So I’m getting piano lessons and my teacher wants me to get an upright piano instead of a keyboard. An upright piano is way above my price range, so what do I do? And what’s the difference between an upright piano and a keyboard?

Here’s what you do.

The difference between the two instruments is feel. A keyboard has a bunch of switches and sensors in it to tell the electronics “Middle C is pressed, play a Middle C with x loudness.” A piano has a complex system of levers and rods that cause a felt-covered hammer to strike the strings - which is why many people consider a piano to be a percussion instrument rather than a keyboard instrument. Since your piano teacher is teaching you on a real piano, he or she wants you to have an instrument that feels the same as the piano in the conservatory.

Getting a free piano moved and tuned will cost you less than buying a good keyboard. The flipside of this is that if you live in an apartment you may not want a piano because every time you move you’ll need to call the piano movers to relocate it.

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First, you google “piano moving services in (my city).” A lot of cities have companies that can move a piano. It’ll cost you a few bucks, but they know how to do it without injuring either themselves or the piano. The company in my area that moves pianos also tunes them, which is a good thing because you’ll also need to have it tuned once you’ve gotten it home.

Then you go on Craigslist and post this ad: “Got a piano you don’t want anymore and just want to give it away? I’m a new piano student and I’d love to give it a good home. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx.” Call the local newspaper and place the same classified ad. A lot of people want to get rid of Grandma’s piano but don’t have a way to haul it to the dump; this will help them. See if you can get your piano teacher to go over with you to check the piano before you take it; a lot of times Grandma’s piano isn’t playable and your piano teacher will be able to play the instrument and tell you if it’s good enough to learn on.