Gershwin's Prelude II

[musicg18]

Do you guys have problems playing on different pianos? Like tomorrow night I'm playing in an International Thespian Society induction ceremony, I usually play on a Mason & Hamlin grand, Boston studio upright, or Young Chang grand, but the piano that I played tonight was a K. Kawaii that I've never played before and it seemed to have no sensitivity....and I found that it messed up my concentration and my performance of the piece (including like 40 billion wrong notes), does this ever happen to you? What do you do about it?

[pskim]

Kawaii pianos are, in my opinion, one of the worst made pianos ever.  If you don't want to ruin yourself, avoid this piano like a plague.  One of my past students used to practice on a Yamaha piano.  He was still in his grade school but the mother, bought him a grand piano, a Kawaii, without my consultation.  And about a month or two before a studio recital, I noticed his shoulders tightening up with his jaws all tensed up.  He never did this until like 3 months previously.  I tried to fix this problem again and again, but the same problem returned week after week.  And during our conversation, he said that his mother had bought him a grand piano.  I was very surprised.  So I asked him if it was a Yamaha, and he said no, a Kawaii.  Then I knew the cause of his tension.  I was furious at his mother for not advising me before this major purchase.  She was an eccentric mother and they quit soon after.

But yes, I know your feeling about the piano.  From all of the Kawaii pianos I have played on, they all feel like the keys weigh a ton and stiff as a concrete.  This piano will ruin you if you don't pick the right one. 

I'm pretty sure that there are some decent Kawaii pianos out there but so far, I haven't played on one yet.

[m]

Kawaii pianos are, in my opinion, one of the worst made pianos ever.  If you don't want to ruin yourself, avoid this piano like a plague.  One of my past students used to practice on a Yamaha piano.  He was still in his grade school but the mother, bought him a grand piano, a Kawaii, without my consultation.  And about a month or two before a studio recital, I noticed his shoulders tightening up with his jaws all tensed up.  He never did this until like 3 months previously.  I tried to fix this problem again and again, but the same problem returned week after week.  And during our conversation, he said that his mother had bought him a grand piano.  I was very surprised.  So I asked him if it was a Yamaha, and he said no, a Kawaii.  Then I knew the cause of his tension.  I was furious at his mother for not advising me before this major purchase.  She was an eccentric mother and they quit soon after.

But yes, I know your feeling about the piano.  From all of the Kawaii pianos I have played on, they all feel like the keys weigh a ton and stiff as a concrete.  This piano will ruin you if you don't pick the right one. 

I'm pretty sure that there are some decent Kawaii pianos out there but so far, I haven't played on one yet.

Hmmm... I find your observations quite interesting. Personally, I don't see much quality difference between regular (not high end) Yamaha and regular Kawai. They are both bad. But definitely, Kawai is far from worst, especially ever made. In fact, their Shigeru edition is quite good.
I would disagree with your statement about their heavy keys and stiffness--it all depends on regulation. I have never encountered stiffer action than brand new, straight from the factory Steinways.

Re: your student tension. I definitely wouldn't connect it with his new piano. Most likely (esp. considering that he quited soon after that) there was something else. May be some family problems?

I definitely disagree with your statement that some piano can ruin you. But definitely, one can ruin piano, or even worse, one can ruin music.

[fnork]

I agree, Kawaii seem really really bad. My piano teacher has a Kawaii grand (it's not his, it's owned by the school.. he hasn't bought it himself), and it sounds terrible really. The other pianos in our schools are mostly Yamaha. Most of them are good, one is fantastic.

[xvimbi]

For fairness' sake, I need to repeat some things that Marik pointed out already and add some more:

Kawaii pianos are, in my opinion, one of the worst made pianos ever.

Kawai is spelled with one "i". Perhaps you are indeed talking about a brand "Kawaii" that I have never heard of and that might really be bad.

Seriously, for the sake of those readers who might be shopping for pianos or who own a Kawai and are wondering what all this is about: Kawai makes perfectly fine pianos.

Also seriously, if you think Kawai makes bad pianos you must not have seen a lot of pianos. I personally cannot understand your assessment.

If you don't want to ruin yourself, avoid this piano like a plague.  From all of the Kawaii pianos I have played on, they all feel like the keys weigh a ton and stiff as a concrete.  This piano will ruin you if you don't pick the right one.

Saying something like this is not "interesting" as Marik put it, I find it ludicrous. I am with Marik, who is very polite: actions can be adjusted, and yes, Steinways have generally much stiffer actions.

I'm pretty sure that there are some decent Kawaii pianos out there but so far, I haven't played on one yet.

Yes, Shigeru Kawai is excellent.

I agree, Kawaii seem really really bad. My piano teacher has a Kawaii grand (it's not his, it's owned by the school.. he hasn't bought it himself), and it sounds terrible really. The other pianos in our schools are mostly Yamaha. Most of them are good, one is fantastic.

I could say the same thing about Steinways: any Steinway I have played on was less than satisfactory. Pianos at schools are among the most battered and least maintaned out there. Forming an opinion about an entire brand based on these limited observations is self-deluding, and dispensing such opinion is highly misleading.

End-of-rant

[fnork]

I could say the same thing about Steinways: any Steinway I have played on was less than satisfactory. Pianos at schools are among the most battered and least maintaned out there. Forming an opinion about an entire brand based on these limited observations is self-deluding, and dispensing such opinion is highly misleading.

End-of-rant

Wrong. As I said, we have a lot of Yamaha pianos at our school. Most of these are played on FAR MORE than the Kawai grand, and all of the pianos are equally maintained. We have 4 fulltime piano teachers in our schools, and two of them have excellent Yamaha pianos. I don't know, but if they have spent equally much money on the Yamaha grands as on the Kawai grand, it's very easy to see how to best spend your money.

[xvimbi]

Wrong. As I said, we have a lot of Yamaha pianos at our school. Most of these are played on FAR MORE than the Kawai grand, and all of the pianos are equally maintained. We have 4 fulltime piano teachers in our schools, and two of them have excellent Yamaha pianos. I don't know, but if they have spent equally much money on the Yamaha grands as on the Kawai grand, it's very easy to see how to best spend your money.

NOT WRONG. We have had this type of discussion already many times. In all fairness, you can make statements only about those pianos that you have personal access to. Unless you have access to literally HUNDREDS of pianos of all makes and types you cannot make meaningful general statements about an entire brand.

There are many Kawais out there that are perfectly fine. There are many Yamahas out there that are terrible. Anybody can come to any conclusion based on LIMITED experience. All this does not address the big issue, namely whether there is a FUNDAMENTAL reason why one line would be worse than another or why one entire brand would be bad. For Kawai, there is no such reason.

[fnork]

I haven't played on just one Kawai piano, and I haven't played on just the two or three Yamahas we have in our school. If you think I'm making prejudices, fine, but I think what I say is true. In general, Steinway-pianos are the best I've heard. (but you ARE right that my experience is somewhat limited) And the Yamaha pianos at my school are very good too. Kawai? Not good.

[xvimbi]

I haven't played on just one Kawai piano, and I haven't played on just the two or three Yamahas we have in our school. If you think I'm making prejudices, fine, but I think what I say is true. In general, Steinway-pianos are the best I've heard. (but you ARE right that my experience is somewhat limited) And the Yamaha pianos at my school are very good too. Kawai? Not good.

That sounds better. Have you played any Shigeru Kawais?

[fnork]

Probably not. Sorry, but I never remember the names of specific piano models, only the fabricators name. I looked at Kawais site, but they don't seem to have the grand piano my teacher has anymore... doesn't surprise me btw.

[fnork]

My teachers piano is somewhat similar to their   GM-10LE Grand Piano model though, when I think about it.

[m]

And the Yamaha pianos at my school are very good too. Kawai? Not good.

It might be because your school happened to have Yamaha and Kawai of different levels. What I mean is each modern company has entry level (budget instruments), mid-priced, and high end models. To compare mid-priced Yamaha with budget Kawai (or vice versa) is not fair. Of course, their high end models are excellent, and here the choice would rather be on performer's aesthetics preferences. BTW, Earl Wild is a Kawai artist. My guess, he understands in pianos... some.

[fnork]

Well, actually I said in my post that they probably spend a similar amount of money for each piano (that's what I think at least but I should ask our teachers). And if so, it's easy to see which piano that's best for its price quality - and it's not Kawai.

But of course, if we'd be comparing secondrate Kawai to firstrate Yamaha, it's a different thing.

[pskim]

I have played on many, I mean many, Kawai pianos.  And I have found most, not all, of them terrible.  And yes, I have played on a Shigeru before.  It is a nice piano but I don't like the feel of the keys, I you can guess what I mean.  If you are able to afford such expensive pianos, then you'll probably get the quality you are looking for.  As for Steinways, I love them.  Who doesn't?  And I said before, I'm sure there are decent Kawai pianos out there. 

If I had to choose between a Yamaha and a Kawai, I'd definately go for the Yamaha without hesitation.

[lostinidlewonder]

Kawai's and Yamaha bad?? I wonder why you guys say this because there is a huge number of music schools all over the world that use them. Kawai to me seems to be better for jazz music rather than classical in my opinion, jazz seems to sound great on kawai.

When you perform you should ensure that you can muck around on the piano at least for an hour before hand. Because each instrument is different, and much more importantly, each room you peform in is different. I think if you just sat down and started playing in a strange environment and strange piano, it wouldn't matter if it was a stienway with daimond keys, it still would be hard.

[marcusloeber]

Kawai's and Yamaha bad?? I wonder why you guys say this because there is a huge number of music schools all over the world that use them. Kawai to me seems to be better for jazz music rather than classical in my opinion, jazz seems to sound great on kawai.

When you perform you should ensure that you can muck around on the piano at least for an hour before hand. Because each instrument is different, and much more importantly, each room you peform in is different. I think if you just sat down and started playing in a strange environment and strange piano, it wouldn't matter if it was a stienway with daimond keys, it still would be hard.

Thank you! First of all, it is a matter of TASTE and MONEY, which piano you prefer. Once you have played a piano for a certain time, you will get used to it. I play a YAMAHA DC7 PRO MK2 and after three years, a technician told me, that the action was way too heavy. So? I think, we agree, that a 8 ft. grand sounds better then a 5ft. KAWAI is not so bad, but it is more a industrial grand and hasn't got that hand-crafted - feeling...

[Sketchee]

My school has various pianos including Yamaha and Kawai.  When they first got the Kawai pianos I didn't like them as much as the old ones, but it was really that I just wasn't used to playing on a different action.  The Kawai grand in the concert hall has always been excellent.  These are very nice and relatively high end models.  They teach some music classes in that hall, but if it's empty I prefer to practice in there.  I make it a point to practice on different pianos each day since all of them vary widely, even among the same brand and model.

The school tunes them regularly too.  The tuner seems very professional too when I met him.  I was in one room and he came in to tune the piano and directed me to play in one kawai he had just tuned.  It sounded great. He must have voiced the hammers or something beyond just a tuning because they've all sounded better since then.  That was a few semesters ago now.  I hope they call him back soon though because one piano has the second F from the top very out of tune now and I never realized how many times I need that note:  Un Sospiro and Chopin's Scherzo are very painful to work on with that piano right now!

[hodi]

i have a kawai piano and the sound and the touch are great!

[chopin_girl]

That always happens to me!
I hate different pianos.
Feg. once I played in a masterclass and the piano was awful,even though it was Boesendorfer, but I'm kinda used to Yamaha uprights and grands. Yamaha does have that sharp-ish tone though... Steinway gets the best of me. Always.
So, yes . I'd have to say it does mess me up.