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In Nigeria, you don't buy a piano casually in the nearest shop. It's a long-term investment that needs to be well thought out. If you want to borrow the instrument, that is, of course, a different matter. But that's not always the best course of action, even if it can save you a lot of money at first. Even though you might think that the piano’s highest cost is the acquisition cost and the time it takes to practice, you will soon realise that it is not always that easy.
In response to the question "What is the cost of buying a piano in Nigeria?" Being able to answer is not that easy. Actually, one should instead ask: "What does a piano not cost us?". And add: "How does playing the piano help us in life?".
Of course, listing all the costs involved in playing the piano can have a somewhat negative effect. But actually, that's not the case at all. It is good to take note of this to get the best out of playing the piano. Your fingers will soon fly over the piano and let the beautiful black and white keys dance so that Chopin or Mozart would be proud of you. If this sounds like what you want, then find a professional piano tutor on Superprof!
Where to buy a piano in Nigeria?
You can buy a good piano or keyboard at any musical instrument store spread across the country. These percussion instruments are also available in local stores such as Jumia. If you want to go international, putting shipping cost into consideration, some of the best pianos or keyboards are available in international online stores such as Amazon. These keyboards or pianos could be very expensive, but you can easily add them to your wishlist to buy later in the future.
How Much Money Does a Piano Cost?
Sure, a piano isn't the cheapest of all instruments. As a matter of fact, the piano price in Nigeria may be on the high side, like other products imported into Nigeria. The different types of piano cost differently, of course, but one thing is sure: if you want to buy a piano, your pocket needs to be fully loaded with naira.
Nevertheless, depending on the brand, technical and sound features, there is a whole range of different models with different prices. Depending on your ambitions and your budget, there is something for everyone.
The Digital Keyboard - The Cheapest Choice
If you want to start playing the piano but don't yet know where you actually want to go (leisure time, live band, become a piano teacher), then you should deal with a keyboard and less with bulky and expensive grand pianos.
Keyboards are quite inexpensive and do not require any special care, except a small dust blanket to put over them when you are not playing. As for the price, keyboards that go for as little as 45,000 NGN are available. Without a piano stand, boxes, pedal or other accessories, of course. These low-end keyboards may even have a USB port, microphone, and bass speakers that produce some quality audio. You could also get an electric pedal if you want to have full control of the notes.
Some digital pianos possess a MIDI keyboard or controller keyboard, typically a piano-style electronic musical keyboard, often with other buttons, wheels and sliders, used for sending MIDI signals or commands over a USB or MIDI 5-pin cable to other musical devices or computers.
Keyboards in this category have minimal equipment but often offer surprisingly good audio or sound. They are ideal for beginners, as they can be used to make progress quickly and efficiently. But there are also keyboards in other price ranges. The more money you spend, the more features the electric pianos usually offer.
You could get good digital keyboards such as the Roland FA-06 61-Key Workstation, Keyboard Midi Controller – Novation Impulse, Roland FANTOM-8 Music Workstation Keyboard, Yahama PSR S775, Yamaha Keyboard – Touch Sensitive Portable PSR -E-363 61-Key, Yamaha Keyboard Arranger Workstation – Psr S670, Yamaha Motif XF8 – Workstation Synthesizer, Yamaha Portable Keyboard – PSRF51 61-Key Base Model, etc. They are mostly black or grey in colour. Yahama is one of the best-known piano brands in Nigeria.
The prices for digital keyboards of the top class can go up to over 1 million NGN!
Furthermore, it is essential to note that some music experts argue that the keyboard is not really the best for pianists - whether beginner or professional - because it neither has the required range of keys nor a weighted keyboard. This is especially important for the development of the feel of the game, especially for beginners. Beginners who take piano lessons also find it difficult to adjust to the lighter keys on the keyboard, and children often have the problem that they adjust to the light keyboard keys and then cannot cope with the heavy piano keys.
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Acoustic Pianos: Upright and Grand Pianos
Anyone who wants to buy an upright piano or even a grand piano should definitely be ambitious to learn how to play the piano really well. So if you are not sure whether you really enjoy playing the piano, you should refrain from models of this type. But if you are a professional or very enthusiastic about quality sounds, then you should go for it!
The acoustic pianos are mechanical and, of course, do not possess USB ports, microphone, bass speakers, or a MIDI controller. However, you will require a good piano stand and pedal. The action of the feet on the pedal is used to ‘sustain’.
To give you an idea of the price of a piano: The cheapest pianos start at around 1.2 million NGN, for a grand you have to calculate at least 4 million NGN. And that's still cheap! So you see, instruments of this type are a real investment, sometimes even across generations.
In addition to the purchase price, there are also some accessories: stool, metronome, lamp, music stand. Such pianos also want to be looked after! Just like with the electric piano, mechanical pianos always need to be dusted. They also need to be tuned regularly - about twice a year! This is the only way to preserve the original sound. Tuning a piano once costs around 40,000 NGN for a classical piano. So be careful that you get a good piano tuner!
To benefit from your piano as much as possible, expenses of this kind should not be a problem for you. For everyone else, digital pianos are better because they never need to be tuned. With the high-end type, you get
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The Additional Costs
When you have decided on a piano, you should know that there will be a few other costs in addition to the purchase price:
- A teacher, if you want to take piano lessons (around 2000 NGN/hour. You can find piano tutors on Superprof. You would get the first lesson for free!)
- Books and sheet music, if you want to play your favourite pieces (a sheet music book costs around 2,500 - 10,000 NGN)
- Download individual pieces from the Internet (approx. 1,000 NGN /piece)
- Possible costs for repairing the piano, in case of problems (always have the serial number of your piano ready!)
Also: never forget to measure your space carefully beforehand so that the piano fits in!
How Much Time Does a Piano Cost You?
You don't always think about it straight away, but a piano indeed takes up a lot of time. One could understand that in a negative sense. However, this is not always true because when you say that a piano takes a lot of time, you mean the time to practice or actually play the piano.
And you really shouldn't see this as negative; otherwise, you shouldn't even play the piano in the first place. An instrument should always be fun, and progress should never be forced.
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The Time for Piano Lessons and Everyday Practice
For pianists who like to sit in front of the piano for their entire life (having fun with it is still the basis for success), their time at the piano can vary. The minimum a day is still around a quarter of an hour.
This allows them to play the same piece three to four times and then even start a new one. Or to play four different songs each once. If you add one to two minutes of warm-up time and stretching exercises, you get more than 15 minutes. All music and piano teachers will confirm to you that you are not necessarily doing yourself a favour if you play too much. This is one of the reasons piano lesson lasts 40-45 minutes and not 2 hours.
This also applies if you only play for yourself alone. Practising more than two hours a day is not recommended. It is better to practice less long, but more often and more regularly, as this will not exceed your attention span. Especially when you read sheet music (e.g. sheet music learning piano) or play chords with more than three notes with each hand, these are situations that require maximum concentration to gain mastery and control.
Therefore, you should prefer efficiency and quality to quantity. This does not only apply to the piano, of course but to life in general! If you only play during piano lessons, you will, of course, make slow progress. It would help if you also did some practice in your free or leisure time. Learning the piano is tedious work. Your teacher's expertise is important, but it should only be viewed as an additional element to everyday practice. Similar to sports or school.
By the way: the piano is perfect as an anti-stress agent. If you've had a difficult day, then it can be good to sit down at the piano and go ahead and play with no worries, whether 15 minutes or 45 minutes. The aim is to feel better afterwards and have complete control of your emotions. You will quickly find that the piano can act like a drug. But an enjoyable and healthy drug that will put you in a balanced state of mind.
Sounds interesting, right?
How Long it Takes to Buy a Piano
This time required to buy a piano is difficult to measure. Of course, you should take enough time when you buy a new piano. The time to try out, compare and get advice from the seller. It all depends on your goals and your level.
It would help if you avoided impulse purchases because returning a piano is often not that easy. There must also be an emotional bond between the pianist and his instrument. Therefore, you should take your time, calmly consider everything and wait until you have found the right instrument for learning to play the piano. That is also part of being a pianist.
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I love this article on piano and its cost. It’s gives a clear and concise perspective on how to approach getting a piano or keyboard for yourself, which is among my aims now. Thanks to you, Emmanuel.