piano transition

Summary of piano ownership by PJ 'n me:

Upright #1 (C and N in Glenview, Illinois)

1.  We start with a used upright piano that we found in 1982 in South Bend, Indiana right after law school graduation - shortly before we (PJ, me, Nicole, Chris) move to Glenview, IL to start my first law-job.  A little beat up but large, heavy, plenty good sound and action - and the price was right.  Movers took it to Glenview.  Then to St. Paul.  Then to Phoenix.  (Wouldn't have been worth hauling if we had ever been responsible for moving costs.)

2.  By the time we moved into Paradise Valley in 1989, we disposed of the upright.  Temporarily replaced it with a digital keyboard.  This was the instrument on which the kids started taking lessons - from me.  (That was not a permanent teaching solution.)

3.  Sometime in the early 1990s, we bought a Steinway grand piano from the local dealer (then also a client)  - a 1921 Model O - pretty good shape, and we much liked the cabinet (and bench, of all things).  And they cut us a deal.  That piano accompanied us up to 11419 in 1994.

4.  As the years rolled past - and as inevitably happens - the Steinway increasingly showed its age.  By 2009 (as discussed here), we invested a fair amount trying to get the action back up to snuff.  By 2011 - as we observed the piano's 90th birthday (discussed here) - we were lamenting that the 2009 repair job hadn't really solved anything.  By 2014 we adopted a temporary solution - PJ bought a quite nice digital piano; the Steinway's future remained unresolved.  It was largely unused for years.

Digital #1 (N with earphones; Paradise Valley, AZ)

5.  We learned some interesting things starting in 2014.  Among them:  a nice digital piano is quite a bit more valuable than we anticipated - it's actually usable - the headphones alternative is wonderful.  My piano practicing habits were developed in large part while accompanying the NDGC - late-night practice sessions at Crowley Hall were the norm - it's a fine thing to do late at night, but that would not be possible with an acoustic piano.  Banging around on a piano actually is no picnic for others in the house at any time.

K on Steinway; Paradise Valley, 1993

6.  So we were thinking in terms of keeping both pianos - the digital for daily/nightly practice use; the Steinway for "other".  We priced out restoring the Steinway - pricey but feasible, and probably a good investment - but we started wondering how much "other" usage actually would take place.  And in the reconfigured game room - space was at a premium.

Goodbye Steinway (also goodbye Roland (digital #2), per inset).

7.  Technology to the rescue!  Various manufacturers are proposing various solutions - but Yamaha's "Transacoustic" approach appears to be the best fit for our situation (notwithstanding the rather strange branding).  If you're interested in "why" - this article has perhaps the best explanation (though it's discussing a generation prior to ours, built on an acoustic piano a couple tiers down from ours).  In a nutshell, this piano offers these main choices:  (i) standalone acoustic piano; (ii) at the touch of a lever, the piano becomes "silent" - playable through earphones just like any other digital piano; (iii) you can play various voices simultaneously with the digital piano (either through headphones or not) - some of these combinations sound rather interesting - this is similar to any high-end digital piano, except when not using earphones, the soundboard is the speaker!; and (iv) you can play the acoustic piano and any of the digital voices together - which also creates some nice effects.  The variety works!

New piano - acoustic and digital (also new patio doors . . . rather a nice spot to sit and play).

I will mostly use (ii), except will use (i) when it's not annoying to others; occasionally will play with (iii) and (iv).  Sure it's an upright - but so what!  If you take away the Transacoustic elements, this is a serious acoustic piano - right at top of Yamaha's line.  Confident it's a great solution.

Old pianos were sent off for consignment sale.