Piano and Music Videos

You may have heard this term before and might be familiar with the concept of an upright grand. At first it might sound like an oxymoron, but the term actually makes a lot of sense once you learn exactly what it means.

So what is an upright grand? Is it an upright piano or a grand piano?

The short answer is that it’s an upright piano. However, it’s not just any upright piano. At the turn of the 20th century, countless American piano companies manufactured very tall upright pianos. These instruments offered the sound of a grand piano because of the long strings and large soundboard area. They coined the term upright grand to describe these type of instruments.

This is a question I get all the time; almost every day! There are really two factors involved in this question: The condition of the piano and the ability of the player. I’m going to cover both of these topics for you.

If you have a piano that you think might be experiencing some problems, you have to assess the situation carefully and make sure you’re not throwing good money after bad. Problems that arise in pianos differ immensely based on the type of piano you own.

If you have an older (10 or more years) cheaper Asian production piano that is experiencing issues, it might be time to consider buying a new piano. Otherwise, you might end up costing yourself a lot of money in ongoing repairs. These pianos are built with a limited lifespan; they won’t last forever and eventually you will need to upgrade if you are a serious player.

If you have a higher quality piano, many times you can get repairs or work done that will prolong its life for generations. In some cases – specifically when it comes to soundboard issues – you might be stuck having to pay thousands of dollars for a rebuild. If you keep your piano in a nice climate, you close the lid at night (particularly if windows are open) and you generally maintain it well, you probably won’t run into major problems for quite a while depending upon how much you play. If you have an older piano that has been handed down through your family, it will probably require some work at some point.

Small repairs with the action or strings require some expense but they are nothing compared to the cost of rebuilding a piano. If you are looking at a bill in the tens of thousands of dollars – or even a few thousand dollars – it might be time to consider buying yourself another piano depending upon the level of the instrument. Many dealers will even let you trade in an existing piano toward the cost of a new one. It’s a great idea to consult a piano technician you trust and ask them honestly if it’s worth putting money into your piano or just buying a new one. For example, in a vertical piano the hammers travel sideways, so they don’t have the benefit of gravity for repetition like grands do. So eventually you will progress to the point where you can play faster than the piano will respond. When you advance even further as a player you will want something larger than a baby grand because the tone develops differently and the keys are longer (behind the fall board) giving a more uniform feel when playing black keys and between black keys close to the fall board.

Hi Mr. Estrin,

– Youtube Viewer

Thank you for contacting me with this very good question. It is typical for pianists to feel much more comfortable on the instrument you practice on daily since you become so familiar with the response. One of the biggest challenges facing pianists is the fact that unlike other musicians, we can’t take our instrument with us. So, being able to adjust to many different pianos is part of being a pianist. It is important to have a practice instrument that provides a baseline for other pianos you play on. For any reasonably advanced player, a grand piano or baby grand is essential to continue progressing. There are many reasons for this, but primarily, even the best upright pianos have sluggish actions because the hammers travel sideways instead of up and down as in a grand piano. As a result, they don’t have gravity working for them and they are slower in response. You can watch my video on the subject:

Your video on pedal use with Moonlight Sonata was very helpful. I noticed you used the left pedal (Una Corda?) as well. And, I think you kept it down continually as you played. If so, why?
Thank you for the huge amount of time you’ve devoted to helping us all learn to play better,
– Leslie

You are very perceptive! Since the entire first movement of the Moonlight Sonata is quiet, the una corda pedal is appropriate for this movement. However, the una corda pedal has dramatically different degrees of tonal change on various pianos. So on some instruments, it may be necessary to use the una corda only in some sections.

Are the keys on a spinet piano the same size as an upright or grand piano?
– Youtube Viewer

Yes, the keys of a spinet piano are the same as other upright or grand pianos. However, the keys on Asian pianos are slightly longer than keys on American pianos. Also, there are some late 19th century pianos which have keys which are slightly shorter still, particularly pianos which had been player pianos. Black keys have slightly different angles in the front on some older pianos as well. The edges of black keys are sometimes more rounded in older pianos because they get worn from playing. The spaces between white keys also become larger over time from wear as well.

Robert,
I enjoy your website and your videos. Thanks so much. My piano is a Baldwin acoustic upright and I have it tuned regularly. But now I have a new piano technician and he is suggesting I add a humidistat to the inside of the piano to regulate humidity at all times. He says this will cause me to not need regular tunings anymore. Does this make sense? I’ve never heard you speak of such a thing.

Sincerely,
Laura

Your tuner gave you some good pointers. In fact, stabilizing the soundboard will help with tuning stability particularly in environments with wide swings of humidity. Although I live in Southern California with a semi-arid climate, I have a Dampp-Chaser System on my concert grand which helps keep the tuning stable. However, all pianos will still require tuning on a regular basis, particularly if they are played a lot. The Dampp-Chaser System just prolongs the life of your tunings.