quality piano for high level playing

[asianpianoer]

I'm currently about to study for AMUS. but my piano teacher wont start until I have a good quality grand piano - kawai ge30 . minimum. 
Is this really necessary?

[perfect_pitch]

Honestly... considering that if you were to get a top quality Upright piano that Universities use for practice, you'd be paying $11,000 anyway for one of them.

However, I did manage to pass my LMus on a beaten up 26-year old Yamaha LU-101... I wouldn't recommend it though.

[tds]

for about a year i've been practicing on my grand with 20 broken strings in it. last week i played liszt piano concerto no 2 in which during the performance the pedal mechanism went wrong so i had to juggle between maintaining my focus, watching the conductor and fixing the pedal in the performance - a bit taskful, i must confess. finally, we managed to play to the end - poor liszt tho, his concerto got performed with half of it without pedal! audience n critics were very positive nonetheless.

[stevebob]

I'm currently about to study for AMUS. but my piano teacher wont start until I have a good quality grand piano - kawai ge30 . minimum. 
Is this really necessary?

In a word, yes.  Some people can make music on a PSO (or POS), but I think any serious student or musician should have, and should want to have, the best quality instrument he or she can afford.  One's time spent at the piano may as well be as efficient and pleasurable as possible.

[tds]

I think any serious student or musician should have, and should want to have, the best quality instrument he or she can afford. 

having the best instrument is NOT necessary. having a decent one is. in fact i would feel uneasy if had the best instrument in the world - simply becoz i would play less well when i perform on other instruments. interestingly, it can be very beneficial to practice on many crappy instruments in preparation to an exam or recital.

[stevebob]

The OP asked about a "good quality grand piano."  I said "the best quality that [one] can afford."  Otherwise, there's no such thing as "best"; the "best" piano is the one that's best for you.

BTW, not everyone here is a student or performer.  I'm a middle-aged amateur who knows nothing of exams or recitals.  I do know that I've progressed further and faster on even a small Baldwin grand than ever could have been possible on the crap consoles and spinets I had to practice on as a kid; the limited potential of those instruments may even have been a factor in why I gave it up.

[tds]

The OP asked about a "good quality grand piano."  I said "the best quality that [one] can afford." 

any serious student or musician should have, and should want to have, the best quality instrument he or she can afford.

i am a serious musician. even if i could afford the best steinway D, i wouldn't want one in my house to practice on. why? i don't need it. a decent instrument is all i need to practice on. and now and then, one wanna practice on several pianos with its possible wide range of quality, and on various occasions and to different audiences. decent instrument + best quality practice is all you need to be good!

[gyzzzmo]

Yes, you need to be able to play a good piano alot for finetuning.

[quantum]

having the best instrument is NOT necessary. having a decent one is. in fact i would feel uneasy if had the best instrument in the world - simply becoz i would play less well when i perform on other instruments. interestingly, it can be very beneficial to practice on many crappy instruments in preparation to an exam or recital.

I have had several teachers (who are concert pianists) say the same.  

I went through undergrad studies playing on a beat up Kawai CX-5.  Strings would break every 6 months, broken hammer shanks, keys which break at the balance rail, and more.  That piano gave me much frustration, and I really disliked playing it.  However, I do believe it made me a better pianist.  It gave me the opportunity to study how to make beautiful sounds on a PSO.  

You would think that the pros get to play nice Steinway D's all the time, but that is just not the case.  It is quite common for them to get a PSO, thus the value in practicing on one.  I'm not saying that one should have a PSO as a practice instrument - a very depressing thought indeed - but rather have the experience to deal with one when the situation presents itself.  

but my piano teacher wont start until I have a good quality grand piano - kawai ge30 . minimum. 
Is this really necessary?

This is a very specific minimum.  I suggest you look at several brands of pianos and not limit your search to names that sound familiar.  Also consider second hand pianos, especially if you are on a budget.  Play many pianos, even those you cannot afford, to see the range available.  You will start to hone in on characteristics which appeal to you.   Look for these in the pianos you are considering to take home.

[perfect_pitch]

This might sound dumb, but what does PSO stand for???

I know what PoS stands for... (Piece of sh*t)

[stevebob]

A PSO is a piano-shaped object.  It might describe an instrument that's long past its useful life, one that goes untuned and unmaintained, or an "entry-level baby grand" that plays badly but makes a fashion statement in the room it occupies.

[lelle]

A PSO is a piano-shaped object.  It might describe an instrument that's long past its useful life, one that goes untuned and unmaintained, or an "entry-level baby grand" that plays badly but makes a fashion statement in the room it occupies.

Haha this made me laugh  I didn't know there was an official term for it!

[asianpianoer]

A PSO is a piano-shaped object.  It might describe an instrument that's long past its useful life, one that goes untuned and unmaintained, or an "entry-level baby grand" that plays badly but makes a fashion statement in the room it occupies.

um yeah well - my teacher reckons.... my baby grand is just a fashion statement. - its a victor so.. is that decent or what?

[richard black]

It's good to have at least reasonably frequent to a piano with a good range of colour (i.e. not a Yamaha, for a start) so that you can practise your tone. Learning notes can be done on any old POS as long as the action basically works. But pianos with a good range of colour can still be pretty knackered - I used to have lessons from a very fine pianist who had a frankly shocking, dilapidated, elderly grand, but I came to realise that he kept it for a reason: if he could make a good sound on it (and he most certainly could) he would find a decent concert instrument practically played itself afterwards.

[quantum]

I used to have lessons from a very fine pianist who had a frankly shocking, dilapidated, elderly grand, but I came to realise that he kept it for a reason: if he could make a good sound on it (and he most certainly could) he would find a decent concert instrument practically played itself afterwards.

One of my teachers has a horrid Steinway M at home.  Filled with oodles of dust and in terrible need of regulation and voicing.  Fortunately I took lessons at the university and did not need to play such instrument.  However, one of the biggest lessons I did learn from her are the subtleties of tonal control and a singing touch. 

Like your teacher, her tone on any other piano is divine.