There are so many types of pianos out there, each varying in shape and size, sound, and other features, that it becomes a difficult and strenuous task to pick one out. From uprights to grands to digitals, electronics and electrics, let\u2019s see what type of piano might suit you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s start off slowly. There are two major types of piano, acoustic and electric. Each of these categories has different kinds of pianos in their ranks, so let\u2019s see what they are all about (1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are different kinds of acoustic pianos. Grand, square, upright, and so on. The regular piano, aka the grand, has a frame and strings which traverse and extend horizontally, and thus takes more space because of its bigger body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the upright, you have strings and a frame that runs vertically and thus you will commonly find them in houses or apartments. The strings of the vertical piano, however, are quite prone to wear and tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the modern version of the acoustic piano. With no hammers or strings, this type of piano produces sound digitally when a key is pressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is more expensive and only offered by certain manufacturers. Much like the acoustic counterpart, the upright digital is used in homes, with the portable piano being the lightest of the 3, coming with a stand, some legs, and the keys and exterior are usually made from plastic. You can expect to view a large piano even when it comes to its digital form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many types of upright pianos: spinet, console, studio, and upright.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All of these are compact versions of the normal grand piano and take up less room in the household and are more likely to be found in apartments and homes (2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verticals with unusually tall frames and long strings were\/are marketed as upright grand pianos, but that label can be very misleading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the modern age, these uprights are used in churches, schools, music conservatories, and university music programs for rehearsal and practice as they provide the sounds of a grand in a very small package, and even if used in a smaller room, it won\u2019t take as much space as a traditional piano. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A smaller type of harpsichord, piano, or organ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spinet piano (1930 \u2013 present), is the smaller and cheaper version of the normal grand or upright piano. Their defining characteristic was the drop action which did not engage the action directly, but used rods called stickers to be pulled upward on levers which then engaged the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also called in some circles \u201cthe bane of piano technicians\u201d as they are difficult to service because of the ordeal of the removal of the action. There are some brands that make these pianos such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: ~38 in height, ~58 in width When it comes to consoles, they have a compact action, with shorter hammers than the full-size upright, with the action above the keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The action of the console is vertical, rather than horizontal like in the grand piano, and works against gravity and has less sound than a grand, but of the same quality, but they are the most cost-effective, take up less space in the household, and are the best for beginners and recreational piano players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing better than a spinet, they are a few inches shorter than the studio pianos. It is the second smallest piano type, larger than the spinet but smaller than a studio. Here are some brands that make them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: ~40-44 in tall The studio vertical piano is the 3rd<\/sup> shortest cabinet which can contain a full-sized action above the keyboard. Anything taller than this is called an upright, but that is reserved for the full-size models talked about earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a larger soundboard and longer strings, it gives out a good quality tone and richness to the notes which rivals the sound of a full-size grand piano. These types of pianos are suited for both beginners and even professional players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: ~42-45 in tall The upright or vertical piano is the tallest piano, having a height from ~50 to ~60 inches, and 58 inches in width, with a rich tone and victor of the test of time as a tough piano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its sound keeps strong over the course of many years, with proper maintenance, mind you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being more compact due to their vertical structure, they took up less space compared to a grand piano; thus it is great to have in private homes for practice and composing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The hammers of the upright are susceptible to degradation as they return to their normal position with the help of springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: full-size \/ ~50+ in tall The grand piano is the direct descendant of the harpsichord, having a horizontal body, strings that extend away from the keyboard, and use gravity as the means to return to a resting\/normal state (3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are 3 types of grand pianos: parlor piano, aka parlor grand or boudoir grand, the baby grand piano size, and the regular concert grand piano, which spans between 7\u20193\u201d and 9\u201910\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But all of these are equals with these characteristics, they all have larger and richer sound and string inharmonicity \u2013 the degree to which the overtone frequencies (AKA partials or harmonics) sound sharp in relativity to whole multiples of the fundamental\/root frequency. The smallest of the horizontal piano types, it produces a powerful sound that impresses musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ranging from 4\u20195\u201d to 4\u201910\u201d, even though all grands have the same width, the petite offers an economy of space at the expenditure of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With smaller soundboards and the small body case size, the petite is not capable of the sounds available to the larger grands, but they do have something called double escapement action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most models have 88 keys (7 octaves + 3 lower notes)\/ sometimes 85 and two pedals (Europe) and American pianos have 3 pedals, una corda, sostenuto, and damper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: 4ft 5in \u2013 4ft 10in Crafted by Steinway & Sons in 1905, the world\u2019s first baby grand was the Model A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The modern baby grand can perform as well as the first one from 116 years ago, and a fun fact is that we now call the 6\u2019 baby a recital grand, and looking both to the future and the past, we can see that the 7\u2019 pianos can outperform the 9\u2019 pianos of the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Steinway & Sons\u2019 baby grand pianos are overstrung, with ribs made of sugar pine, blued steel tuning pins, and ruse-resistant heads. The hammers are made of wool felt and underfelt and are treated to resist insect bites and moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: 4ft 11\u201d \u2013 6ft The middle child between baby and concert-style grands. A professional instrument found in most music conservatories the world over, with a better-quality sound than that of a baby grand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Measuring 5\u20198\u201d, it is considered the most popular household grand size, small enough to comfortably fit into any homely environment, but large enough to have a depth of tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the decrease in room size and the appearance of flats, lead to the need for different sizes. Some known medium grands are the Yamaha C3, the Steinway M, and Kawai 550.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: 5\u20198\u201d The parlor grand piano, or the \u201cliving room grand\u201d is the smallest of concert grand pianos with sizes ranging from 5\u20199\u201d to 6′ 9\u201d and realizes the potential for a deep bass sound, one of the defining characteristics of the concert grand pianos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are found in recital halls, recording studios, and large living rooms. They have a large size but are not overwhelmingly big and they have a degree of playability that some concert grands totally lack, capturing the many benefits of the concert grand in a smaller package and are easier to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: ~6\u2019-7\u2019 The ballroom or semi-concert grand piano is a slightly larger piano than the parlor and fits into mid-sized and large-sized venues such as concert halls and ballrooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the models most people see when going to piano concertos, be it a ballroom grand or a Concert grand which can span over 9 feet in length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utilized by recording studios for the balanced power and depth of tone without the displacement of the full concert grand, but even so with the size it still averages around 900 pounds in weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: 6\u20192\u201d \u2013 6\u20197\u201d Also read<\/strong>: Music Streaming Statistics (US & Global Data)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Different pianos exist, however, this variant is a majestic musical instrument, having 7 to 9\u2019 in length, overwhelming in size and sound, it is the weapon of choice for the world\u2019s greatest pianists, with the highest quality of sound and musical expression (4<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The term is used quite loosely by the audience to describe concert-level pianos that they own, but those pianos may be either a baby grand, parlor grand, or ballroom grand, or medium grand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With braces made of solid spruce wood which provides tensile strength at the expense of weight (but it can still weigh more than 1000 pounds), ribs made out of sugar pine for the constant support, hammers out of the wool top, and underfelt, treated to resist insects and moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: ~7-9\u2019 A piano-type instrument was devised to produce the timbre and sound of an acoustic piano. Wurlitzer was the first to coin the term \u201cElectronic piano\u201d for their electric piano line produced from the 50s until the 80s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Working akin to analog synths (electronic pianos – generating tones through oscillators), electric pianos are more mechanical, using a pickup and amplifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first electronic pianos were made in Italy in the 1970s and there was some competition from Japan and some were made by RMI in the US from 1967 to 1980 and they were used by bands such as Genesis, Yes, Deep Purple, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Invented by Harold Rhodes, an instrument that became popular during the 70s. Using hammers, keys just like a traditional piano, and thin metal tines instead of strings to produce the sound, which is then picked up by an electromagnetic pickup and sent through an amplifier and speaker (5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laid out like a traditional piano, but sometimes using 73 keys instead of 88.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thin rods, called tines, are connected to a tone bar which acts as a tuning fork and also extends the vibrations of the strips, and opposite the tines sits a pickup that induces an electric current, similar to the electric guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: full size, 73 keys Produced in 1979 and patented in \u201981, the electronic piano had the first full touch-sensitive keyboard and pedals, influencing different styles of pianos that would come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They became available in the 80s when the digital piano and the polyphonic synthesizer were more affordable for recording studios and home use, as a smaller and lighter solution to the traditional acoustic piano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally, in the modern age, \u201celectronic piano\u201d is used as a reference to a digital or stage piano and is somewhat of a misnomer as they use synthesis to generate sounds and digitals use samples as synthesis, and a fun fact is that starting in 1985 they were often referred to as the Personal Electronic Piano. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Size<\/strong>: N\/A Invented by Yamaha in 1983, the Clavinova is a premium digital piano. Similar to an acoustic piano, but has the ability to save and load songs, the availability of different voices, able to connect to a computer via USB or Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They have progressively weighted keys or \u201cgraded\u201d hammers which vary in weight and have been named and renamed over the years (6<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n They say that it feels just like a grand piano and that this is the result of the skills and instincts developed by Yamaha through their long years of service with the help of cutting-edge tech and different piano types. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAcoustic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Digital<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Upright (vertical)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Spinet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: for beginners \u2013 domestic instruments.
What it offers<\/strong>: weaker sound, smaller soundboard <\/p>\n\n\n\nConsole<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: for beginners
What it offers<\/strong>: plays better than a spinet<\/p>\n\n\n\nStudio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: for beginners and intermediate players.
What it offers<\/strong>: full-sized action above the keyboard, a good quality sound which rivals that of a grand piano. <\/p>\n\n\n\nProfessional (upright)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For beginners
What it offers<\/strong>: clean sound, quality piano strings, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\nGrand (horizontal)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nPetite Grand
<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: for beginner
What it offers<\/strong>: clean, but lesser sound due to smaller soundboard and body case, the economy of space<\/p>\n\n\n\nBaby grand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For beginners
What it offers<\/strong>: high-quality sound<\/p>\n\n\n\nMedium grand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For professionals
What it offers<\/strong>: quality sound<\/p>\n\n\n\nParlor grand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For beginners and intermediates
What it offers<\/strong>: benefits of the concert grand in a small package<\/p>\n\n\n\nBallroom Grand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: for beginners and intermediates
What it offers<\/strong>: quality sound, quality strings<\/p>\n\n\n\nConcert grand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For Professionals
What it offers<\/strong>: cleanest and most quality sound and materials used in its construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\nElectric, Electronic, and Digital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Electric piano<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For beginners
What it offers<\/strong>: \u201cbell\u201d sound, mellow timbre<\/p>\n\n\n\nElectronic piano<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Learning difficulty<\/strong>: For intermediates and professionals
What it offers<\/strong>: sample synthesis or analog synthesis<\/p>\n\n\n\nDigital piano<\/h3>\n\n\n\n