new to list - inquiry

[Greg Granoff]

Another voice weighing in here Carol:
I'm in agreement with Dave-- it's critical to have grands of some size
(hopefully not too small) for piano performance majors to practice on.  If well
maintained these provide a perfectly satisfactory experience for them and also
helps remove the inevitable, but totally unacceptable pressure that would
otherwise land on your performance piano(s) to function as practice instruments
in addition to concert use.
This is the most important reason that I know of to have practice grands as well
as uprights.  We have a fleet of some 45 studio uprights (Hamiltons, Yamahas,
and Young Changs) that have never displayed a common tendency toward 'walking
pins' of which I've ever been aware, even with literally almost constant use.
They are tuned/serviced about 4 times a year and in general are sturdy and
reliable. (Especially the Hamiltons-- many of which are at least 40 years old).
Uprights are easy to move, take up little space compared to grands, and are
perfect, as Dave says, for vocal accompaniment, working out theory homework, and
the usual array of idle noodling/pounding that is inevitably inflicted on pianos
in a music school setting.  Probably your biggest mechanical headaches are going
to be in the regulation department.  It's true that uprights aquire a junky,
unsatisfatory feel more quickly than grands-- perceptible lost motion, etc.--
and regular,detailed maintenance will be crucial to avoid these problems.
Hope this helps with perspective on your decisions.

Greg Granoff

"Carol R. Beigel" wrote:

> Thank you very much, Scott and Dave.  I vaguely remember that guidelines
> existed, but I'm in such a panic I couldn't find them!  These are exactly
> what I was looking for!
>
> I went into this proposal "thing" telling the folks who hired me, that I was
> only interested if both "they" and the "university" were going to set it up
> right.  I didn't want to be part of anything that diminshed assets and would
> be underbid from the start.  I just figured this was a good opportunity to
> offer the right kind of education to my clients, who after all, want to be
> educated on how to do this right!
>
> I want to stress maintenance, a parts budget, and technician time needed for
> proper maintenance.  I'm also of the opinion, since the new practice rooms
> are not even designed yet, that it would be nice if some of them were large
> enough to accomodate baby grand practice pianos.  It seems to me that no
> matter what quality of upright piano you subject to hard practice, the pins
> eventually "walk" out the action.
>
> How do you guys feel about using  grands instead of uprights for practice
> pianos?
>
> Carol Beigel, RPT
>