The piano is to music what the typewriter or computer keyboard is to literature; it is the main vehicle where most musical ideas are formed and exemplified. Anyone interested in becoming a student of music or just a casual enjoyer should start with the piano, but there are many things to consider when going about procuring the king of all instruments.
The name piano comes from the Italian name pianoforte, which literally translates to “soft loud;” piano meaning soft, forte meaning loud. This simple name refers to the fact that the piano was the first keyboard instrument to have a dynamic range. This ability is due to the function of the keys. When a piano key is pushed down it triggers a mechanism that strikes a felt-covered hammer onto steel strings and, depending on how hard the key is struck, produces a greater or lesser volume.
The piano gained popular momentum in America in the early 1900s when it became more affordable due to leaps and bounds in the industrial production of the instrument. At a time when the television hadn’t been invented and the radio wasn’t affordable for home enjoyment, the piano was. Homes across the country started purchasing pianos, especially during the roaring ’20s. That decade also saw the birth of the Jazz Age, which featured the piano as its main musical vehicle.
When purchasing a piano, there are many factors to consider. New or used? Upright or grand? Acoustic or electric?
Owens Music has been selling pianos and other musical instruments and supplies for almost 40 years right on Main Street in Santa Maria. Owner Don Owens offers some valuable insight into piano purchase; he has been playing, buying, and selling pianos most of his life.
“Eighty percent of learning to play a piano properly is feel, it’s touch,” he said, “And if a piano doesn’t feel the same up and down the keyboard, you won’t develop a touch.”
Owens is referring to the action of the keyboard—the weight of the keys and the response of the hammer mechanism. Used pianos, he cautioned, won’t have action as good a new piano.
“It’s like anything you do,” he said, “The better the equipment you use when learning something, the easier it is to learn how to play.”
“And the best 10 years of a piano’s life, its sound, and feel, are its first 10 years,” he added. “Now why would you want to give that up?”
Pianos certainly are prevalent. There is a good chance you can find a piano on craiglist.org for a couple hundred dollars. Often you will find one for free—all you have to do is pick it up. Now, as tempting as that sounds, it may be a little harmful to the goal of having a good piano.
Owens suggests, when purchasing a used piano, to bring along a professional piano tuner to examine the instrument. A seasoned piano tuner will be able to give you a good idea of the cost you’re looking at in getting a piano up to a playable level. Unfortunately, a neglected piano can rack up a laundry list of problems.
Depending on what kind of climate a piano has been subjected to, how many times it has been moved, and how often it has been tuned, a piano’s quality will diminish. The piano is mostly wood, so the instrument will swell and shrink a little bit every year, all the while holding together some very tightly wound strings.
“There’s 18 tons of pressure in there,” Owens said. “It’s going to bow, we know it’s going to bow. That’s why you want to invest a little more money and get a sturdier piano.”
Some of the most trusted industrial manufacturers of acoustic pianos, according to Owens, are Yamaha, Samick, and Kawai. Each manufacturer makes several types of pianos at varying levels of quality and price.
There are grand pianos, a piano where the strings lay horizontally across an open back; upright pianos, where the strings run vertically in a closed piano; and console pianos, basically a shorter standing upright. All three are good for their own purposes. Consoles save you room in length and height, uprights save room lengthwise, and grands are called just that for the sound they produce.
Owens also warned against going for a cheaper model of any type of piano simply for longevity and playability. New students, he explained, are more likely to stick with the piano if they have a finer instrument to practice on. And if a new piano is out of your price range, a nice digital piano is an acceptable substitute.
“You don’t want a keyboard, but a digital piano,” he said. “A digital piano is made to replace a piano. But just because it says ‘digital piano’ on it, doesn’t mean it’s a digital piano.”
A digital piano, he explained, has keys that are weighted like a piano’s. A true digital piano might not have as many voices and effects as a keyboard, but the voices it does have are quality. Digital pianos use sampling; a recording of a real instrument that is reproduced digitally. As digital memory has become less expensive over the years, more affordable keyboards offer a much richer sampling of a given instrument, catching the nuances of each instrument. Most digital pianos include a piano voice, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, and strings. Digital pianos are also much more user-friendly than the real deal because they don’t require tuning or hiring a mover, and you can plug headphones in to the instrument so you won’t disturb anyone in its direct vicinity.
But, of course, nothing can truly replace the feeling and sound of a real piano; a complex hive of wood, metal, strings, and felt. Many choices are available to those interested in investing in an instrument that can quickly become an heirloom, friend, and reminder of fond musical memories.
American music
Temple Beth El is definitely a cultural hub in Santa Maria, presenting us with wonderful concerts, the latest of which is “Musical Sunday: Americana and Bluegrass” with guitarist Jeff Devine, flutist and vocalist Kate Busarow, and fiddler John Sharpe May 22 at 2 p.m. at Temple Beth El, 1501 E. Alvin Ave., Santa Maria. Cost is $15. More info: 354-0480.
Celebrate Summer
The Maverick Saloon presents a “Summer Kick-Off Celebration” May 22 through May 28 featuring live music, dance, and art. A concert by country group Confederate Railroad is May 22 at 6 p.m. Cost is $20. Jim Messina and his band perform May 25 at 6 and 8:30 p.m. $45 at the door. Primal Tribe performs May 27 at 9 p.m. And the Sean Wiggins Band performs May 28 at 3 and 8:30 p.m. all at the Maverick Saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More info: 686-4785.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 19-26, 2011.