Buy Grand Piano or Upright Piano – Which is better?

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Buy Grand Piano or Upright Piano

There are two types of pianos: grand and upright. They provide an excellent experience and a responsive touch when it comes to performance. With a piano, you can convey the full range of sound expression that the majority of pianists incorporate into their works.

The most frequently asked question is which of the two to purchase: an upright or a grand piano. To be honest, it depends on a variety of factors. Most importantly, what you want in a piano will dictate which piano you should purchase. Other factors that influence the type of piano you choose include the keys, the price point, and the features, to name a few.

Both upright and grand pianos are available in a variety of sizes. Uprights are measured in terms of their height, while grands are assessed in terms of their length. These dimensions determine the size of the piano’s two most critical components: the string length as well as the soundboard’s vibrating area. A critical factor to note is that when comparing two pianos of comparable quality, extended strings and a bigger soundboard result in a larger sound and improved tone quality. 

A critical factor to note is that the only true difference in size between upright pianos is their height. Depth and width are nearly the same. Because a studio occupies the same amount of floor area as a spinet, your decision on which vertical to purchase will most likely be based on pricing or style — not on the amount of space available.

When purchasing a grand piano, you must also take into consideration the space in your home since, unlike uprights, the larger the grand pianos are, the more space they require. Smaller grands, 5’1″ to 5’8″, are hot sellers nowadays, and there are several excellent examples available. You may check kawai digital piano for references.

But, the most critical factor in selecting a piano is still its construction quality. A well-made tiny grand will always sound superior to a badly constructed larger grand. Indeed, a superb upright piano frequently outperforms a substandard grand.

Differences between upright and Grand piano

There are several variations between upright pianos and grand pianos.A vertically strung upright piano is one that can be operated in a small area because the strings are strung vertically. The grand piano, on the other hand, maintains the form of the original pianoforte, wherein the strings are stretched horizontally, therefore offers a wider range of expressive possibilities than the upright piano.

Differences in the action

In comparison to an upright piano, the action mechanics of a grand piano are vastly different, as you can see here.

Grand piano

Horizontal. It’s easy to play rapid repetitions like trills with the hammers since they revert to their resting position when they’re done. This piano is very smooth and can allow one to play key repetitions of about 14 times every second. 

Upright piano

Vertical. Because hammers depend on springs to return to their at-rest positions, they can only be utilized for a limited number of rapid repetitions, such as those required while performing trills.

Differences in the pedals.

Grand piano

The pedals of a grand piano and an upright piano perform somewhat different tasks The shift pedal (also known as the soft pedal or the una corda pedal) is located on the left foot pedal. The whole action assembly is shifted to the right, altering the sound loudness as well as the tone somewhat.

As the name implies, the sostenuto pedal also known as middle pedal raises the dampers and keeps them away from the strings of any keys being played immediately before the pedal is pushed all the way down to the floor. This makes it possible to keep some notes going for a longer period of time.

The sustain pedal (sometimes known as the damper pedal) is located on the right foot pedal. Even if the fingers are removed from the keys, the dampers remain raised, allowing all notes to be played to be sustained.

Upright piano

When the soft pedal (located on the left foot) is pushed, all of the hammers are brought closer to the strings, resulting in a reduction in the loudness of the sound.

The practice pedal (sometimes known as the muffler pedal) is located in the center of the pedal board. A thin piece of felt is placed between the hammers as well as the strings, significantly reducing the volume of the resulting sound.

The sustain pedal (sometimes known as the damper pedal) is located on the right foot pedal. Even if the fingers are removed from the keys, the dampers stay raised, ensuring that every note played is preserved.

Conclusion

Both upright and grand pianos are very good pianos, however, there are several things that come into play when you want to choose the kind of piano to buy. Overall, a grand piano is the one you should go buy because it offers many benefits and features as compared to the upright piano particularly the tone and sound quality. Overall, still the decision is in your hand.