Piano for Christmas

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BigE

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
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I'm about to brag on my fiscally conservative wife. Middle child has been taking piano at my behest since she was six (now 15). She has been a difficult child to parent and I just knew she would balk at piano before she hit the teens. Lo and behold, she kept playing and now practices without any reminding (go figure that one?). She has been asking about a "real" piano (we have an electric console type) but I didn't really want to fork out the big kahunas. My wife started searching and found one on Craigs List. Long story short, it's a baby grand piano from an estate sale at a really great low price and we had it delivered today while she is out with friends. Will be a big surprise later today. Just wanted to share this bit of excitement.
 
What a great story BigE! I hope that DD's interest in music will continue to flourish, now that she will have a classy instrument. Kudos to DW for finding a cost effective way to enhance your home. Could be a great focus for parties....

When I was executor for my mother's estate, finding a home for the (upright) piano was a challenge. Apparently the ubiquitous availability and portability of electronic instruments is making used pianos difficult to sell. Luckily a close relative is an amateur pianist so I gifted it to him and had it shipped. He was delighted.
 
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That is wonderful indeed. She is going to be thrilled, you'll have to share her reaction too. Great story...
 
My girl came home to the "new" piano in the living room and I've actually never seen one of my kids so surprised. She had no idea this was in the works. We now have a house filled with music. It has truly been a great blessing to be able to provide a few more opportunities for my kids than I had. Thanks for allowing me to share this neat experience.
 
Congrats BigE I have always believed music education is fantastic for children. Thanks for sharing such a nice story.
 
BigE said:
My girl came home to the "new" piano in the living room and I've actually never seen one of my kids so surprised. She had no idea this was in the works. We now have a house filled with music. It has truly been a great blessing to be able to provide a few more opportunities for my kids than I had. Thanks for allowing me to share this neat experience.
Click to expand...

Per your OP, brag all you want on your wife and yourself for making the baby grand happen! And a teenage daughter who had been difficult to parent but found a passion that her parents are showing in a big way how much they support? She will remember this act for the rest of her life. Well done!
 
Bestwifeever said:
Per your OP, brag all you want on your wife and yourself for making the baby grand happen! And a teenage daughter who had been difficult to parent but found a passion that her parents are showing in a big way how much they support? She will remember this act for the rest of her life. Well done!
Click to expand...

+1 It must really feel great that you've found something positive that connects with a 'difficult' child. Music is a great source of joy for many of us, and even if she never does anything professionally with it, it can positively influence many aspects of one's life. One example - when computers were new, they found that people with some musical training picked up programming more quickly. The whole structure of loops, go-tos, and subroutines are used in music, they just have different names (repeats, chorus, codas, etc).

Remember that a 'real' piano will need regular tuning, and some maintenance to keep it in good condition. After a move is a good time to have this looked at.

-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
Remember that a 'real' piano will need regular tuning, and some maintenance to keep it in good condition. After a move is a good time to have this looked at.

-ERD50
Click to expand...


Our piano guy said to wait awhile to have the first tune so the wood gets used to your house...
 
BigE said:
My girl came home to the "new" piano in the living room and I've actually never seen one of my kids so surprised. She had no idea this was in the works. We now have a house filled with music. It has truly been a great blessing to be able to provide a few more opportunities for my kids than I had. Thanks for allowing me to share this neat experience.
Click to expand...


Congrats on the surprise...

My DD started to learn a few months ago... we bought an upright because the teacher said they learn better with a real piano.... glad your DD learned without...

I do not have any space for a baby grand!!!.... But, I bet it make the living room look great....
 
That sounds great! We want to replace our TV with a baby grand or grand, as we just have an upright.

It must be great to have someone who practices without any prodding. I was hardly that teenager (started lessons when I was 7) and my mother quickly ended my lessons when I started skipping out for going to parks with girls. I am grateful for my lessons now. DW is a much better pianist than I am, but I play daily nowadays, even if it is for 15 or 20 minutes.

After watching Clay Christiansen rock it out on the organ yesterday at the Mormon Tabernacle Choirs Christmas concert, I always wished I took my training a bit more seriously. And it makes me want an organ, which DW protests against...

Hope the new piano is well used!
 
That is great! We have a friend who is a professional piano player. He saved for a sabbatical for a few years and is now enjoying travel and adventure as a result of his skills as a player. And, in great news, his very nice grand piano has just found a buyer, thus increasing the time that he'll get to spend traveling next year!
What a wonderful gift of both the piano and the lessons.
 
I have my grandfather's beautiful console piano, but these days use it pretty much just to bang out notes when I'm rehearsing choral music. Haven't really played much since college, and while I'm pretty good at picking out melodies, I've never learned how to do improvisational chord harmonies. Not sure how to get my brain, ears, and fingers to figure that out at this point.
 
This made me cry. What great parents you are.

I've looked into buying a piano this way, and it seems that the moving of the piano costs more than the actual piano itself.
 
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What a neat present for your daughter.

Thumbs up on craigslist. My son's take lessons and we bought our piano (an upright) from craigslist. Seller was upgrading to a grand, lived in a very high end neighborhood, and our piano was in great condition. Sooooooo much cheaper than buying new or from a music store. We waited a month before getting it tuned for the same reason Texas Pride mentioned. Our piano teacher gave us that advise.
 
Texas Proud said:
Our piano guy said to wait awhile to have the first tune so the wood gets used to your house...
Click to expand...

Right, it should be allowed to 'settle in' for a while.

If you contact a reputable tuner, they should be able to advise - this can vary by climate, there might even be better times of the year to do this due to seasonal variations.

-ERD50
 
Great story and a wonderful Christmas present. I hope she enjoys playing the piano for many years.
 
Oh, how wonderful! Your story is so uplifting. It is great that you are able to connect with her through her music. What a wonderful Christmas it will be in your household.
 
I'm do happy for your daughter! She will remember this the rest of her life.
 
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