2026-10-24 23:37 UTC
Consult _The Piano Book_ by Larry Fine, often available at libraries. Doesn’t need to be the latest edition; the “piano blue book” part at the end goes out of date, but the general advice about selecting and owning a piano is timeless.
Consult it •before• you go shopping, and also before you think about exactly where you’re going to place a piano in your home.
It’s a good old-fashioned paper book, and IMO it’s still better and more comprehensive advice than anything you’ll find online. The rest of this thread is just frosting; that book is what you really need to consult.
2/ #piano
Replies (2)
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@inthehands@hachyderm.io 2026-10-24 23:39
Beware of any and all “free” pianos, which often need so much work they are actually $-2000 pianos. You can hire a piano technician to take a look at a piano and assess its condition. It’s a really good idea to do this. A piano that seems hopelessly broken might have a problem that can be fixed in half an hour; a piano that seems OK might have a serious problem that is beyond help. A technician can tell the difference pretty quickly. 3/ #piano
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@jmccyoung@mstdn.social 2026-10-24 23:50
@inthehands@hachyderm.io I'm only pianist-adjacent (viz., my wife) but I read it when we were shopping for a grand to replace an upright... goodness, 30+ years ago maybe? and I found it not only extremely helpful but fascinating.