She actually arrived just over a week ago but I just decided to post here now! A new Kawai GX-2~

My previous piano was an Alex Steinbach baby grand (I think they are re-branded samicks?) and it was a lovely baby grand and served me well however the action and sound of the Kawai is much more beautiful! I also have to say how much I love the bass of this instrument, its so much more resonant and deep!! I guess thats expained because its a bit longer than my baby grand.

We were curious of Boston's but I've never played on one before and there is no showroom in our area... would love to hear the thoughts of anyone who has tried onew

I am very thankful for my parents' support and will continue to practice diligently.

Thanks for passing by this appreciation post and have a great day!

One thing I notice besides technical limitations is I see a lot of playing of everything at a MF and louder. And I mean everything.

I rarely see students play SOFTLY - whether the melody line, counter melody, or even the accompaniments. It is all just MF to FF all the time.

• The number one thing that will level you up is learning to play quietly. This applies to pianists of all levels, even advanced. If you master the “art of soft“ then your playing will sound at least 2X better. It is like a superpower.

This gets to my more general point which is the art of CONTRAST. I’m not just talking dynamics but:

• If you use lot of pedal and then suddenly dry, it will feel very contrary. You will create a special moment.
• If you use lot of legato phrasing but throw in some non-legato articulation. It will also create a special moment.
• If you keep rhythm perfectly and THEN introduce rubato, the audience will feel the tension. (As opposed to rubato all the time.)

I would say this is the number one thing I hear in a lot of student playing is mostly flat. But if you make your playing like a varied terrain then your audience will be captivated.

I want to know how you came to the decision that you wanted to pursue piano as a part of your life. What's the story, we're you raised on piano since 5? Did you see a performance that stuck with you? I want to hear your story.

This is my 2011 Essex EGP-155 baby grand. My mom bought it for me in 2012 when we moved to a new townhome that had the perfect space in the living room for a baby grand. Steinway has a 10 year guarantee for 100% trade-in across the brands (Steinway, Boston, and Essex), and I only had my Essex upright for 3 years, so we traded it in for the full new retail value essentially.

We moved around from 2019-2025 into NYC where there was no space for a grand piano probably barely enough for any upright, but now living in Florida we found a more suitable place cheaper than a NYC studio so it’s now shoved in the corner of my bedroom lol but it works.

I do have acoustic panels set up and the castor cups help dissipate some of the vibrations as well, but I limit my playing to 8am to 8pm since there’s no silencer on a grand piano (one could maybe be installed but my piano is fully factory stock) and unlike upright pianos, sound comes out the bottom (as opposed to the back) when closed and basically vibrates through the entire piano with the massive soundboard.

Anyways with that said, show us yours and maybe a little story behind it!

Ok, just another post on this subject. Hoping you all can just help with a sanity check.

I've played a good amount of guitar in my life so am probably intermediate there but probably only advanced beginner on piano, around level 5 of the Alfred books, having taking lessons bi-weekly since pandemic. I tried a local jazz ensemble class in the local community college but felt a bit overwhelmed with everyone else's knowledge of the genre. That said, the format was quite clear. Comp on a song, meaning finding the right times to lay out or to play on beats 2 and 4, find non-clashing chord voicing, primarily right-hand accompaniment, and solo over the head or whatever when it was my turn. Tough but made sense.

I recently joined a classic rock band to play keys. They've got 2 guitars, bass, and drums. These guys play some Bowie, Beatles, Cream, Grateful Dead, etc. I have a pretty cheap Casiotone keyboard. It's got 600 tones. I think I struggle with not only playing but also with the tones, playing just piano until now. I pretty much switch between an electric piano sound and rock organ.

Ok- my question is how much to play? If doing I Am the Walrus, it sounds good holding down an organ sound with whole notes, perhaps with the triad, just on one hand. Great. But songs that don't have original key parts, say something like Taxman or Day Tripper. Just plink on 2 and 4 with a piano tone on the verse, maybe hold down chords on chorus? Or on a Dead song... just chords in a higher register? Maybe find some space to do a little riff if guitar isn't playing? I guess I'm having impostor syndrome. I'm hardly doing anything on a lot of songs, especially 12 bar blues type songs... while guitarists are wailing away, drummer is laying it down, bassist has a groove going, singer is killing it.... I keep reading to just stay out of the way as to not muddy it up. Is that what I should expect going forward?

Sorry for the rant and thanks for reading. Just not sure if I should expect, or try, something different.

Hello! I have 8 years of experience with the piano, and i am required to learn symphony 40 on my piano for my conservatory returning exam, which is in 20 days.

I found a piece that is 12 pages, i started yesterday and im 2 pages done.

However, im awfully scared. Is it possible? I need advice or opinions! And if someone did actually learn it, how long did it take?

Anyone know what song this is? Thanks!

I got this kitty a few months ago and sometimes he sits next to me while I practice. He really likes looking at my hands as I move around. Recently he's been sitting right in front of me purring at me and sometimes sleeping too. 😻

Ooofff… this was rough. Looking back, my performance here was pretty terrible. I played Liszt’s Valse Oubliee No. 1. I made mistakes and played with a rushed instinct. This was mainly because it was actually my very first time playing in front of an audience ever. Plus I also suffer from extreme social and generalize anxiety. The piano itself was also very out of tune and sounded like trash. Needless to say I still take this as a win since it was during my very first year of college and I realized hey, I could actually perform in front of an audience! I’ve improved so much, musically and emotionally and gained much more confidence after this performance. Plus everyone was very impressed afterwards dispute it being such a bad performances. Criticize all you want since I’m curious what people have to say

So I picked up learning piano in January of 2026. My favorite song I’ve learned so far is Nuvole Bianche. I took this video about two weeks ago. I just want advice on how I can make this sound better. I know I do have a few note mistakes in the video but besides that what could I do better?

Im about to enter my first year of conservatory in another city, and as I will be staying in dorms I wont have access to a piano at all times in order to practice, only when Im at the conservatory (which is a good 20-25min walk away)

So now, my issue is regarding study sessions. Since my access to a piano is so limited by time, place and practice room availability, I have to make the most of when I can get my hands on one.

How can I keep my mind awake for long practice hours and how can I stop possible burnouts.

I always struggled with practice and keeping engaged while practicing, turning to things like listening to podcasts while practicing💀 but I know that will NOT suffice now. I would probably be looking into getting 5h of practice daily (Im not training to pursue a solo career btw, so I think Ill be fine with that number!!). Any tips would be soooo helpful.

I was hoping to get some opinions on a Mason & Hamlin console piano that I’m thinking about purchasing from a retailer.

Size 42”
Year 1940
Walnut finish
Serial No 50234
Price $1495

I still need to go in person to play it, but am trying to do some research to see if it’s worth it first. I haven’t found much on this particular piano other than it was made during the Aeolian time frame which wasn’t as good as pre WWII apparently.

I guess my main question is, being that it’s almost 90 years old, will I be looking at more maintenance with this piano? If so, outside of regular tuning, is there anything I should know?

I would love to hear from anyone that has experience with these pianos, all info is welcome.

Posting to track my progress. Getting the hang of this!

I wonder how hard it is to learn exactly what a keyboard player is playing, I hear songs sometimes and I just wonder how the key player has voiced the chords, whether its rootless or not, because I guess a key player playing a Em over a bass players C note is just percieved as a Cmaj7 chord, I wonder if anyone can listen to a song though and hear "the song plays a Dm9 but the guy on rhodes is playing a Fmaj7" I think I really need to start ear training

Hi all piano Redditors!

I'm dealing with my late mother's estate. She has an upright piano which we're going to have to dispose off. Obviously can try listing on various sites, including the free ones, but if we need to dispose of it I'm after recommendations for companies that'd deal with it.

It's in reasonable condition but would require tuning if it was to be re-used.

Also interested in recommendations for piano moving services if it turns out that my sister's able to take it.

Cheers

Ich habe Probleme in den beiden Läufen der Tonleiter mit beiden Händen am Ende der ersten Ballade in g-Moll op.23 von Frédéric Chopin.
Der erste Lauf im Oktavenabstand funktioniert mittlerweile ganz gut, ist aber noch unsauber.
Größere Schwierigkeiten habe ich im zweiten Lauf in Terzabständen.
Ich habe verschiedene Methoden bereits versucht, jedoch komme ich nur sehr langsam voran.

Hello! I played piano until I was in middle school (Suzuki method) and am in my late 20s now. I play other instruments and sing, understand basic music theory, and still use a keyboard for vocal warm-ups or for playing chords while I sing. So I don’t have a complete lack of background in the instrument or in music.

A few weeks ago, I got asked to play keys for an alt/indie rock cover band (think Arctic Monkeys and Cage the Elephant). I have the band’s setlist, and I think I’ll be playing with them for the first time in a week or so. I warned them where I’m at right now, but I still don’t want to embarrass myself when I show up because I think everyone else is much more experienced in what they play.

I can find chord charts online and pick out occasional melodies by ear just fine. My main concern is that I’m still feeling super clumsy when it comes to chord changes. I know that above all else, time and practice will fix this. I’d just love some targeted suggestions to improve more quickly!

Aside from just simply playing along with the tracks on Spotify, does anyone have any suggestions for exercises to increase general dexterity? And ALSO, if anyone has beginner tips for filling space on a song with no keys without it sounding ugly, I would be grateful! I’m planning to play chords, maybe root notes, etc. I’m curious how you choose when to play and when to lay off.

Thank you wonderful keyboardists <:). I look forward to joining your ranks!

Athena's narrow key piano at 2500$ is too expensive for what is a fairly basic quality digital piano https://www.narrowkeys.com/athena

In case you've missed them, some guys are trying to manufacture a low volume narrow key digital piano in Shanghai, with a target price of 1500$, making it far more affordable to try a more ergonomic instrument (1100$ with stand/pedals included for pre-orders, but I'm not sure if taxes are included).

https://www.dreamplaypianos.com

Their blog regularly updates us about their progress, last month they also made a video of the industrial prototype https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wrlDpEAQdU So it's not some US startup vaporware, they have really been working with their Shanghai manufacturer for 6 months are are closer to being production ready. They announce deleveries for May/June 2027.

Let's see how it will end up.

Hey folks! IDK if this is advertising since this is free but I made a free plug n play visualizer with your MIDI controller. https://yuzupatch.com/

It has diff maps and instruments, you can record yourself with it, and transcription (kind of). Would love for folks to try it out and provide any feedback! Hopefully this can be a useful tool for all piano players :D

Feel free mods to take it down if it breaks the rules!

Hey Friends, i am searching for some free pdf files with a lot of examples for classical and jazz cadences. For example such stuff like the neapolitan sixth or fifth fall sequence. Or 2-5-1 in jazz. But more complex. Do you have any idea if there is a book or a pdf like this? Cheers

The accidentals make this very awkward to play. How about I finger the thirds?

Piece: Shostakovich Symphony 5 Second Movement Arr Takernikov

Tempo: Allegretto