just wondering what people do when they sit down at a piano they've never played before!

i usually play random chordy stuff to get a quick feel of the overall action of the instrument.

Good question!

I always play an arranged version of away in a manger...and then a bit of Mozart Sonata K.332 in F

i usually play some scales and arpeggios then play glissando on white and black keys
hehehe

Hi Ben, I often do a bit of that for starters as its one Sonata I can play from memory. Or I launch into Beethoven Op 90 in E Minor

I'm boring, I start off with some five-finger exercises. I know them so well it gives me an idea of the touch, and the balance between treble and bass.

Mind you, after that I start messing about...

couple of scales and a handful of Feuchtwanger exercises

then usually 3 or 4 Debussy Preludes

i start with lots of chrashy C major chords, and do some random arpegios along with it, and then i play middle C to see how hard i need to play to get FF, and then how easy it is to get PP, and then do some scales, and try making them get gradually louder and softer etc. then i usually play a piece or two to warm up. i love playing new pianos, especially the shiny new grand pianos that are in huge rooms, so the piano sort of rings, and makes everything sound really great. what i hate is playing those horrible upright pianos that have the stand that comes out from inside the piano, that is really tall and with a horrible dark wood, with yellowing keys, and hasnt been tuned for about 20 years, and sounds really tinny, or hust as though there's a pillow inside.( i think i have just described my church's piano!).

Chopins 1st prelude of the 24, Liszts 2nd Consolation, or the Grieg Lyric piece 'Melodie'....only because they're pieces i have memorised, and nearly everything i play i depend on having the music in front of me.

Chopin's Nocturne in Eb cos it's the only one I know by memory!

Did you mean a piano in a public place btw? I hate it in instrument shops when they hover over you trying out a new piano. It's enough to put me off playing anything at all!!

I just mean any piano really, I thought of it coz I've an exam next weekend and yunno how they give you a minute to test out the piano. I never really thought of a practical way to maximise this time so I just plonk out whatever is in my head!