Informative Links for Piano Enthusiasts
Music Theory and Education Guide
The following Music Theory and Education Guide link was generously provided by Kelsey at the North Mountain Institute, AZ:
http://www.playgroundequipment.com/a-playground-for-music-and-education-theory/
Free or low-cost pianos:
Links to Piano Manufacturers:
Mason & Hamlin Piano Co: https://masonhamlin.com/
Charles A. Walter Pianos: https://www.walterpiano.com/index.php
Steinway Pianos: https://www.steinway.com/
Baldwin Pianos: http://www.baldwinpiano.com/
Essex Pianos: https://www.essexpianos.com/pianos/essex
Boston Pianos: https://www.bostonpianos.com/pianos/boston
Bechstein and Hoffman Pianos: https://www.bechstein.com/en/upright-grand-pianos/
Bosendorfer Pianos: https://www.boesendorfer.com/en
Yamaha Pianos: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/index.html
Kawai Pianos: https://kawaius.com/
Petrof Pianos: https://www.petrof.com/
Schimmel Pianos: https://www.schimmel-pianos.de/en/
Pearl River Pianos: https://pearlriverusa.com/
Young Chang Pianos: http://youngchang.com/
Howard Piano Industries of Tampa, Florida, provides access to a wealth of piano information, parts, and piano care products at their website: Howard Piano Industries
Piano Price Point – Glen Barkman’s Free Online Piano Guide
Glen Barkman is a piano technician on Vancouver Island, Canada, and he has created the world’s best piano information website, Piano Price Point: https://pianopricepoint.com/
Glen has written entertaining and informative articles on all aspects of pianos. Here are links to many of them:
How To Remove Scuffs and Scratches from Pianos: https://pianopricepoint.com/how-to-remove-scuffs-and-scratches-from-pianos/
Piano Sizes – What Should I Buy? What is it that is so different? That’s a bit of a loaded question because piano composition is the attention to a 1000 details: https://pianopricepoint.com/piano-sizes-what-should-i-buy/
The Ins and Outs of Piano Moving: https://pianopricepoint.com/the-ins-and-outs-of-piano-moving/
Sauter Piano Made in Germany: https://pianopricepoint.com/sauter-piano-made-in-germany/
The C. Bechstein Sphinx Grand Piano: https://pianopricepoint.com/c-bechstein-sphinx-grand-piano/
An Interview with Pianos Bolduc, Soundboard Makers: https://pianopricepoint.com/interview-with-pianos-bolduc/
Baldwin Piano Then And Now: https://pianopricepoint.com/baldwin-piano-then-and-now/
Piano Touch with David Stanwood: https://pianopricepoint.com/piano-touch-with-david-stanwood/
The Art of Piano Voicing: https://pianopricepoint.com/the-art-of-piano-voicing/
Casting Iron Piano Frames: https://pianopricepoint.com/casting-iron-piano-frames/
Making the Perfect Piano Black: https://pianopricepoint.com/making-the-perfect-piano-black/
An Interview with Charles Walter Piano Company: https://pianopricepoint.com/charles-walter-piano-company/
Player Pianos in the 21st Century: https://pianopricepoint.com/player-pianos-in-the-21st-century/
Musical and Mechanical Basics of the Damper (Sustain) Pedal: https://pianopricepoint.com/musical-and-mechanical-basics-of-the-sustain-pedal/
Pearl River and Schimmel Alliance: https://pianopricepoint.com/pearl-river-and-schimmel-alliance/
Visiting Pearl River Factory: https://pianopricepoint.com/visiting-pearl-river-factory/
Why Upgrade from a Digital Piano? https://pianopricepoint.com/why-upgrade-from-a-digital-piano/
Why Upgrade to a Professional Level Piano? http://pianopricepoint.com/why-upgrade-to-a-professional-level-piano/
The Una Corda Pedal – The Soft Pedal: https://pianopricepoint.com/the-una-corda-pedal-the-soft-pedal/
Who Is Grotrian? https://pianopricepoint.com/who-is-grotrian/
What’s a Piano Cloud? QRS Music: https://pianopricepoint.com/whats-a-piano-cloud-qrs-music/
Testing Pianos Like a Pro: https://pianopricepoint.com/testing-pianos-like-a-pro/
The Sostenuto Pedal: https://pianopricepoint.com/the-sostenuto-pedal/
Yamaha SX Grand Pianos with Acoustic Resonance Enhancement: https://pianopricepoint.com/yamaha-sx-grand-pianos-with-are/
Optimizing Piano Acoustics At Home: https://pianopricepoint.com/optimizing-piano-acoustics/
Researching Pianos – Hammer Felt Matters: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-pianos-hammer-felt-matters/
Researching Pianos – Piano Strings: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-pianos-piano-strings/
Researching Pianos – The Bridge: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-piano-bridges/
Bösendorfer Vienna Concert Pianos: https://pianopricepoint.com/bosendorfer-vienna-concert-pianos-vc/
Researching Pianos – The Soundboard: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-pianos-the-soundboard/
Researching Pianos – The Action: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-piano-actions/
A Few Words with Paolo Fazioli: https://pianopricepoint.com/fazioli-piano-information/
Researching Pianos – The Rim: https://pianopricepoint.com/researching-piano-rims/
Pearl River New Factory Grand Opening: https://pianopricepoint.com/pearl-river-new-factory-grand-opening/
Are Hybrid Pianos the Next New Thing? https://pianopricepoint.com/are-hybrid-pianos-the-next-new-thing/
Inside the Steinway Vault: https://pianopricepoint.com/inside-the-steinway-vault/
What is a House Brand Piano? https://pianopricepoint.com/house-brand-pianos/
Why Upgrade From An Upright Piano To A Grand Piano? https://pianopricepoint.com/why-upgrade-from-an-upright-piano-to-a-grand-piano/
Why Do Piano Keys Stick? https://pianopricepoint.com/why-do-piano-keys-stick/
Bösendorfer Secession Grand Piano: https://pianopricepoint.com/bosendorfer-secession-grand-piano/
Public Domain Sheet Music: https://pianopricepoint.com/public-domain-sheet-music/
Interview with Udo Steingraeber: https://pianopricepoint.com/interview-with-udo-steingraeber/
How Old Is Too Old? https://pianopricepoint.com/how-old-is-too-old/
Mason & Hamlin VX-94 Concert Grand Piano Review: https://pianopricepoint.com/mason-hamlin-vx94-concert-grand-piano/
Kayserburg 3D Printed Grand Piano: https://pianopricepoint.com/kayserburg-3d-printed-grand-piano/
Pianos With Headphones? Big Noise About Being Quiet: https://pianopricepoint.com/pianos-with-headphones/
Five Tiers of Yamaha Grand Pianos: https://pianopricepoint.com/five-tiers-of-yamaha-grand-pianos/
Steinway Presents The Skyline Collection: https://pianopricepoint.com/steinway-presents-the-skyline-collection/
NAMM 2023 Piano Review (National Association of Music Merchants): https://pianopricepoint.com/namm-2023-piano-review/
Kawai America Celebrates 60 Years With Ancient Lacquer Tradition and Pure Gold Dust: https://pianopricepoint.com/kawai-america-celebrates-60-years/
How Often Should I Tune My Piano? https://pianopricepoint.com/how-often-should-i-tune-my-piano/
Steinway Fibonacci Grand Piano: https://pianopricepoint.com/steinway-fibonacci-grand-piano/
Hailun Piano: https://pianopricepoint.com/hailun-piano
The Steinway & Sons Serial Number and Piano Age Lookup: https://www.steinway.com/pianos/serial-lookup#/
Piano Age Information: http://www.bluebookofpianos.com/pianoage.html
The Stars & Catz Free Suite of Music Tools and Resources:
https://www.starsandcatz.com.au/free-music-tools-and-resources/
Player Pianos: http://www.mmdigest.com/Home
Hand, Wrist, and Finger Positioning Guide for Piano Players by Michele Wheat
https://www.wristbandexpress.com/content/hand-wrist-finger-positioning-guide-piano-players/
Yamaha Piano Information Links:
The Yamaha Piano Serial Number Search page will tell you if your Yamaha piano was designed and built for the United States market. Yamaha “gray market” pianos are designed for the moister climates of Europe and Asia.
https://www.yamaha.com/paragon/piano/serialnumberlookup.html?
Here is why you want to know, from Yamaha:
https://hub.yamaha.com/pianos/p-acoustic/four-things-you-need-to-know-about-gray-market-pianos/
Finding the Age and Manufacturing Location of Your Yamaha Piano:
https://usa.yamaha.com/support/finding_age_of_yamaha_piano/index.html
Yamaha Pianos produced for the U.S. market have been manufactured in 6 locations:
Hamamatsu, Japan
Thomaston, Georgia
South Haven, Michigan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Hangzhou, China
Taoyuan, Taiwan
As a result, there are six different serial number ranges for Yamaha pianos.
If the serial number begins with a “T”, the piano was manufactured in Thomaston, Georgia.
If the serial number begins with a “U”, the piano was manufactured in South Haven, Michigan.
If the serial number begins with an “H”, the piano was manufactured in Hangzhou, China.
If the serial number begins with “YT”, the piano was manufactured in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
If the serial number begins with “J”, the piano was manufactured in Jakarta, Indonesia.
If your grand piano is a GH1G, GH1FP, GC1G, or GC1FP, your piano was manufactured in Thomaston, Georgia.
If your grand piano is a GA1E, DGA1E, GB1, DGB1, GB1K, or DGB1K, your piano was manufactured in Jakarta, Indonesia.
If your grand piano is any other model, it was manufactured in Hamamatsu, Japan.
The Major Piano Brands
Here is a list of some of the largest piano manufacturers in the world. Each has a different method of piano making, and so each brand offers a unique musical tone and playing experience. Together, they manufacture thousands of pianos annually.
- Albert Weber
- August Förster
- Baldwin
- Bechstein
- Bluthner
- Bosendorfer
- Boston
- Brodmann
- C. Bechstein
- Cavendish
- Cristofori
- Eduard Seiler
- Essex
- Estonia
- Fazioli
- G. Steinberg
- Grotrian
- Haessler
- Hailun
- Hallet-Davis
- Irmler
- Johannes-Seiler
- Kawai
- Kayserburg
- Kingsburg
- Knabe
- Mason & Hamlin
- Pearl River
- Perzina
- Petrof
- Pramberger
- Ravenscroft
- Ritmuller
- Ronisch
- Samick
- Sauter
- Schimmel
- Schulze-Pollmann
- Seiler
- Shigeru-Kawai
- Steingraeber
- Steinway
- Story & Clark
- W. Hoffmann
- Weber
- Wilh-Steinberg
- Wilhelm-Grotrian
- Wyman
- Yamaha
- Young Chang
- Zimmermann