Adding a Piano to Your Home Can Result in Some Beautiful Music

Keeping a piano in the home is a great way to show guests and family that a musical atmosphere is important in one's life. It creates not only a personable atmosphere, but can also be elegant and provide opportunities to show off one's talents. It provides a space for household members to practice freely whenever they like and invites guests to present their own talents if they so wish. Yes, a piano in the home creates a whole new space. Just as important as what is played on it is the style of piano chosen for the home. There are 3 main types of pianos: grand, upright, and electric. Each creates a different atmosphere and has different benefits as well as price ranges. It is crucial to choose the right piano for one's tastes.

Grand Pianos

The grand piano, sometimes called the concert piano, has the most expensive price range from $120,000 to $200,000 when bought brand new. It makes sense considering that grand pianos are easily the most regal of the kinds and take up about the same amount of room as a dining room table might. Beyond visual elegance these kinds of pianos also have excellent benefits such as weighted keys, easy tuning access, a sheet music stand built in, and a full set of pedals to control the sound. Less expensive options for grand pianos, let's say used or perhaps the "baby grand" style, can run closer to $40,000. These pianos also come with benches that provide better support and often have a cavity in which to store piano books and sheet music.

Upright Pianos

The upright piano is perfect for a home where the grand would be too flashy. It is much more space efficient as the inner strings are positioned in a way that lets the piano stand against a wall, hence the name "upright". When bought brand new, these can range from $2,500 to $26,000 depending on brand. The construction and pieces of these upright pianos are nearly identical to those of the grand piano, but uprights have been found to be more cheaply made on the whole and therefore produce a "cheaper" sound that is more difficult to control. It still contains pedals, a built in sheet music stand, and weighted keys,  but lends itself to a cozier atmosphere. These are commonly used as a bar piano. 

Electric Pianos

Electric pianos are for the versatile musician. Most of these have different sound settings, letting the musician put together percussion and even string sounds on one device. Of course, this comes with several drawbacks. The first of these drawbacks is that power must be sourced from somewhere, leaving either limited options for positioning next to an outlet or having to replace the batteries when necessary. Additionally, many of the electric models sell pedals, benches, and music stands separately. There is a great advantage to using electric models: the price. Prices from $200 up to $20,000 (and the higher end having all the bells and whistles) leave a musician with an instrument for their home that is portable and versatile, if lacking in elegance.