What kind of Piano do you play?

Jenny Harrison ah nice.  We both have Steingraeber. Mine is also upright Model is 130k.  Bought from a shop in Stuttgart in 1996. 

Carol Chua Now I see why you spent so much effort to get your hammers sounding right. Mine is a 130 TPS, very similar to yours. I heard one reviewed on youtube by James Pavel Shawcross and he declared it to be the best upright in the world. But it is very difficult to find one in the U.S. since Steingraeber makes very few and they are all sold in Germany. I set up a search flag on eBay and before long, a fairly new one came up. I had a tuner inspect it since it was across the country and bought it sight unseen.  It was a great decision! Once it was voiced and regulated, it was fabulous. The bass is not quite as bold as my Steinway B, but everything else competes. 

Jenny Harrison indeed it is.  For me, it was love at first sight.   The seasoned pianists keeps telling me not to sell and they do love the piano tone and touch.    So now it cost me 1/3 the original cost to restore. I'm patiently waiting.  It's been one year as i waited for the right tuner to come. He's authorised Steinway tuner and very comforting  that he will restore it nicely for me.  

Jenny Harrison by the way this is my first piano.  It is meant to be for my retirement project with no piano skills.  

Carol Chua You made a great choice. Your second great choice was to join tonebase. I jumped right in with a lifetime membership as soon as I read about it. I would like to share my experience as it might help you.  I was not a beginner when I started tonebase, but I might as well have been. I had only gotten to an intermediate level during ages 15-20, but it was often a struggle. I could not play anything fast, so I looked for adagio pieces. Now I realize that my teacher did a terrible job. He had me practice rhythms with a metronome for hours each day so I could play fast pieces, but with no advice about how to use my fingers, arms, wrists, or back. I did not enjoy practicing and quit at 20. (Most people at my age are retired, although I am not.) I started to learn again during the early part of the pandemic.  It was very hard at first, for I really had to start over. But tonebase teachers showed me many things I had never known before. I made the decision at the beginning, with encouragement from Ben Laude in a chat discussion, to jump straight to a difficult piece and spend a few years learning to play it. So I chose the Chopin Ballade #1 in g minor! This had been a dream piece, far beyond my wildest dreams. It was absurd, yet why not try? I listened to Garrick Olson’s lesson on this piece every few months, and each time I learned more. I took my time so I could incorporate new methods, but these tended to change over time as I grew to understand more and more what to do. I especially liked the lessons on Taubman’s methods by Robert Durso. I have gone through them slowly and each one makes a difference. I never get bored playing the same piece each day. (I only have time for an hour a day at the piano.)  The piece always improves every day. That may be hard to believe, but it is true because of tonebase. You know what? It is now becoming easy. I can now play it all the way through, up to tempo, without making mistakes and can focus on musical expression.  I can even play the famous coda which is very fast! I have also enjoyed Seymour Bernstein’s lessons with Ben Laude for it feels like I am having the lesson. When Ben learns, I learn, too.  It is all about poetic expression.  

Jenny Harrison What an amazing story! I love your commitment and dedication to your piano music.  I totally agree with you that tonebase is absolutely wonderful!

Jenny Harrison I did too. I jumped onto tonebase with lifetime membership.   I'm loving it too.  So much to do and so little time. I'm also taking sight reading techniques separately.   To me the key is enjoy the process.     And to listen to my own tonality and harmony of each piece.  I still can't play a perfect piece.    But I'm OK with it too.   Totally agree with you. These live videos are great lessons. The latest video lesson on Raindrops by  is my next target.  The fine tuning it will be fun. 

Enjoy the process.