Trying and buying a new piano directly off the off the piano store floor is a wonderful buying option. You get hands-on experience with that instrument and a great feel for how it is going to perform in your home. However, you must take into consideration that a new piano fresh from the box will change its tonal characteristics over time because of the break-in period every new piano experiences.
Help us help your students continue their learning.
Dear Piano teachers, we would like to provide a select amount of students, that you personally nominate, with one month free of lessons! Covid-19 has effected every household in the world in significant ways. In this tough time we want to make sure that all promising students are given an opportunity to continue lessons no matter the financial obstacles that may come their way.
It may sound crazy at first, and your initial response might be "I could never do that" but the best way to enjoy playing the piano and making music is to share it with others. Yes, I know most people do enjoy playing for just themselves and their own amusement. And that is great! But they would probably find it even more satisfying to play for others. Now I am not saying you should book Carnegie Hall (maybe just not now, but you never know) but as simple as immediate family members for starters. Get comfortable, graduate to extended family, then on to friends and strangers at parties and other get togethers.
How “good" of a piano should I buy is a question probably asked since Bartolomeo Cristofori made his second piano. It is actually a pretty easy question to answer with the standard "buy the best one you can afford" retort, but that seems a smug answer to the uniformed. In most cases the "uninformed" is the non-playing spouse of a player, and the non-playing parents of a student.
Awarded to Jordanfrom Warren, MI "Jordan is an extremely gifted student who deserves recognition for his hard work and perseverance amounting to great accomplishments. We bestow this award to encourage furthering the great strides he has made."
Now that we have addressed let off, drop, and repetition lever spring adjustment in our previous discussions, rounding out the four primary adjustments is the back-check.
The back check itself is a small wooden block covered with a small piece of felt, over which, a strip of leather is stretched. It is mounted to the back end of the key with a wire that provides easy adjustment.
Awarded to Ashley from Sterling Heights, MI "I have been teaching Ashley since I started teaching. She is so passionate about music that being able to share that love with her through the years has truly made me a better teacher. Ashley has big dreams with her music and I am so proud to be able to help her and push her to her goals."
The physical and mental benefits of playing music have long been recognized. The piano has been an unparalleled outlet for those seeking escape, creative expression, and simply fun and joy.
We LOVE hearing about past scholarship recipients and their success! From our October 2020 Scholarship Winner, "We appreciate so much your kindness to Aleks, he was quite honored to be the recipient of your generosity. In fact, that month of lessons that you covered enabled him to make a very fine video performance that doubles as his college audition video and also his entry to certain competitions. The results were:
“Repetition lever spring adjustment” is many official words for a simple adjustment. As discussed in the two previous posts on let-off and fall, we were able to see and measure (at least with our eyes) the hammer position relative to the string. To do this, the hammer is raised very slowly and in a controlled manner.
Awarded to Hana from Clarkston, MI "Hana is a Junior and has been studying with me since she was four years old. She has been an active musician by joining the Clarkston High School Orchestra and by volunteering as a performer at the retirement house in the Troy area since she was in Elementary school. To add, she has won first place at numerous local piano solo and concerto competitions, and achieved the Superior ( highest rating) rating for the past twelve years at Michigan Federation Festivals. During the pandemic, she has been the most active student to participate in our donation efforts for frontline workers at Beaumont Hospital. Thanks to her continuous dedication in piano lessons, we were able to donate some funds and PPE to Beaumont. She hopes to continue giving back to the community with her musical talent and believes that her enthusiasm for music will connect and help people."
