http://www.pianoworks.com/ Summary of the latest blogs published on PianoWorks en-gb Copyright © PianoWorks, 2012 Developer Fusion RSS Feed Generator v1.0 Owner PianoWorks Mon, 21 May 2012 19:10:09 GMT 20 http://www.pianoworks.com/blogs/Retire-Spinet-Pianos-Good-starter-pianos-and-Bad-starter-pianos.aspx Sorry Craigslisters, but those old spinet pianos need to be retired and not re-sold.&nbsp; Spinet pianos are not made anymore for several good reasons.&nbsp; Do not discourage your budding young pianist by starting them out with an old spinet.&nbsp; Learn what a spinet is, why you should avoid them, and what are some better solutions.<br /> <br /> For a beginning student, the best solution is a new piano or high-quality used piano, but when budget is an issue, people commonly seek out less expensive options.&nbsp; Spinet pianos are cheap, small, they look like other pianos and the thought is that with just a little work, they could be good enough for a beginner.&nbsp; Don't fall into this trap.<br /> <br /> A young beginner needs a piano with a good, in-tune sound for ear training.&nbsp; A young beginner needs a piano with a good, consistent feel to develop muscle memory and hand strength.&nbsp; An intermediate player needs a piano with a good sound to develop musicality and dynamic control.&nbsp; Again, proper feel is needed to develop dynamic control and better playing techniques.<br /> <br /> A spinet piano is a very small upright piano.&nbsp; They have several disadvantages over console and studio upright pianos.&nbsp; Spinet pianos can be identified by their height.&nbsp; Pianos 40" and shorter are spinets, 41" - 44" tall are consoles, 45" and taller are studio uprights.&nbsp; The tallest studio uprights (48"+) are often called professional or upright grands.<br /> <br /> A spinet has a different kind of action than better pianos.&nbsp; The <a href="http://www.balaams-ass.com/updrpact.htm">spinet drop-action</a> is a pull-type rather than a push-type and this makes them too light and imprecise for students.&nbsp; The spinet action combined with the piano's small stature allow for almost zero dynamic control.&nbsp; Spinets were always cheaply made, so as they age, they are even more likely to have tuning problems.&nbsp; Technicians dislike working on spinets because you can't get out the effort you put into them.&nbsp; For these reasons, a spinet makes a poor, inadequate and discouraging starter piano.<br /> <br /> Another subtler point is that these hand-me-down pianos often send the wrong message to children.&nbsp; If your attitude toward the piano is that it is nothing special, your children will pick up on this.&nbsp; Students need encouragement, and a good instrument will help.<br /> <br /> While nothing will replace a high-quality acoustic piano, often a better budget choice is a digital piano for the reasons stated.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.pianoworks.com/Pianos/Digital-Pianos.asp">Digital pianos like the models we sell</a> have good, consistent feel, they are in tune, they provide dynamic control.&nbsp; They have the benefit of needing no maintenance, and they are fun and interesting for the player.&nbsp; This makes them a great medium term solution until you are ready to invest in a good acoustic piano as a long term solution.&nbsp; <br /> Sam Bennett Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:45:00 GMT Retire Spinet Pianos: Good starter pianos and Bad starter pianos