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So did John Lennon. He wrote "Imagine" using an upright Steinway that he had in his home. He bought it from a music store in Liverpool. It's now on display at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. He used to smoke when he played and he'd put his cigarettes down on the piano.....which left burn marks. People, including fans born long after he died, look at that piano and tears run down their cheeks.
The traditional piano is still a staple of every major recording studio in the world.
They all have fantastic full size Steinways or Bosendorfers, and I've heard some very good Yamahas.
Rock oriented youngsters still play the piano. Of course if you have a fully weighted 88 key midi keyboard you really don't need an actual piano, as you can trigger real sampled pianos of all types and varieties of tone and even pick whether you're playing it in a jazz club or the Royal Albert Hall.
The main reason they stopped playing actual instruments live is the expense and logistics of transport. You have to lug it in and out if the venue and either have a tuner on the crew or one on call in every city you play in. Hard on the crew and the instrument.
The demise of the real piano live started in the mid 70's when Yamaha came out with the CP70, the first really viable electric grand which was much more portable (though not by today's standards) and made sense logistically. They tried earlier with the Rhodes and Wurlitzer, which we all love, but those are distinctive instruments in their own right and don't sound much like an acoustic.
Elton takes his piano to every studio he records in, but Yamaha makes a midi equipped grand especially for him and if course he can afford it. The last time I recorded him we used it but still ran the midi through a couple of samplers just in case we preferred a different tone.
Rock stars who still use a real one on a regular basis - Chris Martin, Matthew Bellamy, and Trent Reznor. I'm sure I could think of quite a few more.
Most singers I work with still play.
You have the coolest stories Finster.
It makes perfect sense that pianos have fallen out of favor because of open floor plans and the difficulty of moving them. The thrift store I work at has had three uprights on the sales floor for months. Hardly a day goes by where a customer doesn't sit down to try one out, and we've enjoyed some mini concerts as a result. It's obvious some kids, at least, still take lessons.
We had a piano when I was a kid, my mother played. My parents left it behind when they moved south in retirement, and my father bought my mother a rather large organ to replace it. I've never heard her play it.
Oh man, I love my piano to pieces. I got it from a parochial school in the middle of winter after having a temper tantrum. I told my husband that I wanted a piano... I'd always had one ever since I could remember. We found this one and the price was good. He said, "Well, let's think about it." We left and I turned into a beast. "What are you, my father? I decided I wanted THAT piano. There's nothing to THINK about!" We drove back to the store in the middle of a huge snowstorm and got it. That was decades ago. I've gotten less beasty since then... I think. Maybe.
I play piano every single day. It's almost meditative for me. I am not such a talented player so I really have to concentrate. It's good for "shutting down racing thoughts." More people should grab up pianos for their kids. They might find that it helps with hyperactivity. And if not, you can punish them by forcing them to play for their friends. Ha.
My piano teacher actually broke my finger at the first knuckle when I hit two keys at the same time. She was a little nutty, to say the least. She'd also make me listen to recorded church sermons, even though we attended the same church and I'd already heard the sermon the week before. She told me that hearing it again "wouldn't hurt." But it kinda did. Chill out, lady.
If people are giving away pianos, take advantage and grab one! I wish I had a room that would fit a few more! I recently bought an electronic piano from a lady for $20. It's in perfect condition. She just was "bored," according to her. It is one of those like Ferris Bueller had! There are barking dogs, ringing doorbells, rockets, sneezing... how in the world can ya get bored!? Nothing like playing a piece of classical music with some sneezes and farts thrown in.
Wow, I really had a lot to say about pianos. I sound like a piano weirdo.
There have been so many free pianos on Nextdoor and Craigslist in the past few years! I have seen them listed as being in excellent condition, good condition, excellent condition but needs to be tuned, etc.
Right now there are two free upright pianos and a free baby grand.
A few have even been listed as good condition and will pay someone to haul away.
Last year the local piano shop went out of business, and it had been family owned and operated for over 50 years. The owner said no one was buying pianos any longer.
Where were all these free pianos when I wanted to take piano lessons as a child? My parents couldn't afford a piano and the local piano teachers would only give lessons to kids who had pianos at home so they could practice.
Now it's electronic keyboards that fit into a backpack. People were tired of having to hop from one piano to another, wherever they were located. I used to play a keyboard instrument, a full-size accordion. I got very tired packing it and its heavy case around. Now, I'm shifting to a lightweight, 32-key glockenspiel, that I can easily carry anywhere.
After reading this thread, I did a search on Craigslist and sure enough, there are pianos listed for free. I mentioned it to my husband and he said he didn't want a piano. BUMMER. I would love to have one-and try to learn to play. Oh well. I guess I COULD override him but I pick my battles. This isn't one that I REALLY want-but I do want a portable keyboard-and he is aware of that. I have been looking for the right one for years now.
Maybe an upright piano would work but a baby grand, while nice to look at, is a big space waster. My kids would use it for a brief time and after that it would just be a decoration. We have 3700 sq ft and no real room to have such a piano. We do have a large keyed keyboard however.
Costco seems to think there's a market for them. Noticed they had several on display up front this past weekend.
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Nothing like playing a piece of classical music with some sneezes and farts thrown in. 
