Pianos

Pianos used to be the focal point of any home. The measure of sophistication and culture. The mark of a family who enjoyed live acoustic music, who gravitated to a piano in the parlour rather than a screen in the living room.

Now we fill our homes with various spaces and there's not enough room for a big instrument like a baby grand. There are offices, dining rooms, living areas with tvs and fireplaces, bedrooms, guest rooms, master suites with monstrous washrooms and double-vanities.
I have been noticing lately that nobody really wants a piano in their own home anymore. I have even heard (recently) of people who cannot even GIVE away pianos - and not old uprights either. I am talking about gorgeous, pristine, baby grands and grand pianos.
People just don't have any room for that big of an instrument anymore. 

Even me.

We do have a little piano. My parents purchased it when I was really loving piano lessons and began playing daily. It's a little upright Yamaha. We also have an 88-key keyboard for youtube videos and performances, and a 55-key keyboard for when I decide to do some busking.
Our home is beautifully set up (we got extremely lucky and had the benefit of buying from an incredibly generous family). One thing we love to do is entertain and host dinner evenings. Our Food Parties have become a tradition - and they started waaaay back to when I was living in my parents' basement, with a  little pizza oven and a hot plate. So I have always dreamed of having a dining room. A little separated from the kitchen, with a bookshelf and a tiny little nook, where (you guessed it) our piano sits. It is perfectly laid out. It's the very first space you see as you walk into the house. Right there. The upright has a perfect spot. The room itself, however, is ideal for a dining room table OR for a baby grand or grand piano. Not both though...

When I think of these baby grand pianos being thrown into the DUMP it just chokes me.
But do we have room for one?
Not really.
That room is perfect for one, but then we have no dedicated dining room and no room for a kitchen table.
So whenever I see pianos on buy and sell websites - being GIVEN away for free - and watching no one take them, it kills me.
I think that, if I found out that someone I knew was giving away a baby grand, I think I would FIND room. I would get rid of one of our old couches in the living area in the basement. I don't know how I would get it down there, but I would find room.

But please please PLEASE, if you EVER have a piano that you need to get rid of and no one can take it, PLEASE do not drop it off at the DUMP. That is a total tragedy. Why not take 20 minutes to call around and see if you can donate it somewhere?
Our airport recently extended their music program, in part because several upright pianos were donated. Now people who are waiting for their flights can ask to play music. Some pianos were even donated by the art school here as an interactive art piece - the pianos were painted and then donated to the airport. Such a fantastic idea.
Various schools could use a real piano for their students to learn or practice.
Retirement homes have some extremely talented individuals - they may have forgotten how talented they are - who could use a little extra music being brought in.
Hospitals, Children's Hospitals, Hospices, schools, daycares, community centres, art galleries, music stores - there are so many possible places that would take a piano. They may even come and pick it up for you.

Pianos (in my opinion) are sacred. They still should be a prominent piece of a home - or any business or facility. If I hear of another piano being taken to the dump, I will probably cry.

I love My Musical Life!