Hiring a Piano

There can be many reasons for hiring a piano. For many professional pianists the logistics involved in moving such a large scale object to a venue can often be too difficult to even consider, so you'll find that many musicians who aren't comfortable playing with 'house' instruments will often hire out a piano similar to theirs, saving themselves a heap of hassle hiring out a van, and driving their instrument down by themselves. Another quite valid reason for hiring, if not the most useful function of a hire service is the ability to try your hands on a variety of different pianos, so that when you do come to buy yours, it really is the piano you want. Not because of how it looks, but because of how well it fits you.

Whatever your reason for hiring may be, there are many factors to be taken into account so that you can find the right vendor for both your location and choice in piano. The task of hiring can at first seem quite daunting but throughout this article I will list the main points that have to be looked at so that you can find the right service for your needs.

Vendor location

First and foremost you will need to look for a hiring company close to your chosen venue, ideally this will be within roughly 50 miles of your location. Some hirers may go further but in general most will cut off their service after this distance as it can prove to be quite troublesome for both parties, especially when time constraints are to be adhered to. By hiring in the relative locality of your venue or home, you will save a great deal of time tackling the logistical portion of the hiring service, aside from this, close proximity to the vendor can be very handy if ever there happens to be any problems with the piano, allowing for easy replacement of the product if needs be. So keep it local if possible, as it will likely prove necessary to proper service.

Vendor stock

Now the list of potential hirers will decrease as you attempt to find a piano suitable for the pianist of choice, as most will have a particular preference in mind. Its best in a hiring scenario to go for the best quality piano you can afford as this will likely please most potential players throughout the hiring period.

Most vendors will stock both upright and classical pianos, and some larger hirers will also have a selection of grand pianos. The larger the piano, the greater capacity for tone, so it's best for opting for either a classical or grand piano. Unless you're are restricted in space.

The Venue

Making sure there is space within the venue that can be allocated for placement of the hired piano is very important. Typically a piano comes no smaller than 5 foot in depth, leading to anywhere around 8-9 feet long, this can be quite troublesome if you are not fully prepared at your venue. You need to have a space free for the piano prior to delivery, and it is best if you can quote the dimensions of this area when hiring so as to better suit the piano choice to the space available. You also need to know that when they arrive with the product that they will be able to get it into the building, which can be a particularly difficult problem; especially if you have opted for a larger concert piano.

Duration of Hire

As hiring a piano can prove to be quite an arduous task as times, it's best to try and make the most of having one already in your building. So if you're a venue owner and you're planning on hiring a piano; it would be best if you find a pianist for each night for the duration of its stay so as to fully draw all value from it you can. As well as this, a venue with a live pianist a few nights in a row is bound to draw the attention of the local masses.

There you have it, hiring a piano is easy so as long as you remember to take into account these few factors and apply them properly to your venue, and the needs of your pianist. As for choosing where to hire from, keep it local and reputable, you'll find many high quality piano hire services via the internet, most of which will provide you with a comprehensive catalogue of the their merchandise including photographs and dimensional properties online. This can prove far easier than attempting to derive this information over the telephone.