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so get one now and start taking lessons. There's nothing that says only children can learn to play musical instruments.
I actually did take piano lessons when I got to college and we had pianos we could use. I wish I could have played as a child, though. I always envied the kids who could; they got to play piano during programs, assemblies, etc.
Whenever I went to the home of a friend after school to play and there was a piano in the house, that is where I would be. I was always trying to teach myself how to play. Sometimes I would get one of my friends to teach me a few things. So I learned scales, Chopsticks, some simple tunes.
And the context of the previous statement about lack of pianos was that kids today are not trying to imitate rock stars for their piano playing ability, thus have no great desire to get a piano and learn to play well.
Plenty of rock stars play the saxophone but kids aren't running out to buy saxophones to play, either.
Actually, my daughter started playing sax in 4th grade. Now in high school has three saxophones: alto, tenor and soprano. And she plays in jazz band, marching band and orchestra.
The playing of musical instruments isnt as prevalent as it was a generation or two ago.
as some one who is in the process of giving away a full size upright piano i've found that most people who want pianos these days go for an electronic keyboard rather than a traditional piano as it doesnt take up so much space and its portable.
I took piano lessons for about 8 years. I'm very grateful to my parents for that. It's really enriched my life.
To me, no matter the quality of the keyboard, it's just not the same. Nothing feels or sounds quite like those "real" keys. That being said, I understand why people buy keyboards. My daughter is married to a guy in the military and they move every three years or so. Three of her four kids take piano lessons and play well, but they have a keyboard - it's a lot easier to move, that's for sure!
Actually, my daughter started playing sax in 4th grade. Now in high school has three saxophones: alto, tenor and soprano. And she plays in jazz band, marching band and orchestra.
I'm sure in this country of 350 million people you can find a few (thousand) exceptions but that doesn't change the fact that the percentage of kids learning to play piano or sax these days is very small.
A friend of mine bought a used piano lost year. I think he only paid like $100 plus a little more to have it delivered. Then he had to pay to have it tuned. He plays at piano bars and also plays the accordion. A few years ago I went to a friend of a friend's home and he had a small baby grand in a section of the living room. i didn't know he played.
Free pianos off of Craigslist are a losing proposition. Besides the moving of it - which if done by your Uncle Fred and his mate and not professional piano movers will likely result in irreparable damage to both the instrument and Uncle Fred's lower back - if that piano has been sitting for 10, 20 years without regular tuning it's going to be an expensive endeavor to get it back into playing shape. Pianos need proper string tension and maintenance to avoid breaking down. Which they do very quickly. In the studio world, pianos are tuned once a week when idle and prior to every session if they're being played that day.
If you aren't going to invest in tuning it regularly then you really are better off with a digital option.
Unfortunately, most people's experience with domestic/consumer grade digital keyboards are those awful plastic numbers that cost 100 bucks or less. Well, you get what you pay for. Those are not indicative of the really great pro options on the market. Yes they're more expensive, but if you're serious about playing they'll be so satisfying that it will be worth it. It's just that most amateur players aren't aware of what's out there.
There are lots of other options that are a bit less expensive, but the Nord has exceptionally authentic piano action, right down to the sound of the hammers moving before they even strike the strings. Also, you have free access to all their new piano sounds as they make them. So it's like getting new grands in your mailbox every 6 months.
Your other option is to buy a weighted 88 key midi controller and trigger software pianos on your Mac laptop using Garageband - which is a free app that comes with OS X. You can buy some amazing 3rd party piano sample plug ins. If anyone would like to do this dm me and I'll talk you through it.
If you are reading this on your Mac laptop - go ahead and boot up Garageband, load up one of the two inbuilt piano samples, and you can actually play it on your laptop keyboard. Just turn on "Show musical typing" in the window menu, use the keys to trigger notes, and use the x and z keys to go up or down an octave.
Now that is nothing like playing a piano. But it's super fun, nonetheless.
There are lots of other options that are a bit less expensive, but the Nord has exceptionally authentic piano action, right down to the sound of the hammers moving before they even strike the strings. Also, you have free access to all their new piano sounds as they make them. So it's like getting new grands in your mailbox every 6 months.
You'll also need the sound system to accurately reproduce those sounds.
You'll also need the sound system to accurately reproduce those sounds.
Sure, or a nice pair of headphones.
There are plenty of good quality self powered studio monitors that aren't particularly expensive, but very hi fi, and quite loud.
That's one of the benefits of having a digital keyboard - if you want to practice you can pop your headphones on and play loud to your heart's content, without bothering the entire house.
Owning piano is the first step. Piano lessons are expensive.
15 years ago I already paid $100/hr for my kid on individual piano lesson. Violin lessons were cheaper -- $70/hr.
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