Q. I'm looking to buy a new piano, am currently using a Yamaha upright and playing at a diploma level.
How do I choose the best one?
My Yamaha was a random piano that was recommended by the salesperson that my parents bought 10 years ago, so I have no idea.
A. The only way is to go out to someplace that sells pianos and try them out. If for some weird reason you go to a vendor and they say you're not allowed to play the pianos (it happens sometimes), then you need to leave immediately and go somewhere else.
What I would suggest is that you pick out two or three pieces, or sections of pieces, that you can have ready to play. It all comes down to personal preference of course, but here are a couple of things you might think about:
1. Pick at least one thing to play that is fast. What you are trying to do is test the limits of the piano action. A simple scale is probably not going to do this for you; you should pick some real piece of writing. If you can outmatch the piano on speed, then you need a better piano.
2. Pick something very light (quiet) to play. It is generally very simple to tell how a piano sounds when you're playing loudly by just playing a couple of loud chords. Playing softly is a different story. If you find that maintaining a generally quiet sound is so difficult as to make small changes in dynamics impossible, then you need a better piano.
3. Make sure you test the pedals. The sustain pedal should be able to actually sustain (obviously) but more importantly you should be able to control how much it sustains. Pressing the pedal down halfway should yield a shorter sustain; a quarter of the way even shorter (but still noticeable). The wider the range of control, the better. Also, check the una corda and sustenuto pedals. On upright pianos, the sustenuto pedals are generally not true sustenuto; they are just sustain pedals that work only on notes below middle C. This is not really a huge issue (and is all but unavoidable) but it is good to know. Also, some Yamaha uprights don't have a sustenuto pedal at all, instead they have a "practice pedal" that uses a piece of felt over the strings to dampen the sound. This may or may not be useful to you, but once again it is good to know.
4. Test the range of the piano. Generally the treble keys are pretty good, but if not that will probably be the first thing you notice. What you want to do is play around with the very high and very low registers. You're looking for pretty much the same thing both ways; when you hit a note on either extreme end of the keyboard, can you actually distinguish what the note is? In other words, you want the bass notes to sound rich, not muddy (imagine a deep gong, rather than a "splash"), and you want the soprano notes to sound clear, not tinny (imagine chiming as opposed to the sound you might hear if you strangled a kitten. you sick kitten murderer you).
Well that should pretty much do it. Oh, in response to your story; I'm sure salespeople are very nice and beneficial members of society who go home in the evening to loving spouses and families. When you're buying a piano though, their only job involves pointing their index finger in the general direction of the pianos and then getting out of your way. You have all the tools that you need to figure out what piano you should buy, and salespeople are just mindless distractions for you (once again, I'm sure they're very nice people though).
Is there a site that will show me what notes are involved in each chord?
Q. I need to know if there's a site with this info. What I mean is, say the chord of D ((I don't know the notes involved, thus being the reason why I need this)) has the notes of A D and C in it, I need a site that will tell me that; and not just a graph of what chords to play, because guitar chords carry over to everything else.
A. http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano/
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/guitar/index_db.html
What makes a harp unique compared to other instruments, mainly the piano?
Q. I listened to several videos of harps, and they all sounded like a Piano.
Why would someone chose the harp over the piano? The piano seems easier and much easier on the fingers.
Also, what makes the harp more unique compared to the piano? For example, a Violinist can use vibrato and glissando, while a pianist can use multiple chords and uses a pedal to keep a note sustained while playing other notes.
A. Dan's reply was only partly correct.
The harp does not only have natural pitches. For instance, I play on a pedal harp. I tune it to all flats and then control the key changes with my feet. I have every pitch, chromatically, that a piano does.
People choose the harp for different reasons. One is for scholarship money. Due to its rarity, harpists are almost guaranteed a scholarship of some amount. Many older people take up the harp for therapy. Kids often choose the harp, like I did, because it looks nice. It is much harder on the fingers than the piano. I stuck with it, though because I loved it(and because of the wow factor). It is unique and sets me apart from others. It is also more portable than a piano(somewhat). Mine weighs only about 90 lbs.
The harp does have many unique sound effects. Since it is strung, it can be played with different objects including paper, screw drivers, and paint brushes. I can also play harmonics and I play near the soundboard for a unique sound(aka pres de la table pronounced pray-da-la-tob).
The biggest sound difference, though is a glissando(aka running the index finger or thumb over all of the strings). When you try it on a piano, firstly, all you can get is in the key of c. The harp allows key changes between glisses. I would love to see a pianist play a b-and-e-sharp glissando, like in the purple bamboo. That can be found on youtube.
Hope this helped!
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Title : How to choose the best piano?
Description : Q. I'm looking to buy a new piano, am currently using a Yamaha upright and playing at a diploma level. How do I choose the best one? My...