What type of noise fills your home? If you have babies or children at home, it might be crying, laughing, whining, yelling, or any combination of these throughout the course of the day. With 5 children, and not a huge house, you can imagine how much noise regularly fills our home. However, since my children have been taking piano lessons for the past 8 years, the sound of piano music has been part of the soundtrack of our lives. We recently purchased a new piano from The Piano Guys, and could not be more happy with the musical soundtrack of our home.
I grew up with music as part of my daily life. Piano lessons were not optional, and although I did not love to practice and for that reason, never got very skilled, I’m thankful I had the opportunity to learn to read music. When my Dad would make pancakes on Saturday mornings, Don Williams voice would fill the house. My Mom is an accomplished pianist, and can play almost any sheet music for sing-a-longs. On Sunday mornings, I would record the American Top 40 with Casey Kasem while we were at church so that I could listen to the cassette tape later. Music is a very important part of my life.
So it goes without saying that I would not ask my children if they wanted to take piano lessons, but would rather just schedule them, with each child starting at age 5-6. Since we homeschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we have more time than most for extra activities like piano lessons. We have the amazing blessing of a wonderful piano teacher who comes to our home for lessons. Since we now have four children taking lessons, he is here for quite a while! But it makes life so much easier when we are able to continue with our regular day while one child is in the other room having their lesson.
Our piano is located in a room of the house that is just off the main living space, and which we call the Library. You could also call it a Den. It is a very busy room in our home, and the picture backdrop for our annual Halloween pictures! The piano is not only an instrument in our home, but a loved part of our lives.
About a year ago, we had our former piano tuned, and the older gentleman that worked on it said in no uncertain terms that he refused to tune it again because it was in such bad condition. He said he wouldn’t feel right about taking our money to tune a piano that was on it’s last leg. The piano that we first had in our home was a well loved 1950’s Story & Clark. When that old piano started playing several notes in exactly the same tone, we knew it was time to move on. It had served the purpose for the time, and we all loved that Story & Clark, but the time came for a new purchase.
I don’t know about you, but I will buy anything I can online, from toilet paper, to clothes, to make-up, and now pianos! The first piano we purchased was from Craigslist. It worked out for us that time around, but there is always some risk in buying that way, without any additional credentials or information. When I was searching this time, I found a listing for a place called The Piano Guys that linked to their website. I was immediately intrigued! There were listings for pianos in every budget range, with lots of pictures and even videos to hear the piano being played.
The Piano Guys also have a physical showroom in Venice, Florida. It would be wonderful to be close enough to go there and test out the pianos, but for myself, a very novice pianist, I really don’t know what I’m looking for in a piano. To be honest, I wanted one that fit the decor of the room, with similar wood coloring and style. Beyond that, as long as it played music and was within our price range, it was a winner for me!
I have had several musicians tell me that they could never buy a piano or an instrument without actually playing it first. However, I would venture a guess that the bulk of pianos that are being purchased are by parents hoping to spark their children’s musical ability. For that reason, The Piano Guys is a convenient and smart option for Florida parents hoping to give their children the gift of music. From the first moment that I contacted The Piano Guys, they were responsive and friendly. My favorite means of communication is email, so that is how I first reached out to them about a piano I was interested in from their website. In no time at all, I received a thoughtful and helpful response! This is such a selling point for me. If I can get something done over email, I am so much more likely to do it.
We discussed some piano options via email, and then one phone call later, our new piano was scheduled for delivery! It was scheduled to arrive just a few days later, and when the delivery time came, the team arrived exactly when they had estimated. Have you ever sat around for hours and hours for a “window” of scheduled delivery or repair time? I find that to be one of the most frustrating things, and the delivery team from The Piano Guys did not make us endure that. In fact, we were not even home when the delivery occurred, and our wonderful neighbor and friend handled it. He let us know that the delivery team was extremely helpful, professional, and even quickly made friends with our goldendoodle, NGO.
The Piano Guys will also take your old piano away, which is extremely helpful. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get rid of an old, nearly non-functional piano? It can be a real problem. The Piano Guys also offer a trade-up option. This means that if you purchase a piano with them, they will apply the price of that purchase to a future upgraded piano. If we had purchased our old Story & Clark with them years ago, we would have saved some considerable money on this purchase! Start your piano journey with The Piano Guys, and you can work your way to that Baby Grand!
Overall, working with The Piano Guys was an extremely easy, pleasant, and wonderful experience. For busy parents, getting something crossed off our list for the day is what it’s all about at times. Instead of traipsing all over town to test pianos with five children in tow, I looked over The Piano Guys website and found the perfect new addition to our home. Although this was a substantial purchase, I felt comfortable putting my money and my trust in The Piano Guys. Check out their website, or visit their showroom if you are in the Southwest Florida area. Give your children the gift of music, drowned out the sound of bickering and whining, and create an environment that values art and beauty in your home.
Check out my YouTube channel for a video of my children playing our new Baldwin piano from The Piano Guys! And also be sure visit me on Instagram and Facebook.
*I was provided a discount on our piano purchase by The Piano Guys in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.