In my previous blog, The Three Legged Stool, I shared the three critical parts of a child’s successful music education. Without question, the one I am asked about most often is how to find the right piano for a beginner.

So, what makes some pianos good for students and others bad? Above all else, a beginner’s piano should inspire the student. That means it will be easy to play softly, have a lot of dynamic range (playing soft and loud) and keys that play evenly.Use these helpful tips that I have shared with hundreds of parents at my daughter’s school functions, PTA meetings and neighborhood picnics to find the best piano for your beginner.

Five Simple Keys

You can be confident you are on the right path when you find a piano with an all-wood action, close-grain soundboard, 3D iron plate, notched ribs and line weighted keys. These are the five features that every great piano ever built has had. Regardless of price and whether the piano is new or used, you will know that the manufacturer was building good, stable instruments when they built that piano. If any are missing, the manufacturer cut corners.

For details, visit our Finding a Good Piano page

When looking at new pianos, these five simple keys will answer everything you need to know about quality, plus you’ll likely have a manufacturer warranty for additional peace of mind. When comparing used pianos, you will need more information to understand the instrument’s condition.

It’s What’s Inside that Counts!

Piano strings are one of the easiest parts to check for clues that a piano is worn out. New piano springs, while made of wire, are somewhat elastic. Over years of use, just like stretching a rubber band, strings will begin to break. Once it starts the hundreds of strings in a piano will continue to snap, one by one, although nobody can predict which ones will go next or when. Mixing new and old strings creates overtones that make the player sound bad. In other words, it takes the fun out of practicing and playing.

You can check a piano’s strings by lifting the lid and peering inside with a flashlight. Used piano strings will be dull compared to shiny new piano strings.

Over time, piano action parts also wear out. Each key sets into motion 45+ small parts that send the hammer toward the string. There are 88 keys on every piano, which means each piano has about 4,000 action parts. Replacing these parts (called “action rebuilding”) costs thousands of dollars… regardless of the price, age or condition of the piano.

Worn parts lead to an uneven, frustrating feel when playing and virtually guarantee that the student will lose interest.

Another part that eventually wears out is the pinblock, a laminated wood block mounted under the piano’s plate. Pinblocks hold the tuning pins in place and when they start to fail, tuning slips within days or weeks. (Typically, good pianos need tuning every six months.) It is impossible to know if a pinblock is worn out by looking at it.

Once a pinblock starts to fail, there’s no stopping it. The only true repair is to replace it which usually costs more than a new piano. This is one of many reasons to be very cautious of used pianos being offered online or by low-end piano stores (see Addition at bottom).

‘Spinet’ is a Four-Letter Word

A spinet pianos is a style of upright that has a drop-down action. The small soundboards, short strings and compromised action design make spinets terrible pianos for any player. Consequently, you will see a lot of them for sale in classified ads and low quality piano stores. Regardless of the overall condition, spinet pianos should never be selected for beginning students. No manufacturer builds spinet pianos today.

Most pianos built since 1945 have a usable life of about 40 years*. While they can technically be played, performance goes downhill fast. Still, individuals and low-end piano stores try to sell them. Keep in mind that, even if you’re willing to put money into repairs when your piano breaks, you will still need to make appointments and wait for replacement parts. Just one broken part on one key can make it impossible for your beginner to practice.

Have a qualified piano technician (not a piano tuner) inspect any used piano you seriously consider purchasing. They will be able to test the action parts, check the pin torque and appraise the piano’s overall condition. It is a small investment compared to thousands of dollars in potential repairs. Most importantly, you will avoid setting your student up for disappointment.

Children are amazing.

They can master a new video game without instructions, but they don’t notice when their shoes have worn out.  They can memorize hundreds of TV channels and schedules, but don’t remember what they did at school today. And when they practice on a worn out piano, they start to believe that they don’t play well. They never blame the piano.

Making music is incredibly addictive and students who get started on the right foot move on to play multiple instruments. Start your beginner with a Three Legged Stool and you can count on them enjoying a lifetime of music making.

Inspire your child to realize their potential by giving them a piano they can grow into instead of outgrow.

For more information or help finding a qualified technician, feel free to contact me. If you cannot afford a good piano for your student, please apply for a free piano through the Piano Bank program.

* Some pianos, like Steinway & Sons, last much longer. Many pianos built in the last 30 years are already worn out, but also were not built with the 5 Keys.

Addition: It is unfortunate, but today, unscrupulous sellers and low-end piano stores will do anything to get old, worn out pinblocks to hold. They’ll pound them with a mallet and even inject chemical solutions into the block. To be safe, be sure to find a competent technician to thoroughly inspect any used piano you find online or that a tuner is offering to sell. Make sure your technician’s report includes pin torque readings.