You can't beat a piano!

Amazing pianist, Hiromi Uehara

OK. I'm biased. But can you think of anything more wonderful than a piano? I think it is the ideal musical instrument, because it is so versatile. Pianos are perfectly suited to solo performance, and the music sounds complete without the addition of any other instruments. But they also sound amazing when they accompany others or take the lead in front of a band or orchestra.

In the 1800s, hundreds of thousands of them were shipped to Australia, and some of those are still being played today. My very first piano was one of them. My parents bought it in 1959, with a lot of help from my Nanna.  The price was 90 guineas, which means £90 and 90/- (Ninety pounds and ninety shillings.) That is roughly $200, but in 1959 money, when the average wage was £15 ($30) per week! Nanna told Mum and Dad she'd pay the pounds, if they paid the shillings!


I think some people would still like to buy a piano for $200, which may be why many children begin on a small keyboard and not a piano.


But substituting a keyboard for a piano could be compared with buying a bicycle and expecting it to do the job of a car. A digital piano makes a better alternative, though it's still like asking a motorbike to substitute for a station wagon.


If you want a reliable piano, you are less likely to be disappointed and more likely to get something that will last by buying from a reputable music shop, whether you buy a new or second-hand piano. Each piano I've purchased was bought from a music store and I've been generally happy with what we were sold, although when I've tried to do it cheaply, I have not got the quality instrument that the store had first recommended.


A new piano should easily last twenty years. The digital keyboard might also, but they tend to go out of fashion as new ones keep being made with the latest do-dads.

At Mitchell Conservatorium, we always advise that you get your teacher's advice when buying a musical instrument. Good ones are expensive and it is worth getting help in making sure that the one you buy is worth what you are paying for it.


Here is a sensational performance on a quality piano by Hiromi Uehara of George Gershwin's I Got Rhythm. If you want to see some dazzling playing, keep watching. The video is 9 minutes long, but it's worth it.