Hi all!

I just wanted to tell everyone that I am finally going to get a piano!!! I'm so excited!! It's been two years since my dad sold our boudoir (spelling?!) grand piano, and when I started looking out for pianos again (at first I wanted an electric), every one that came up for sale was either unsuitable, or snapped up before we could go and see them....
About a month ago, I put a 'Wanted Urgently!: Upright Piano' advert up in the co-op supermarket, thinking that I wouldn't hear back, as most people selling pianos advertise in the local newspapers.
But then, last Saturday, a woman phoned to say that she's moving soon and so wants rid of her piano!! She had been to the co-op to put up an advert for it, and so she was delighted when she saw my advert, as she thought it would be hard to sell her piano!! Dad and I went to see it that very night, and I really liked it. It has been recently tuned, in January, and I liked the feel of the keys (thankfully!). The chance of finding another piano might not arise for a long time, so I was very keen about this one. The lady phoned again yesterday and agreed a price with my dad, so it's settled now! At the moment we're just trying to find someone who can bring it here....
Sorry to go on for so long everyone, I hope you're not bored! It's just I had to tell you all how happy I am and share the good news!! After taking two grades with only a keyboard (and an old one too, so no touch-sensitivity) to prepare on, and being so mad about the piano (because I love to play it!), I just can't believe I'm finally going to be able to walk into what we call our 'music-room', and see a piano there! Now I can practise any time I like, and especially for my Grade 3 exam, which I'm hoping to take in November. I knew after Grade 2 that I couldn't go in for another grade without a piano.
I can't wait until it arrives!!

Congratulations and ENJOY!

Oh, I know what it is like to wait in anticipation. I had the same feelings while waiting for the BIG day planned for cello-shopping. I was thinking about it every resting moment I had!

Thank you so much! I went on to see if I had any replies at this late hour, and so was excited when I saw that I did! I'm glad you understand the feeling of waiting for something in anticipation....!

That's brilliant! Enjoy your 'new' piano and I hope to see a Grade 3 Distinction soon!

Wonderful! it's obviously going to a good home
Hope the move goes smoothly and you enjoy many rewarding hours with your new instrument.

Yay! There's nothing quite like a real piano!

I can share you're excitement, as I bought a piano recently too. Bet you can't wait to get it home.

I got the name of a piano mover from my technician / tuner, as it's a bit tricky getting it up my drive. Cost less than I thought. You might have a word with a local tuner and see if he can help. Shop around a bit if you have to pay - I had quotes from £50 to £175!!!

Congratulations!
Me too ,I had waited so long before I got my piano..
Be sure you practice well! And I hope you get another dist. in your grade 3 exam.

That's fantastic Steinway!!! I was hoping you were going to post your good news soon as I couldn't wait to find out what it was! You must be so pleased to finally be getting a piano as it must be so hard to practise on a keyboard for exams especially when there's no touch sensitivity. I'm so excited for you & hope you find someone who can deliver it to you soon.

Lisa xxx

Really pleased to hear you've found a good piano at last - hope you manage to get it home safely. I had no idea your keyboard wasn't touch sensitive! How on earth have you managed so well? Just know you're going to play great now that you've got the real thing to practise on (you can try pedalling too!)

This sounds great. Do you know what make the Piano is?

How much did your piano cost and how old is it? I hear that Steinway are an excellent make. I remember reading a review where someone commented on the 'many hours of joy' they had with a Steinway.

Enjoy . Don't worry too much if the delivery takes a while, it is possible to get a grade three distinction without a piano anyway so you can still keep working .

First of all, thank you to everyone for your replies!! I was just sitting here smiling when I read them, because you're all so kind!



Thanks for this, I too hope for a distinction in my Grade 3, but since it's a higher grade it's probably not likely....!




You're right - I can't wait until the day of its arrival! We have been phoning around, to check prises, and so far we've had quotes of £60 and £65. My brother is going to phone a friend who does removals yet though, just to see how much he'd be after for doing it. It's quite a tricky job, moving a piano! Do you think it will need to be tuned again after the move? I've heard that this knocks the tuning a bit...



Thank you! And I'm pleased that you understand as you said you waited so long before you got your piano!
Fingers crossed for the Grade 3 distinction... You're so kind!



Thanks Lisa!! I know, I am sorry to have kept you waiting - when I told you in the PM that I was going to start a new topic for some good news, I came off the internet and completely forgot!! I remembered later on that night, and so went on straight away to do it! Yes, it was hard, practising on a keyboard... For Grade 1 though I went to a church in Wick a few times to play on a piano there, so thta helped a lot. It was a lovely piano - Collard and Collard London make and a beautiful soind! I recorded myself once, and I'm hoping to put up a recording on the forum site soon!



Thank you pp.mum!! You're right, I can't wait to practise my pedalling, as that comes in some of the Grade 3 pieces... As I said to Lisa87, I did have the times on the church piano, so it's not as bad as I made out, regarding my keyboard which has no touch sensitivity!



No, as silly as this sounds, I don't know the make of the piano.....yet!! I will tell you as soon as I know - I just didn't look at that when I tried it out... Too busy playing!!



Thank you so much - I just hope we don't take too long, trying to find someone who can bring it here. Because someone else might get there first! To be honest, I'm a bit worried!

My piano wasn't too badly out of tune when it arrived, but it got steadily worse over the following few weeks. I think I finally got it tuned after giving it time to ger settled down, about a month after I think. Was such a relif to get it done again - one of the notes was nearly a semi-tone out!!! Has been absolutely fine since then.

Excellent Looking forward to hearing it .

Thanks! How do I actually go about getting a recording on the site? I'm not so sure it's the best for all to hear though... Maybe I'll do a new one....

You definitely should get your piano tuned in its new home. Preferably within the first month.

I asked my Dad about the make, and he said it didn't have a make written on the front where it usually is! So how do I find out?




Thanks for this - I thought we should get it tuned after its arrival, but I don't think we have the money at the moment... Doesn't it cost around £75? If we don't tune it within a month, nothing bad will happen I hope?

E-mail the recording to YetAnotherPianist; his e-mail address is his forum username at yahoo dot co dot uk

Car Expert

YAY! I was very excited when I got my piano (donated by someone who was moving and couldn't take it) - it is lovely to have your own, real instrument!!

Thanks very much, CE, glad to have an answer to my question!




It certainly is nice to own the real thing! What make is your piano? Is it an upright?

Witton and Witton if I remember right, and yes, an upright. It's quite an old one, big, rose-wood coloured, old fashioned looking. I love it and it goes really well in my house

Congratulations! Enjoy yourself and let us know when you get in installed!

Allan

I can just imagine your excitement, Steinway. I bought a new piano three years ago, after playing on a digital piano, and it was so lovely to have a good instrument with real depth of sound.




My piano tuner charges £45 - and that's the London area. It's worth finding out your local fee as you should get it tuned after moving it.

mine is about that too.... You probably need to let it settle a bit before having it tuned but the tuner can tell you that anyway.

Thanks for the replies (the kind comments, and especially the advice on tuning).
I haven't been on since yesterday and only read the recent posts now!
However, I'd like to give you all the latest update regarding my piano.... That is, it arrived TODAY!!!! I could hardly believe how soon it was to come myself, when the company we chose to bring it here phoned this morning. Plus, it was a lovely day today (finally!), with the sun shining, and it was actually quite warm!!
I haven't been on the internet all day, as (you've probably guessed why by now) I've spent most of the day playing!! My left arm muscles were aching earlier on, from the effort I had to put into the runs in 'La Valse d'Amélie' - too used to the keyboard!!
By the way, I opened the lid of the piano to see if the make was written on the inside, and it was. 'Nathaniel Berry & Sons London' is what it says. Anyone heard of this? And why do you think the name isn't on the front?
I am going to try and contact several tuners, as it is a whole semitone out! My brother came to play with me and it sounded awful! He had to tune to the piano.... Suepea, you said your piano tuner charges £45 - this isn't bad at all. I was speaking to my Dad about getting it tuned today, as not only were you all recommending it, it was worse than I thought when I played it today... At least it's in tune with itself! But it was only tuned last January - I'm a bit worried that it didn't hold for very long.... Or am I just being paranoid?!
I'm going to do a search on the internet, to try and find out how old the piano might be.
Oh, while I'm here, does anyone know what to use when polishing/cleaning a piano? For example, if you were to use furniture polish, would this damage the wood? Also, what do you use when cleaning the keys?

Debi x

Sorry only just seen this, but I am really pleased for you Enjoy!

Hi Debi

I'm so pleased for you!!! Glad it came sooner than you thought it would.

Don't worry about the make of the piano being written on the inside of the lid as that's where mine's written too. Most of the pianos I have played on have the make written inside the lid so it's not unusual or anything.

When I first got my acoustic piano when I was younger, it felt so weird playing on it as I was so used to the keyboard. I used to play a bit on the piano at school when I could but it took a bit of getting used to having one at home to play on instead of my keyboard. The more you play on it, the lighter the keys will feel so I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time.

It's a shame that the piano is a whole semitone out of tune but at least it sounds OK when you're playing by yourself. The owner of one of my local music shops does a piano-tuning service & he tunes mine for £25 so it might not be as expensive as you think. It obviously varies but if you look around you might be able to find someone who charges quite reasonably.

Some people use furniture polish to clean their keys but I don't like to because it makes them all slippery! I use a polishing cloth if they're just a little dusty but if they need a good clean then I wipe a damp cloth over them which seems to do the job just fine.

Anyway, have fun playing on your new piano.

Lisa xxx

it was worse than I thought when I played it today... At least it's in tune with itself! But it was only tuned last January - I'm a bit worried that it didn't hold for very long

Debi - if it's generally in tune with itself, it may not have actually "slipped" a whole semitone at all. It's possible it wasn't tuned to concert pitch in January. When a piano has gone down in pitch over the years, tuners sometimes tune it "to itself" rather than taking it right back to concert pitch. Maybe ask advice of your tuner when you find one. It may be possible to get it to concert pitch - maybe the previous owner didn't want to play with other instruments, so it didn't matter to him or her.

Great it's arrived - we won't expect to see much of you on the forums for a while!!

Glad you're enjoying your new piano!

My tuner is gradually raising mine closer to concert pitch each time he tunes it.

Apparently there's a risk if you try and tune it too far in one go of snapping strings so it's less risky and cheaper to do it gradually. It's getting there!

Thank you everyone for the latest replies! I've not been on this thread in a little while, due to playing my new piano (the electricity went about an hour ago, and I atomatically thought it would effect my playing but of course I carried on! I'm so used to the keyboard… Now in power cuts etc., I can play by candlelight! ), but I want to bring the thread up again now, just to say thanks for the previous comments that I haven't replied to as yet, and also to ask if it's possible for me to post photos on these forums? I'm wondering (just in case I can't do it until I've been a member for longer than I have), because I'd like to put a photo up of the piano for you all to see!!

Regarding the tuning, I'm pretty sure that it's nearly a semitone out, because it sounds awful when I play with an instrument that is in tune. I think it's so bad, because the woman who sold it to us said that when she bought it at an auction, it was really, really out of tune. So when she got the piano tuner in, he obviously tuned it as much as he could, as Sarah-flute says there's a risk of breaking the strings if you go right up to concert pitch. Maybe this is why it's still quite out?

Last night I was a bit down about Grade 3… The pieces look so hard, and are hard from what I've tried. I just felt last night that I'm getting nowhere. Even although I can now get through the whole of A1 ('Passipied'), which I was pleased with, as it was with bass and all (once I get the hands together I keep practising it like that until it's perfect, as one hand is no good!), it's very slow and I don't think I'll be able to bring it up to speed. C3 reminds me so much of a piece by Yann Tiersen, from his album 'La Phare', funnily enough! The C naturals in one hand, and C#s in the other, give it such an unusual sound - it's actually quite nice, and I like the ending especially.
Anyway, I'm so sorry for ranting on for so long! Thanks for reading all of that - I hope it didn't send you to sleep! Thanks again to everyone who has posted replies on this thread, and for all of your kind comments; it really means a lot to me.

Debi xx

Regards to the pieces, I know how frustrating not being able to get something is. Practice really slowly, and go over the most difficult bits. You can do it

Thanks! You're so kind! I only hope you're right and that I can do it... I'll try anyway. I'm getting there, slowly but surely - I'll just have to keep going, before I give up! I'm glad you understand, I suppose all musicians have their bad days... Not that I'm much of a musician...

Oh you're such a worrier Debi! The pieces will sound better & become easier the more you play them so just keep practising on your new piano & I'm sure you'll be fine. If I remember correctly, you haven't had the book of grade 3 pieces very long so they won't be perfect straight away & as your signature says, 'practise makes perfect'. Regarding the speed, I know you'll get the A piece up to speed by the time the exam comes! For grade 6 I had a fast A piece & never thought I'd get the speed right but the more I played it the faster it got & in the end I had to actually slow it down because I'd got used to playing it so fast!

Anyway, good luck with the pieces although I think you'll be fine with them & I hope you get your piano tuned soon.

Lisa xxx

Isn't it only recently you did grade 2?
If that is right then grade 3 pieces will be hard unless you took grade 2 when you were already playing grade 3 level pieces.

The C naturals in one hand, and C#s in the other, give it such an unusual sound - it's actually quite nice, and I like the ending especially.
Anyway, I'm so sorry for ranting on for so long!

Not at all - it's lovely to feel your enthusiasm! IThere are some really nice pieces in the current grade 3 lot. I wouldn't worry about "slow". It's the best way to get the details right. I' m sure it will get there.

So pleased you're enjoying your piano. Good luck with finding a tuner.

Yes, anyone can post photos: you have to host them somewhere, photobucket for example, then just click on the tree picture when you're replying and paste in the URL there .

Keep persevering with the grade 3 pieces, I'm sure they'll get there if you keep going .

Thank you everyone yet again for your kind and understanding comments!



I took Grade 2 on the 20th of March, so fairly recently, yes. You're right, I suppose they would be hard since I never looked at Grade 3 pieces before doing Grade 2. I just think I won't progress unless I find a teacher soon... I can't really continue alone for much longer, and I would really like advice before Grade 3.




Thank you. I hope to find a tuner soon! And you're right, going slowly to get the details right is the best thing to do. Thanks also for saying you didn't mind my long posting!



THANKS for this!! I was hoping someone would answer this question, as it wasn't very obvious in my posting! I'm glad to hear I can post photos! Now I just need to get the film developed....


Note to Lisa: You're right - I am a bit of a 'worrier'! My sister Rachel says the same to me; that I've only had the book for a few weeks and yet I'm expecting to be able to play all the pieces!!! I'm not sure I could do A1 for the exam though, as the speed is supposed to be 132 and being nervous this could be a nightmare!
Anyway, you've got a point there about my signature - I should try and think of that, and keep going!

Hi again,

If you want to do this a good idea would be to buy some of the AB's compilation books of grade 3 pieces and work through quite a few pieces in those before tackling the exam pieces. This will give you a greater breadth of repertoire and give you the opportunity to work gradually up to grade 3 through some easier pieces, which should get rid of the shock factor .

I must say it's always lovely to read your replies, such enthusiasm and you're so polite as well .

Wow... What a lovely compliment! Thank you so much! I only just read your posting now and I couldn't believe it when I read that you think I'm polite! And that it's lovely to read my posts - do you really think so!? I thought everyone would be fed up of my posts by now, when I moan about Grade 3 etc.!
Thank you also for the advice on Grade 3 - dad bought me an old Grade 3 syllabus (2001-2002) in the sale before the music shop closed, as he thought it would be good practise for me, not only to play the current pieces, but also to play more of the same standard. So that's something to work on! I will also try and get hold of the books you mentioned. Thanks again.

If it is any consilation, I have the book with the Passepied in it, and it is hard for me

Oh, thanks Nicki, I'm glad to hear you feel the same! Can you play it with both hands? How fast do you play it?

Very good idea of your dad's. (Ebay is also good for old exam music) A good way of getting some nice music at an appropriate level without breaking the bank, and actually old pieces tend to come round again on the syllabus so when you see old exam books going cheap, they're often a good buy

Hi all!

Sorry Sarah for not replying to you sooner - I only just read your post tonight. I agree with you, about the old books which are available on the internet. I like going to Amazon for things like that too! I'm actually considering buying the Grade 3 complete syllabus on CD or cassette, as I'd really lke to hear how the pieces are supposed to sound...

I wanted to attach a photo of the piano with this post, but I find that I don't know what to do!.... I don'tt know what 'Photo Bucket' is (I even asked my brother who's an expert on PCs and he said "what's that?"! ), and I'm puzzled with the website address that you have to give. Can't you enter photos from 'Paint Shop Pro'? Please can someone help!!?!! Thank you!

http://www.photobucket.com

If you email it to me, I'll put it on mine and put it up on the thread tomorrow

Go to http://www.photobucket.com, click on join now and follow the instructions to register.

When you have your account set up, log in.

Upload an image using the form provided

(Click on browse, search through the folders on your pc for the file, click open in the little window, then click submit on your main browser window)

select the tag below the picture which has [img] tags in it (the third url) - select the whole lot in the img bit and then press control+ C, or go to the edit button at the top of your browser window and click "copy"

Come here, open a new reply, paste the [img] url in its entirity into the post, click "add reply", et voila!

Hope that makes some kind of sense - bit tired!

Thank you so much Nicki!
Why is it that you always seem to come to the rescue?!



Thanks Sarah - yes it is getting late... *Yawn* So thanks for the info. I probably won't register tonight though...

Nicki, I forgot > how do I get your e-mail address? I've been on your profile but it's not there....

Hi!

Here is a not-very-good photo of my piano, for you all to see! I'm really proud of it, and wanted to show it to you.
I registered yesterday at 'Photobucket.com' and so this is my first time posting a photo on the forums. I hope it works!!!!

It was taken on my sister's mobile phone (am hoping to get one that can take photos in the summer - can't wait! ), so it might not be of the best quality.... I just couldn't wait any longer for the camera film to be developed! It's not even been handed in yet... So hopefully this one will do for now, even although you can't see it front-on.