Should You Wait For Your Soulmate?

We often hear stories about pianists who spend years searching for the piano that is "the one." They go through their musical life as the pianist's equivalent of Goldilocks, endlessly searching for a "just-right" piano. Does such an instrument exist? Is there one piano out there destined to be your soulmate for life? Doubtful. Here's why.

You Keep Changing

If you've been searching for the best piano for a long time, the chances are that your outlook, tastes, and physical condition has evolved. What may have given you during one stage of your life may be cringeworthy at another.

What about your body? Perhaps you required a light action when you first began to play the piano. Or, was a soft, mellow tone less intimidating to your novice ears? Perhaps you prefer to release your inner Keith Jarrett now that you live in the country, whereas Erik Satie was more of your jam as a city dweller.

The Environment Keeps Changing

If you were in love with your piano when it arrived last winter but wonder what demon possessed you to buy it the following summer, don't worry, you were not a victim of bate and switch. Pianos, like people, continually respond to environmental conditions. Swelling and expanding all those wooden parts during the summer could result in an atypically strident sound that you would never accept. Or, maybe the contraction of that same wood results in the same glorious tones that you experienced when you first encountered your piano on the showroom floor.

Your Piano Keeps Changing

You may swear that when you bought your piano, you were willing to put up with its soft tone for your neighbors' sake despite your preference for a brighter sound. However, after a year of playing your piano for a few hours every day, the tone is what you dreamt it would be. It's just too bad those are harder to control. The good news is that your piano is behaving just as it should. Don't expect your piano to remain as it was when you first purchased it. It will evolve, and as it does, it may surprise you in ways that you couldn't possibly predict when you first bought it.

Does all this mean that you might as well just buy any piano as long as it fits into your home and your budget? Not at all. The truth is if you spend years looking for that perfect "soulmate," you will miss out on the joy of playing the piano, or you will quickly realize that, like people, no one is perfect at all times.

You can't control your piano's behavior. At times it will be a perfect angel (remember when you first played it?) and times when it will need appropriate discipline to bring out its best.

Conclusion

So when buying a piano, think about the general qualities you need in an instrument. These include size, tone, touch, and yes, even furniture. Remember that some of these features are adjustable by your technician, and most will evolve. So if you think you can be friends with a piano and you trust the dealer, the service, the quality, and the price you are paying, don't wait around for that mythical soulmate. You might deny yourself the opportunity to grow a beautiful relationship.