The Life of a Piano

Way back in 1999 sometime, I decided I was really needing a piano. We were in Ft. Collins at the time and I was teaching flute lessons. I had decided that I was willing to spend about $100 on a simple keyboard or something so that my students could learn to play with accompaniment. Then early one Thursday morning Lance called me right after he got to work. He had picked up a Thrifty Nickle and looked at pianos. There was a piano listed for $100. I had not even told him that I wanted to start looking for one! He gave me the number to call. I called it right way because pianos for low prices sell very quickly. I left a message on the answering machine. Just a little while later the piano owner called me back. I told him I was interested in the piano, asked if every note worked, etc. He said everything worked, it was old, and in a room they needed to make into a bedroom. He said they listed the piano for $100, but they were willing to take half that. I said I'd take it--sight unseen. I arranged for several men to help move it to our house the next day. Because we only had a truck and some guys rode with Lance to get the piano, I stayed home and waited for it. When Lance first saw the piano he almost walked away from the deal because it was so dirty. I'm glad he didn't. I really needed it. After loading the piano up, he pulled out his wallet and took out 3 $20's. The man said he'd just take $40. Lance asked if he had change for a $20. The man insisted he'd just take $40. So we got the piano for $40. I cleaned it up good and filed down some of the pointy edges of the ivories, and glued on a few. Then I had the piano tuned for $60. It held its tune very well. Even though it was kinda ugly, I had a piano that worked!




I always wondered about my piano's life. It was built around 1905, most likely in Des Moines, Iowa. The hammers were deeply grooved so one could tell it had been played A LOT. At one time it was a player piano, but its guts had been removed sometime later. I bet a piano could tell good stories: How it ended up in Colorado, who played it, how many children learned to play the piano using its keys.

We moved it from Ft. Collins to our duplex in Nampa. Movers loaded it onto the truck and the elder's quorum moved it off the truck into our house. Then we used the elder's quorum and a rented piano dolly to move it to our house. I started teaching lessons again there. My students were tolerant of the piano. I started saving for a piano with lesson money, but after Sept. 11th I used piano money for food storage instead. When we moved to this house in 2006, we paid a piano mover--worth every penny. I had it tuned for the last time too. Last year the bass F started sticking. It was such a pain. Poor Andrew, a student, had to play his festival pieces up on octave every week. It stuck while I played flute accompaniments. The middle notes started have strange echoes to them and it sounded crazy. Even Lance noticed from the office upstairs. That's how you know it's bad, if Lance notices!

I started looking around on Craig's List. I knew I wanted at least another upright grand--they sound so good, full and rich or a baby grand. I saw several grands go for unbelievable prices, before I had any money. But one thing about a slow economy is people sell stuff they aren't using. So we finally got our taxes finished (well, not us, the old company finally finished their taxes so we could finish ours) and I looked again. I had been watching this piano for a few weeks and found it interesting. I sent a link to Lance. He called me and asked me if I wanted a new piano. I told him "I NEED a new piano." He couldn't disagree. It is my job. He even went to Dunkley Music in Boise to learn more about pianos before we started looking.

We looked at the piano in June and gave a deposit for it. Then later in June I took a check for the rest. It was delivered while I was at Cub Scout Day Camp. I literally just smile and clap my hands when I think about it. I love playing it. I think the boys do too. We had the old piano delivered to our new neighbors garage just up the street. They can use it until they find a good piano. Then maybe they'll pass it on to someone else too.

I wish I knew this piano's life too. The past several years, she has been a church piano. But the church only used it once a week for practice and once on Sundays. The church was given a smaller piano so they decided to sell this one. Before that it belonged to a divorced man. He and his wife had bought it from Gary about 10 years ago. Gary is the piano broker/tuner we bought it from. That man ended up with it in the divorce--then after a few years of sitting, he asked Gary to sell it. Gary sold it to the church. But that is only about 10 years of its life. It was built in the 1920's in New York on "piano row" where there were several piano manufacturers, including Steinway and Chickering--the two biggest piano names. William Bradbury started the piano company in the 1850's. He is not known for piano building as much as he is a composer. He wrote the music for "Jesus Loves Me," "Sweet Hour of Prayer," and "We Are All Enlisted," to name a few.



Now it is my piano. I hope for a long time! She needs a few new bass strings and the pedal adjusted from being moved, but she looks and sounds pretty. She has enough "life" on her already (scratches and dings) that I'm not nervous about my kids hurting her. Now the piano gets to help teach piano lessons and lots of kids get to practice on her too, hopefully almost everyday!