access to a grand piano for practice

[bnatural]

I have been studying piano for the past 2.5 years.  In the past, I sneaked into a music school to practice on their grand pianos every day after work. (I don't own a piano, only an electric one, because I live in a very small apartment)  I have been enjoying practicing on  grand piano very much.  There were days that I didn't have access to a grand piano, so I only practice on my keyboard.  For those week, my teacher can spot the difference during my lesson, that I had been play not a real piano.

Now, my problem is that the music school is moving to a new location, where they will have a very strict door security.....  I am so depressed that my piano life may come to an end.

I really really want to practice on a grand piano.  Has any of you experienced that kind of difficulty?

I am willing to do anything for daily access to a grand piano, including house cleaning, cooking, even personal (very personal) service.... etc.

[plunkyplink]

you're willing to *** yourself for access to a grand piano? I have dreams at night about playing on a grand piano, I know what you mean! Man, you were lucky. To quote the French woman in the Matrix 2(?) "such a thing cannot last", and Shakespeare, "parting is such sweet sorrow."

If you live in a big city, with fancy hotels such as Hotel Vancouver in Vancouver, BC, maybe you could sneak into a conference room with a piano. At the Hotel Vancouver they have a grand piano in the lobby for the pianist to play at scheduled times. I noticed that on the Conference floor just outside the elevator they had a grand piano there too... untouched. Hotels probably have real pianos around for occassions such as weddings and barmitzvas. Become hotel staff, maybe? Ask them nicely?

[bon_bear]

 
wow, no kidding? I heard that you could rent a piano space in some piano place...U pay the money and u get to sit there in that little room and you could play watever you like until it's time to go lol...Maybe u could see if there are such thing?

This is a good question...maybe some day i could sneak into some kind of piano place and play too...

Elizabear~

[gyzzzmo]

Maybe you should just accept you don't have acces to a grand piano. Just practise on a normal one, they're not that bad :

[letters]

maybe you should ask the music school if you can have a practice time on one of their pianos, i mean they cant be using all of them all the time can they? perhaps for an hour after the school day has finished?? then at least you wont be sneaking around to play on a piano.

[alwaystheangel]

Don't steal into a hotel!!! I've done it and I was chased out of Chateau Frontenac by a very, very angry hotel manager!  Get an upright at only 2.5 years of playing, you dont really need a grand unless you're a prodigy, my mother played over 30 before she got a grand and I was lucky enough to get to play it.  Still, I'd been playing for oer 10 years at that point and and adjudicator told me I needed a grand.  If you have a small apartment, upright are just fine or you can get one of those really, really, small studio grands but I think and upright grand is actually better than a studio grand.  Keyboard are complete crap and should be burned but uprights are fine.  Sometimes, if you play decent, you can ask a piano shop, or music shop with pianos for sale, if they will let you play them, some a quite accomodating especially if you offer to discuss with possible buyers that do not play about which piano they should get and play for them so that the hear the differences.  (hopefully that made some sense!)
But really, at 2 and a half years? you probably don't need a grand.

[kit_moc]

"Keyboard are complete crap and should be burned but uprights are fine."

I've been told that digital piano's such as Yamaha's Clavinova range are quite good and feels very similar to acoustic piano's. Plus you could practice at night with headphones 

[alwaystheangel]

clavinova's aren't keyboards though, They are Quasi piano/keyboards.  I don't know much about them, but I have never seen or played a descent keyboard and at the price it costs for a "good" one, you might aswell buy a real piano anyway.

[lilypiano]

I am willing to do anything for daily access to a grand piano, including house cleaning, cooking, even personal (very personal) service.... etc.

wow. wow.

[supertonic]

I am willing to do anything for daily access to a grand piano, including house cleaning, cooking, even personal (very personal) service.... etc.

Don't be so obsessive, it's good enough to practice on an upright at your present stage (but not a keyboard). Or you may find a teacher with a grand. I deliberately choose my current teacher because he got a grand at his studio. 

[ed_thomas]

Don't rule out churches as a source for a decent practice piano.  I read not too long ago that there is actually a shortage of keyboard players for churches nationwide, so maybe you can get established as a church's musician.  That would give you automatic permission to practice.  And most churches are empty for long periods.  On the road in the past, I sometimes got permission to spend a few hours in a church to play.  Only got thrown out once for playing Rachmaninoff too long (and badly, I'm sure).

I would say a piano with decent action and in tune is more important than whether it is an upright or grand.   So if you do get into a church, you might have to spring for the cost of a tuning if you can't do it yourself.