Practicing on a bad piano

[Jeff Tanner]

While Mr. Scherer's research may not be well controlled, I believe it has
produced results which are very accurate.  I present the following:

1.  My mother is a piano teacher, and has been for 30+ years.  She can
easily tell you which students have good or bad instruments in the home by
the progress of the student.  Exceptions are rare.  I can't tell you how
many examples she has given of students who play the right notes and then
say "that's not right" or "my piano doesn't sound like yours".  But do you
think the parent will even spring to have the piano tuned (much less
purchase a better one) unless the child shows any progress?  (They've never
called me, at least)

2.  A very close friend of mine who is one of the most magnificent
musicians I have ever heard perform, hated piano when he was young.  He
didn't like the sound of them.  At the age of 12 he turned to the organ and
is now a concert/church organist who is in much demand.  The pianos he was
exposed to when young were PSO spinets and an occasional old worn out
grand.  When he got to college he was then exposed to better concert
quality instruments and has since made the statement that had he known that
this was what a piano was supposed to sound like, he may never have made
the switch.  He and I both have the same belief:  Those parents who buy
their children junk to see how they progress before they will invest in a
good piano are programming their children to fail before they begin.  They
are at least telling their child that they aren't going to invest any more
in the lessons than they have to...why should the child?  We also both
believe that children have better musical ears than we do.  That child
isn't going to want to practice on an "instrument" he/she doesn't like the
sound of, or the feel of for that matter.

Neither of us has controlled research to prove this.  But having been
exposed to listening to thousands of piano lessons in my 32 years through
the walls of my home, as well as taking part in music programs of almost
every nature alongside hundreds of different people from all walks of life
from childhood through college and beyond, it doesn't take controlled
research (you don't have to be a rocket scientist) to come to this
conclusion.

Have a great weekend.
jt

Jeff Tanner, Piano Technician
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803)-777-4392 (phone)
(803)-777-6508 (fax)