Piano!

Wow! I really can't believe I actually bought a piano. I mean, I knew I would eventually buy a piano just because I believe that is a staple to any well rounded home where anyone can even remotely play the piano. But, I mean, I figured I would buy one ten years down the road when we were out of school and had a stable income and whatnot.

But I did. Just this week. The reasons we did buy a real piano were many, although in reality we didn't absolutely NEED a real piano. I had a digital piano that my parents gave me as a very generous birthday/Christmas present just over a year ago. It was a very nice digital piano with weighted keys and the three normal pedals and everything.



However, just about the time I started teaching music lessons from my home, the piano started to have a few problems. It kept randomly turning off in the middle of playing (which can be quite embarrassing while trying to teach). Also, there was one chord below middle C that, when played, would all of a sudden produce a very loud fog horn type of sound. It was very bizarre. I was told that it was probably a problem with the mother board.




So, as I was working with the music store to fix these two problems, I was told that the real professional fix-it guys were backed up for months and that all digital piano companies produce great products but are brutal to work with when trying to order parts and get things fixed. So, I asked about trading it in, and they said we could trade it in for the same price that it was bought for just over a year ago. I must say, this piano store really does good business.

Now, a real piano costs MUCH more than a digital one, and we didn't have much more to add on top of it. However, I figured if I'm teaching for a while longer, I'm going to need something that won't break like the digital one broke. I nicely asked Adam if I could use some of our tax return to put towards maybe buying a real piano and because we is so wonderful and loves me, he said I could. There were only a few used pianos in the store that were even close to our meager price range, but we found one that had a good enough tone made by a company I've never heard of, Hallet Davis and CO. Just my luck, it is REALLY pretty on the outside. The pedals are a little funny in that the una corda pedal is in the middle instead of on the left and the left pedal doesn't do anything. But, I rarely use those two anyways. The right pedal works just fine. It was priced for actually $1,000 outside our price range but the dealer said we could get it for what we were offering. After the whole transaction, he said that we caught him at a good time because they were having a terrible month selling pianos, probably because everyone is scared about the economy right now. So, if you are thinking about buying a piano, now is a good time when the dealers are desperate to make some sales.

I am in. I have joined the club of real piano owners. I still feel a little guilty for spending so much, but I figure I can earn the money back with lessons in the next two years. (: Also, now the next time we move, we have to hire some piano movers because those things are killer to get up and down stairs.

P.S. Three more weeks till our baby comes!