Grand Piano 101: Useful Resources
Introduction to Grand Pianos
There are various types of pianos and the best / grand-est of them of all is the Gran Piano, the ones which you see in movies and something that you find at the homes of the rich and the famous. These are also used by concert pianists and is a common display at popular performance venues.
In terms of construction, in these pianos, the frame and the strings are horizontal to the floor, which makes it easy for the sound to travel upwards and fill the room. The action lies beneath the strings, and uses gravity to return to a state of rest, which makes it easier to play faster repetitive notes, something which the masters would any day prefer.
In terms of size, the concert grands are around 7–10 feet, the parlor grand or boudoir grand are around 6–7 feet, and the smaller baby grand is around 5 feet long. The lengthier ones sound better but are much more expensive compared to the baby grands.
Concert grands have a brilliant, singing and sustaining tone quality, which is why they are commonly seen in concert halls around the world. And because its practically not possible to have them in most homes, baby grands are used mostly for domestic use.
These are available in acoustic as well as the digital versions, with the later ones more commonly found in homes.
Grand Piano Makers / Brands
Bösendorfer, Bluthner, Steinway, Estonia, are some of the big & popular brands that make excellent acoustic grand pianos, whereas Yamaha, Kawai, Roland are the brands that make more of digital & hybrid pianos.
Here are more brand names that make quality pianos.
Top League
Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Fazioli, Seiler, Steinway & Sons
Budget Concert Grand Pianos
Estonia, Mason & Hamlin, Schimmel, Shigeru Kawai, Steinberg, Yamaha
Quality Grand Pianos
Baldwin, Boston, Estonia, Kawai, Mason & Hamlin, Schimmel, Weber, Yamaha, Young Chang
Budget Grand Pianos
Baldwin, Boston, Essex, Kawai, Kohler & Campbell, Pearl River, Samick, Suzuki, Weber, Yamaha, Young Chang
How Much Do They Cost?
Grand pianos are not cheap, when compared with the other keyboard instruments out there. Their prices depends on the sizes, depending on whether its a baby grand (less than six feet long), or a grand piano (six feet to nine feet in length) or the concert grand (over nine feet in lengths).
You can buy a decent baby grand piano for around $4,000 to $5,000. The grand pianos are more expensive and usually in the price range from $18,000 to $50,000. You can find used ones for around $3k to $15k though.
The concert grand pianos are used by world-class artists are these are priced around $40,000 to $100,000, or even more.
Maintaining the Grand Piano
This is best moved to the specialists, and if you own the acoustic model, you'll definitely need to carry out essential maintenance & tuning work from time to time. This helps to maintain the looks and the tonal quality of the piano. A well maintained piano retains its price and in some cases can fetch more money, several years down the line.
The same goes with moving the piano, where it makes sense to leave it to the piano-movers to do the job. You definitely don't want to risk your prized possession for saving some dollars.
Piano And The Orchestra
Musicians enjoy debating whether the piano is a percussion or a string instrument. Surprised to know some think its a percussion instrument? Because, their argument is that you play it by hitting the keys so technically its a percussion instrument.
However, the keys strike strings which produce its distinctive sound.
Irrespective, the piano has the largest range compared to other musical instrument in the orchestra. It can be used to provide harmony or even as a solo instrument, playing both melody and harmony.
Read here on various types of sheet music stands (metal/wood) & stand accessories
Learning to Play the Piano
If you have a child between the ages 3 to 6, you would definitely like them to get started with music lessons. One popular instrument that you may consider for your child is the piano, and it is easy to get lessons as well.
There are many schools and institutions that invite children to participate in a musical educational experience in a family friendly atmosphere. That is a get place to get your child exposed to the basics, and you can also gauge if your child is really excited about music.
Most of these workshops basically try to make children aware of music by making them engage in various activities such as listening, singing, musical storytelling, recognizing songwriters and works of music and other learning games.
This is an excellent way to impart learning in a fun way that will help discover, explore, manipulate and also let your child create sound. That is important if you want the child to show interest in what you are teaching.
Exposing your kids to music at an early age also makes them more relaxed, and also helps them to sleep and eat better, besides improving their learning skills and concentration.
You will definitely need a piano keyboard, preferably with at least 61 keys. You will also need a good piano bench preferably with extra padded cushions to help them reach the keyboard. In case your child is keen to play another music instrument, also get a nice music stand to hold the sheets. These accessories definitely help you focus more on the playing and also maintain good posture.
As far as piano lessons are concerned, the more serious and promising students may want to use the services of a piano teacher, as different students may have different strengths and weaknesses. However, it is perfectly okay to make use of piano learning software to begin with.
You can checkout the best piano learning resource/courses at piano-education.org.