hello grand goodbye upright

As I walked to the mrt station on Friday evening, I called mummy to seek her opinion of my want to buy a piano.

Is it extravagant? I asked.

After the short conversation with her, I decided to head down to try the Hailun pianos out. Met dearie at buona vista and we travelled down to paya lebar.

The owner of the showroom is a knowledgeable man. He offered to let me try all the pianos in the entire showroom. From a 121cm upright to the S$30k Gotrian upright. From the 151cm Hailun baby grand to the 178cm grand.

I was pleasantly surprised how good the Hailun pianos sounded. I did not expect China-made pianos to be so good, given the price tags they came with.

Of course, the Gotrian upright was in a class of its own. I read that it is on par with a Sauter. The price too! This is the best upright I’ve ever played on.

The baby grand was out, though I thought its size fitted our home best. The 161cm was good but I was drawn to the 178cm most. If I had the ability to, the additional 2k to top up between at 161 and 178 is definitely worth it.

We went home that night and started to measure out space for the grand. We moved the dining table inwards, cramped the sofa to the end of the wall and marked out where the grand could sit. We did the same in our 2 other rooms too.

I turned in that night thinking how ‘wow’ it would be to have a grand.

The next morning, dearie shared with me how he felt about getting a grand. Somehow I have to concur to spend S$11k was extravagant. I scrimp and save just to blow it all on a grand at one go? Doesn’t feel too rational to me.

We went to try Cristofori pianos after dinner yesterday. I don’t have anything positive to say about their pianos. Over priced for the kind of quality you are getting. Certainly not worth paying that kind of money for their grands. Good thing I didn’t waste time to go down to try the cristofori grand on sale over ebay.

As much as I wished we could have bought that grand, I also knew i am undeserving of it.

I was thinking about depreciation of a piano. I was told that the Hailun grand could last 20 years. $11k over 20years means my grand depreciates at S$550 a year. That’s $46 a month, $1.50 per day.

Can you imagine the life of the piano ticking away with every second? I was told a good piano can last 100 years, but who would use a piano for 100 years? Some say pianos in humid countries last for a shorter period of time. Is that so?

I read this off pianofinders.com: Vertical Piano Life Do not expect most vertical pianos made today to be as durable or last as long as grands, simply because most piano manufacturers seem to feel that if you are really a serious pianist you will be getting a grand. Consequently, they make the grands more durable, and the verticals less, from what I've seen, especially with regards to pedals and keys and other components that get a heavy workout.

Perhaps getting a new piano will be justified if my current one bids goodbye. Ah hah! So the point is I must practise so much till the hammers wear off. Then it’s hello grand, goodbye upright! =D