a few strings replaced”.  When I got there, I found a baby grand, less than 10 years old, with over half of the strings rusted through and the other half looking like they would pop the next time someone tried to tune them.  Seems the client had bought the piano new and moved it to a beach house (in Hawaii, if I remember correctly).  Would this product have saved him the cost of a restringing job?  I doubt it.  However, for those of you with more conventional problems, like summer drought followed by rainy autumn, this system is the way to go.

(NOTE:  If you have any personal experience with Dampp-Chaser products, good or bad, please leave a comment and share with the rest of us.  )

Photo Credit:

You Might Also Want to Read:

• Care of Your Piano
• Things To Think About When Shopping For A Piano
• Quick Reference Guide for Piano Owners and Prospects
• Review-The Piano Shop On The Left Bank
• How Your Grand Piano Works- Part 3

to read and write.  We are all affected by music

even if we don’t perform for a living.  Encouraging

a child to listen to music, or to learn how to play

an instrument, and teaching them about the lives

and experiences of artists inspires some to go on

to be singers, writers and performers, and for

others, it simply becomes a tool to express

themselves in their daily lives.”

-Trisha Yearwood, 3-time Grammny winner

In my last post I talked about the need to support and promote music education across the United States.  In the time since then, I have compiled a small listing of sites that could be useful and have posted what I have on the page, “Music Resource Page“.  Admittedly not comprehensive, I hope to make it much more so – with your help..  If you come across a site or a program that advocates for music education, please share it with us.  If you have a site from outside the U.S.  I will gladly include it in the list as long as I can personally verify what it says, and unfortunately I only read English fluently.  Help me make this page into a valued asset in the music education community.

Two quick examples-

• Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation – This foundation was started in 1996 by the late Michael Kamen, composer for the film of the same name that told the story of a struggling composer who went to work as a high school music teacher and the impact he had on generations of students. The foundation provides instruments to schools and after-school programs that need help to continue providing music education to students who might not otherwise be able to afford it. It is my understanding that this group was a major player in getting school music programs in New Orleans back in operation post-Katrina.
• Discovery Through Music – The Grammy Foundation and Campbell Soup Company’s “Labels for Education” have partnered to make this 6-week K-6 curriculum available free to schools participating in the “Labels for Education” program. This curriculum will “provide sequential, creative and fun opportunities to understand and apply the basic elements of music (beat, tempo, rhythm, pitch, melody, harmony, dynamics, timbre, and texture) while integrating language arts, math, science, and technology into the curriculum.”  This is a means for a school; to have a basic music education even if they can’t afford anything more.

I’m not able to donate money to these groups.  Living on disability I do good to get my bills paid each month and keep food on the table.  But I know how important music has been in my life and if I can help one other person know that joy and richness then I am more than happy to use this blog to spread the word.

Music even helped me find my wife.  I was staff pianist in a small  Southern Baptist church in the Texas Hill Country.  As my wife tells the story, she and her little girl started attending this church and she fell in love with my playing before she actually met me – definitely before her daughter asked me to be her Daddy! As of this past June we have been “happily ever after” for 23 years.

Spread the word.  If you know of a music program in jeopardy (from what I hear there are more each year) maybe something from one of these sites will help keep them going.  If that happens I’d love to hear about it and I imagine your fellow readers would too, so please leave a comment.  If you know of another site or program that I didn’t mention, please share.  Leave a comment or send a message.  Let’s work together to keep the music playing!!

You Might Also Want to Read:

• Celebrate Music – Celebrate Life
• KUIW Fundraiser
• The Pianist and the Muse
• Piano Lessons For Both Parents And Kids Made Easy
• Beginner Piano Lessons – Hearing the Music

It is obvious that this group has learned to sing.  It is obvious to me, as it should be to anybody who has done any performing that they have learned how to put on a good show.  They have also gained in ways that aren’t as immediately obvious and have potential benefits that reach far beyond 5th grade chorus.  They have developed the discipline necessary to reach for a common goal and the teamwork skills needed to reach said goal together.  They have also, at least in some cases, overcome some serious personal inhibitions.  Jared, the soloist in this next piece, is the boy mentioned in the Nightline piece who was afraid to even speak in class just a few months before recording this video.  (I have heard of many corporations spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on personal development programs for their workers.)  How many of them can report such success?  Listen -

Sure, I realize that much of this program’s unusual success has to lay at the feet of Mr. B, I cannot believe that there are NO other teachers out there capable of accomplishing something like this. Could it be that the teachers are spending so much time and energy defending the very existence of their programs in this age of budget slashing that they have nothing left for what matters – the kids and the music? It was stated in the ABC piece that most of these 5th graders would be going on to schools with no music program.  If you are a parent or community leader facing this possibility, please check out supportmusic.com.  This is an excellent advocacy resource site.

Teachers- Keep teaching music as long as the opportunity exists.  But don’t just teach the time signatures and note values and “Every Good Boy Does Fine”.  Teach them to love the music and to love making music.  Teach them the discipline and teamwork needed but make sure that they also get to know the thrill of putting on a good performance and having the audience in the “palms of their hands”.  (It doesn’t get much better than that!)  Then you will have equipped them with something that can stay with them for the rest of their lives – and won’t hurt nearly as much as the sports injuries sustained by so many children these days.  Also, promote your program as it gets going.  Think what a kick it would be for one of your kids to write Grandma across the country or Dad in Afghanistan and tell them that they are on YouTube.  What a morale booster!

Parents and administrators- Support your music teachers.  That’s not just a financial commitment, although if the teacher is not getting paid it makes it harder for them to work with the children.  Let them know they are appreciated.  Make sure they have the resources necessary to get their job done.  Keep their piano tuned without them having to beg for it.  Make sure an administrator is present everytime the kids perform.

Final comments- If any of you know of good resource links for supporting school music please send me a link.  If I get any, I will put up a resources page.  Also, if you have a school music program that you are proud of, please write and tell me about it.  I would love the opportunity  to help tell the Internet world about you.  Now, in “tribute” to the 100-degree weather we are having here in South Texas, here is one more number from Mr. B and the PS22 chorus.  Stay cool-

You Might Also Want to Read:

• Music Resource Page Now Online
• KUIW Fundraiser
• The Pianist and the Muse
• Piano Lessons For Both Parents And Kids Made Easy
• Beginner Piano Lessons – Hearing the Music

Care of Your New Piano – First Part

The first 2 minutes of this video combine a very brief history of the Petrof company with some footage of piano assembly, showing how Petrof successfully combines cutting-edge manufacturing technology with old-school craftsmanship to build a fine piano. (Disclaimer: In my nearly half-century of playing piano I have not, to the best of my memory, ever played a Petrof, however, if the music on these videos is any indicator, I would love to. Anyone with personal experience with Petrof is welcome to leave a comment substantiating or debunking my opinion.) The remainder of this segment is a good PowerPoint- type presentation on climate and its effect on pianos, suitable placement of the piano, and influence of surroundings on the sound color or tone quality. For further reading see Why Does My Piano Go Out of Tune? and I Play One Note And Hear Three!.

Care of Your New Piano – Second Part

This second video is good proof that “one picture is worth a thousand words”. (I counted at least 25 images in just the first 4 minutes, so you do the math!) Many of the piano maintenance problems shown here have been mentioned in previous posts. (See Quick Check List for Piano Shopping, I Play One Note And Hear Three!, and My Piano Keys Make Noise-But My Tuner Can’t Find It! for extra reading.)

You Might Also Want to Read:

• Lifesaver for your Piano
• Things To Think About When Shopping For A Piano
• Quick Reference Guide for Piano Owners and Prospects
• Review-The Piano Shop On The Left Bank
• How Your Grand Piano Works- Part 3