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The history of the piano

How to find a good piano instructor

Benefits of piano lessons for a beginner

Get your kids to practice the piano

How to score a piano free

How to score a piano free

 

So Junior wants to learn how to play the piano? Or maybe it’s really you who wants Junior to learn the piano. Either way, you don’t want to think about the enormous expense of buying a new piano. Even a used one would cost an arm and a leg. Who would have money left over for the lessons? Well don’t fret, there is a way to procure yourself a piano for FREE. That’s right FREE. Really. This is how one music student, now a music teacher, obtained a free piano.


Simply place a small ad the in the newspaper that reads, “Student needs a free piano.” That’s it! But surely that wouldn’t work, you say. Guess again. The music student referred to in the previous paragraph placed this ad and received 3 responses. That’s right, 3 people were willing to give him their piano for free.


What’s the catch you ask? It’s this – many people buy a piano for Junior and he/she eventually loses interest. So there sits this monster of a piece of furniture in their living room or family room taking up space. It taunts them by constantly reminding them of how much money they threw out the window. They would love to get rid of this elephant in their living room however it costs money to hire piano movers so they let it sit there for years. After some time they are ready to get rid of this monster in their home so when they see an ad from someone who wants a piano they are very happy to give it to a student who will use it.


Test the keys of each piano before deciding which one you will take. Each key should work with a gentle touch if it doesn’t, or some are harder than others to push, then it may need expensive repairs and you might want to check out a different piano. You might have to hire a piano tuner however tuning isn’t near as expensive as repairs can be.


Now you can hire piano movers to move your free piano since you are ahead of the game but if you want to keep your costs low do what our music student did and rent a piano dolly. Have a couple buddies help you move this piano, you may want to call that friend who has a pick up truck, and the piano is all yours! Although big and heavy musical instruments are fragile and must be moved with care. Upright pianos (those that stand 4 1/2 to 5 feet high) have a very high center of gravity and will tip over easily when not handled properly.


You may have to put some elbow grease into fixing up your new piano. Our music student had to refinish the piano himself. It was actually blue (yuck) and he had to remove that ugly color and then varnish it. It took some time-- he did a little bit at a time-- but finally the piano is now its original color. You may need to resurface some of the keys to make them look like new. Any work done on the inside, such as new felts or new hammers, will be more costly.


You could put a lot of money into fixing up the piano or you could just do a few fix-up projects, especially if it is for a beginning student. And if you are lucky enough to get more than one response to your ad you can choose the piano that is in the best shape.

 

Written by Shelley Rockefeller