Places to sneak onto a piano? (Stillwater, Kansas: fit in, neighborhood, to buy)

[ElectronicOverlord]

I was wondering if anyone had any info on places to play piano. I put my old keyboard in storage with plans to buy a new one, but that will be delayed. For locations, somewhere not-too-public would be ideal, so that I could experiment & compose.

But for this thread feel free to suggest anything, in case it helps someone else. Any somewhat-working piano or keyboard is fine - I can work around one or two missing keys, slightly-off tunings, etc.

[flyonpa]

I would try some of the colleges, Talk to the music departments.

Area churches, that are staffed during the hours you want to play. Most have Sunday Schools with Piano's Maybe offer to be a backup pianist (or Primary one) for them.

[Zachj7]

It would be helpful to know where you are at. You can try the music department at UCO or OU. Most churches, especially those that are older, have a piano or several pianos. Perhaps go to your local ones. Go to a service on Sunday, then afterwards, ask if it is possible to use their piano. Or maybe email some of the churches in your neighborhood to see if they ever allow people outside the church to play and practice?

Now that I think about, there is a grand piano in the Union building of OU on the 2nd floor in the library. It's open to students, but you could easily get in there. It is a public area though but oftentimes not very busy.

[el gato bandito]

there are pianos all over campus at OSU in Stillwater, and I am pretty sure OCU has one of the worlds largest collections of Steinway's.....find a college campus, and I am pretty sure you will have options.

[Meemur]

You may also want to keep an eye on Craigslist, garage sales, or save up some money for an inexpensive portable electronic keyboard. If you add a set of headphones, no one will know you are playing, and it'll fit in the backseat of your vehicle. If you get one with a USB port, you can compose on the computer and have it playback your music.

Be aware that some of the free or nearly free ones may have various electronic problems, but nearly always, all the keys work in at least one of the modes. I found one for $15 once (several hundred new) and it worked fine as a composing keyboard for another three years. It was not something I would've played in public -- the tone was bad -- but for noodling, it was perfect.

Spring for the electronic adapter ($15 - Walmart, Target, etc) if it doesn't have one. They eat batteries!

[ElectronicOverlord]

Thanks y'all. In a strange turn of events, I wound up getting a job in Kansas City. I shouldn't have any trouble obtaining a keyboard or piano, but hopefully this thread helps someone else. Feel free to add on if anything comes to mind.