Is the piano out of tune with the modern American home?

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, February 15, 2023

The piano was once the centerpiece of the American home and a source of conversation and entertainment for its owners and their guests. An item of luxury that indicated a sort of prosperity and connectedness, standing upright and proud in the main living room.

As time marches on, the owners of these old and dignified uprights grow older, find themselves moving into long term residential facilities, and have to leave many of their belongings behind, including their beloved pianos.

Unfortunately for the loved ones left to sort through a lifetime of belongings and decide what to do with them, when it comes time to get rid of the upright, you can’t sell it or even give it away.

Facebook Marketplace, classified ads, and “buy/sell/trade/buy nothing groups” are packed with “free piano” ads. Owners of uprights are faced with the same problem as owners of traditional brown furniture: no one wants it.

Why is an item that was once a staple of the American home now viewed as an inconvenient eye sore?

Often an upright piano just won’t fit in someone’s space. As the original owners grow older they may find themselves downsizing to smaller homes or moving into a long term residential facility, and their piano simply will not fit in their new space.

Even if their kids or grandkids wanted to take the piano from them, many people live in small or mid-size urban apartments — many of which can barely fit both a couch and a kitchen table, much less an upright piano. For this reason, many younger players elect to play on electric keyboards or digital pianos that can be easily stored under another piece of furniture when not in use.

Then there’s the weight of the piano. Uprights weigh 500 to 1,200 pounds, making them exceptionally difficult and costly to move. It takes 4-6 strong individuals to safely move an upright. Fees start at $200 or $300 to move a piano, and the cost goes up depending on the weight of the unit and the complexity of the move.

If you are in the market for one, free pianos are a dime a dozen if you are willing to pay to move it.

Unfortunately, many upright pianos end up chopped up and hauled off to the landfill because the original owners or their beneficiaries cannot or do not want to keep them and they can’t persuade anyone to take it, even for free.