Do you love playing the piano, but your piano just doesn’t thrill you quite as much as it used to?

Although most pianos are intended to last a lifetime, not all brands and models of pianos are equal, and sometimes the best option is to upgrade. We all go through changes at times – a growing family, a shift in your interests or goals. Looking for a different piano can be the perfect solution to meet your changing needs. But how do you know when it’s time to switch out your piano for something new? 

Here are seven situations when upgrading to a new piano becomes a huge advantage:

1. You need more keys on the keyboard

Small keyboards can be the way to go when you are just starting to play the piano or cultivating your child’s interest in music, but at some point, you will discover the need to use a wider range of keys as you play. There’s nothing more irritating for a musician than reaching for the next octave down on the keys only to realize your fingers are grasping at thin air. 

Not having all the octaves of keys makes your sheet music way more challenging to navigate, and the limited range on the piano will inadvertently limit your progress. If this is where you’re at, we can totally relate, and we have some great news for you! 

Every single piano at Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos has a full 88 keys, so any option in the store would be an excellent upgrade! Whether you’re looking for a keyboard to take you to the next level or searching for your absolute dream piano, all our pianos have the high standards of quality you are looking for.

2. You are ready to sound like the musician you are

Many have said the quietest notes on the piano are often the most challenging to play flawlessly. Perhaps you’ve been playing for quite a while, but you feel like your piano no longer helps you express the dynamics you know you can create on other pianos. This could mean it’s time to upgrade from an upright to a grand, or maybe simply to a newer instrument. 

The higher quality the piano, the more effortlessly you will be able to handle the subtle nuances of pianissimo of Debussy pieces or fortissimos of Beethoven. Grand pianos have an ability to handle repeated notes and trills that upright pianos simply cannot match. No matter the style of your music, you need a piano that can match the emotion of your song and transmit the dynamic range you want to communicate. 

From grand pianos to keyboards, all pianos at Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos have fully weighted keys. Still, each one responds differently to touch, as some have a heavier action than others. Not sure where to start? Let us help you!

3. You want to start recording your music

Many pianists do not immediately think of a digital piano as an upgrade, but you may be surprised by the perks of having high-tech features. While acoustic pianos are the classic choice of traditional pianists, digital pianos allow you to record your music and play it later or share with friends, among many other capabilities.

Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos has a wide range of digital pianos and keyboards that all have the capacity to record music and store it on the piano itself or connect to a computer or smart device using MIDI and save or edit your music with your favorite software. These pianos vary in how much memory storage they allow and what their playback options are. If you’re looking for a piano with greater storage space, you are better off choosing one of the Yamaha Clavinovas, such as the CLP, CVP, or CSP series. 

If you still can’t quite let go of your love for acoustic pianos, you can find the best of both worlds with a Yamaha Silent piano. These pianos are fully acoustic but have the option of switching to digital mode so you can connect headphones and record your music as you would on any digital piano. Stop by the store anytime and ask for a demo to see how it works.

4. You want to stop competing with the TV

Anyone with a piano in the living room can relate to this kind of daily conflict. You’re in the perfect mood to absorb yourself in some good Billy Joel tunes, but your family has just turned on the newest movie that came out on Disney Plus, and sound space quickly becomes a precious commodity. If your household faces this clash often, then switching to a digital piano would be a fantastic solution for you! 

This is exactly the problem that inspired Yamaha to build pianos with the Silent feature. Simply plug in your headphones, pivot the Sostenuto pedal to the left, and at the switch of a button you can enter your own world of music discovery in any environment without being interrupted by surrounding noises. Choose from a variety of Yamaha piano models with the Silent feature, including both grand and upright options.

All of our Yamaha digital pianos and keyboards are compatible with headphones, so you don’t have to feel limited in your options. From the coveted Clavinova series, the Yamaha Arius series, or the Yamaha P Series or Portable Grand keyboards, Yamaha designs their pianos to give you equally good sound with or without the headphones.

5. You want to embrace your alter ego as a concert pianist

Maybe you have a decent upright or digital piano in your home, but you’re pining for an instrument with a true sostenuto pedal and a fuller sound. It’s hard to prepare for a formal piano concert if the piano at home is second-rate. 

As great as the quality of an upright piano can be, nothing beats the clear, rich tones and the satisfying touch of a concert grand piano. Gravity actually plays an important role in how the mechanical functions interact, and the vertical arrangement of upright strings just can’t perfectly imitate the action of a grand piano, with its horizontal structure. 

If you have big dreams of performing for thousands, or perhaps your son or daughter is on the fast-track to becoming the next child prodigy, your piano at home needs to replicate as closely as possible the environment in which you will be performing for the best preparation. The Yamaha CX Series is the perfect fit for this need, in several size and color options that are each built to create a beautiful performance sound in a living room or studio setting, with or without an audience. 

At Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos, we can’t guarantee a set of coattails or a large fan base to fit your concert dreams, but we’d love to help you find the perfect grand piano that makes you feel like a real concert pianist.

6. Tuning or repairing your piano is just not getting the job done

You have a piano, but when you have it tuned, it goes out of tune right away and the sound is never quite where you want it. Maybe the upright you inherited from your grandparents was a fantastic piano when it was new, but sixty years, a move halfway across the country, and multiple generations of kids and pets in the house have put a wear on it that can’t be fixed with duct tape. 

As heartbreaking as it can be for those of us who are of the sentimental variety, some repairs simply aren’t worth the cost of fixing. Nothing is more detrimental to enjoying music than an instrument that doesn’t work the way it should or no longer brings you joy when you play it. If this sort of dissonance keeps you from sitting down at the keys as often, that is a sign it’s time to look for something different. 

Rest assured, all the used pianos at Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos pass an inspection by a professional piano technician, so you can be confident the piano you choose will be the best quality. And if you choose to buy new, our Yamaha pianos have a well-respected reputation for being built to last the wear and tear of everyday life.

7. You need a piano you can take with you on the go

Sling a guitar across your shoulder and you’re ready to go, but heavy pianos are a bit more complicated to transport. Maybe your piano at home is so enormous and heavy, you would struggle to move it across the room, much less carry it out the door! 

At Dickerson’s Tri-City Pianos, we have several keyboard pianos we keep in stock that are easily portable. These are great options if you need a piano that can fit in your car and transport to your next gig or event. The Yamaha P225 keyboard is our top choice because it is lightweight and less bulky than other pianos. 

Our keyboards can also connect with microphone and sound system, so you can enhance your performance to fit the needs of the venue. Yamaha keyboards are compatible with both wood and x-stands, so you have options when it comes to support.

These are just a few scenarios that demonstrate when it’s time to get a piano. Sometimes goals change, housing and family changes, or the piano you have at home changes to the point where it no longer fits your season of life. Whatever the reason for getting a new piano, when you are ready, we are here to help!