What Types of Piano Are There?

What Types of Piano Are There?

31 Aug 2022

The enjoyment of piano music often leads people to want to learn how to play. If you're thinking about planning, you may also be wondering what type of piano is right for you. Any piano could be an excellent investment, but it helps to understand the different types before you get started or even after you’ve started to develop some skill and you’re thinking about buying your own. Consider these types of pianos.

Grand Pianos

Grand pianos are perhaps the most high-end models with exceptional sound quality. They tend to be much larger than other pianos, making them a good option only when there is significant space to place them. 

The grand piano has the same shape as the pianoforte, the original type of piano. It has strings that are strung on a horizontal plane. Grand pianos tend to have a much higher quality of sound and allow for more expression than others. It’s possible to play them faster and often with more control than upright pianos. That’s because the hammers are reset naturally with gravity. Also notable is that the keys on grand pianos extend much deeper into the piano than what is found in a traditional upright piano. That makes them a significantly larger leaver, providing for more dynamics and tone versatility.

Digital Pianos

Digital pianos come in various forms, including digital stage pianos, digital portable pianos, and digital grand pianos. Digital pianos are much like uprights in terms of the sound produced. What makes them different is the way in which they produce that sound. Instead of using a hammer to strike a string as other pianos do, digital pianos have a sensor that’s activated with each strike of the key. 

Digital pianos also tend to have numerous recordings of different sounds attributed to various notes. That allows piano players to try different volumes or styles based on their interests. A good quality digital piano can sound like an acoustic piano (such as an upright or a grand).

Upright Pianos  

Upright pianos are more commonly found due to their overall smaller size. These pianos have strings strung vertically. This makes the piano more compact in size, which makes it perfect for a home or another area without a lot of room. In these pianos, the hammers strike horizontally to hit the strings that are strung vertically. The strings are also shorter and have smaller soundboards than what is found in a grand piano. 

There are numerous types of uprights, including the spinet piano, console piano, and the studio. They differ based on the overall design, though they function in much the same way.

Try Them All 

If you are working with a piano tutor in London, you will have the ability to try out several forms and styles of pianos. Nothing is holding you back from trying several types to determine which one fits your needs perfectly. Depending on the type of sound you hope to produce as well as the overall budget you have, an investment in any of these pianos could be ideal, especially once you are taking piano lessons and exploring the various types.