Choosing a violin is not just about playing for a few years, the key is to have more exposure to and understanding of the instrument. Choosing a piano itself is a troublesome task, but it is also enjoyable. Now I want to introduce the process of picking a piano, you may already know. Let me make it clear, this is not an introduction to experience. Don't think that after reading this post, you can buy your own piano.

There are many qin makers in my city, including professional factories, small workshops, and individual ones. Over the past few years, I have become very familiar with them from various angles and often eat and drink with them. Although I am an outsider, they can still get along with me on an equal footing. My first principle of making friends is equality. Whether you are a teacher or a student, an elder or a younger generation, you should respect each other. Without such equality, any friendship is questionable. I prefer pianos from small workshops. Although the factory's pianos are also handmade, due to high costs and prices, as well as assembly line operations, the quality is easily mediocre. In addition, buying a piano for personal use can be reasonably priced, even if a friend gives it to you for free. However, if you buy it at a very low price, the manufacturer will find it difficult and you won't be able to open your mouth. The personally made qin should be considered finely carved, and they only make a few in a year, so the price is also very high; If you graduate from a music college major, the price is tens of thousands. This should be understandable. The cost of playing and making the piano from childhood to university is also astonishing, and the quality is indeed good. But these people are very stubborn. If your piano selection philosophy is different from theirs, they are not willing to listen to you. On the contrary, they will find many reasons to prove that what they are doing is right. The situation in small workshops is quite complicated. Some of them are experienced masters with decades of experience who have also studied in professional colleges. The key is that they can play the piano themselves. Usually with a few apprentices, they make the piano at home because there are no fees and the price is not high. Some are purely carpenters who have worked in a piano factory and later laid off to work at home. There are several qin makers in the towns of my city, who often carry their own qin to the city to promote it. To be honest, the materials are very good (Heilongjiang has this condition) and the price is low, but the craftsmanship, paint, and sound are too poor. My only feeling is that it's a waste of time! I wouldn't want such a piano, no matter how good the materials are.

When buying a piano, I usually choose a free afternoon to set aside all worldly distractions and go to my friends who make the piano to choose. The selected price is generally between 1500 and 5000. My friends will show me a few guitars of a certain price range. I will first select 3 pieces for the sound engineer to tune based on the quality of the wood (including texture), craftsmanship, paint, and appearance (including color), including cutting the piano code and installation. The sound engineer takes about half an hour to an hour to tune each one. After each tuning, I will first pull and change the scale to feel if the fingerboard is comfortable, and then start practicing. Firstly, listen to the sound condition of each string's handle position, including the sensitivity of the sound, paying special attention to the sound condition of the G string's high handle position, followed by the sound balance of each string. We also need to try chords, overtones, and staccatos. If there are any areas that are not ideal, you need to inform the sound engineer to continue adjusting, and in some cases, adjust or change the sound column.