But I don't WANT a piano!

July 6, 2007 10:59 AM

Father-in-law absurdly wants to buy us a piano. How can I not look this gift-horse in the mouth?

After what I can only assume is some kind of Scrooge-like epiphany, my father-in-law wants to buy his two married daughters big fat pianos. One daughter plays and has an 11 year old son that plays. The other daughter (my wife) does not play, I do not play, and my children are 3 years and 6 months old. I can think of a million things I would rather spend $15K on, but he won't stand for it.

Long story short, I need to either:
A) find a cool (upright) piano that doesn't remind me that I am a bourgeois pig (preferably something that would be at home in Nemo's Nautilus or a time machine)
or
B) come up with something of equal old-world extravagance and utility that I might trick him into switching for

Any help would be appreciated.

posted by halespawn to shopping (60 comments total)

A) find a cool (upright) piano that doesn't remind me that I am a bourgeois pig (preferably something that would be at home in Nemo's Nautilus or a time machine)

I doubt this would be acceptable to your f-i-l. If he wanted to indulge your tastes, he wouldn't be insisting on the piano, right?

B) come up with something of equal old-world extravagance and utility that I might trick him into switching for

As you note, he wants to institute an heirloom that denotes a certain level of class. To that end, a good dining room set has a similar sort of resonance, because it's bound up in with culture and family meals and celebrations.
posted by desuetude at 11:09 AM on July 6, 2007

As long as you have room for it and your neighbors won't complain about the noise, take the piano. It's not like it's a pet that needs feeding or something. Sure, you'll need to get it tuned every several years, but somebody's eventually going to play it, and even if they don't, pianos look cool, assuming you get a cool-looking one.

If it were me, I'd convince him to get me a mint-condition vintage Fender Rhodes electric piano or a Hammond B3 with a Leslie. But I would actually play them, too.

If you're looking for 2000 Leagues of awesome decorating, go with the Rhodes or the Hammond. They will also lend you instant indie cred with your hipster friends, if you have any. Of course, if your kids decide ever to take piano lessons, a Rhodes and a B3 will be basically useless for that. But they look and sound cool.

Oh, and for $15k, you can get a way better upright piano than anyone in the world needs. Anyone who cares about piano enough to spend $15 on an upright doesn't want to play an upright anyway.
posted by The World Famous at 11:09 AM on July 6, 2007

How about a Pipe Organ?
posted by Floydd at 11:13 AM on July 6, 2007

Well... first off, I am an undergraduate music major who has played piano for 11 years, so obviously I'm biased.

I don't know what else I would suggest trying to "switch" for, but if your father-in-law really wants to buy you a piano... let him buy you a piano. Unless you live in a very small apartment or house with absolutely no space, I think you should accept the gift - a nice-looking upright can just sit against a wall and you can think of it as furniture until your kids are old enough and MIGHT be interested in learning to play.

If a regular piano is too stuffy for your design sensibilities, you might be able to get a used piano that has taken a bit of a beating and might have a more down-to-earth character.

In any case, my point is I don't think you will regret accepting a piano from someone. If you accept it and really don't like it, regift it to a musician friend in need (trust me, they would love you for it), or simply sell it (you might want to wait until dad-in-law passes away until you do this, but hey, how long could that possibly take?).

Well, that's my answer from a musician's POV - if you were looking more for family-relationships what's-the-best-way-to-say-no advice, I'm sure others can help you there.
posted by Zephyrial at 11:16 AM on July 6, 2007

Can you tell him you don't have space for a piano? Can you tell him none of you play the fucking piano and that your kids are too young now? I mean, this is a fucking ridiculous gift for your family (not so much for his other daughter's family).
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:18 AM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

What about an electric keyboard? I have a Kurzweil that my parents bought me years ago. It is a great little machine! Lots of bells and whistles, but it sounds great, has weighted keys (for a realistic experience), and you can use headphones so as to not disturb others.

These are not the keyboards you played around with when you were younger! They are full size, with quality sound, and lots of different instrumental options (over 80 on the model that I have, if I recall). This looks about like the one that I have, feature wise. Very impressive machines!!
posted by odi.et.amo at 11:20 AM on July 6, 2007

grandfather clock?
posted by chickaboo at 11:21 AM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

My parents turned down a gift piano when I was pretty young, and I was rather mad about it when I found out. Your children may vary. But.
posted by kmennie at 11:28 AM on July 6, 2007

Take the piano. For heaven's sake - your kids are at the exact age when messing around with a piano will have all sorts of good, long-lasting effect. Even if it just sits there looking pretty for fifteen years until you sell it to pay for college for a kid - take the piano!

(And the "bourgeois pig" thing - get over yourself! It's a piano, not a Hummer.)

Finally, isn't this her dad we're talking about? Why aren't you letting her handle it? If the man who someday will be lucky enough to marry my daughter tried to pull a switcheroonie on me when I went to buy her a gift, that'd be the beginning of some extreme ill will.
posted by jbickers at 11:31 AM on July 6, 2007 [6 favorites]

FYI - we had our pianos tuned twice a year - a little after when the heat was turned on for the season and a month or so after it was turned off. These periods typically represent the greatest humidity changes which will affect the tuning the most.
posted by plinth at 11:32 AM on July 6, 2007

On the other side of Plinth, my parents never really ever got my piano (the actual piano, not the electric keyboard that I spoke of a few posts earlier) tuned. Fortunately, it stayed in tune with ITSELF, which meant it was still playable. I'm sure it's about a half or whole step from tuned at this point, but a chord still sounds good on it ;)
posted by odi.et.amo at 11:36 AM on July 6, 2007

1. It's not your 15K to spend.

2. Your kids will not be 3 years and 6 months old forever. In fact, for very long at all. People tend to learn to play the piano when they are kids. And when there is one in the house.

3. It's a gift.

4. Repeat #3 until you have an epiphany of your own.
posted by sageleaf at 11:36 AM on July 6, 2007

Tell him you don't want a piano and that if he buys it you will sell it. Get your wife to back you up on this.

If he buys the piano anyway...sell the piano.

This is not a hard one.
posted by Megafly at 11:37 AM on July 6, 2007

How about a player piano?
posted by Robert Angelo at 11:38 AM on July 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

Take the piano. For heaven's sake - your kids are at the exact age when messing around with a piano will have all sorts of good, long-lasting effect.

I totally agree. Even if the kids never play seriously, having a musical instrument in the house that they can readily sit down at and tinker with is great for kids.
posted by scottreynen at 11:44 AM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

I am totally against forcing gifts on someone. If it were me, and I had made my position about having no desire for a piano abundantly clear, I would inform the gift-giver that if he gives me a piano, I will sell it immediately and buy ____ with the money.

Think about what a pain in the ass this piano will be when you move. I hope he has volunteered to pay for the moving company?
posted by desjardins at 11:44 AM on July 6, 2007

Actually a player piano is nice - it's endlessly entertaining for kids and grandkids, and I don't know your religious preference but it's nice at Christmas time for carols
posted by chickaboo at 11:45 AM on July 6, 2007

Tell him you don't want a piano and that if he buys it you will sell it. Get your wife to back you up on this.

If he buys the piano anyway...sell the piano.

This is a recipe for hard feelings. It's also a giant extended middle finger pointed at a guy who is trying to do something nice for his daughter. Dads don't take those very well.
posted by jbickers at 11:45 AM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh, I misread and didn't see that it was your wife's father giving a gift to her.

Yeah. Butt out.
posted by desjardins at 11:46 AM on July 6, 2007

I can think of a million things I would rather spend $15K on, but he won't stand for it.

Well, it's not your money to spend, is it?
posted by phatkitten at 11:46 AM on July 6, 2007

If you really have this bug about a piano then you could phrase it more delicately by saying that you agree about the value of the piano but you can't know what Skippy and Sparky will really be interested in musically. You agree about the value of a musical education but you'd rather support them in lessons on their instrument of interest than push them into the ones that match your priorities.

But really... "bourgeois pig?" It's a piano, not a hose to use on pro-union demonstrators. You may disagree with your father-in-law's priorities and prefer that he spend the $15,000 on a college fund but there's nothing shameful in accepting a gift and certainly nothing class-based about a piano. Your kid could just as likely fall in love with ragtime as Brahams.
posted by phearlez at 11:46 AM on July 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

.... Well I'd take the piano, but I'm not you. You don't play and if you don't play they are huge wastes of space.

Do you have any intention of learning to play or having your kids learn? because if not, DO NOT LET HIM BUY YOU A PIANO. Even if it is a cool piano. It will sit in your house unused till he dies and you sell it. Go with option two and let him buy you some furnature. A really nice dining table and chairs would be option one on my non-musical list of thing.

On the other hand if it is a grand piano you could close the top and just eat off that... At least it will see some use that way.
posted by magikker at 11:47 AM on July 6, 2007

If it's an issue of space, and you can't find a suitable upright: "Thank you so much for your generosity, but we don't have a place to put it." It's up to him if he offers an alternative. It would be rude to ask.

If it's because you would rather have something else (which is what it sounds like), then, sorry, he is not offering something else. Accept his generoisty with a smile. (Sure, you could sell it later, as suggested, since it's YOURS once he gives it to you, but are you willing to damage your relationship by doing so? I doubt he would just think that was ok and not be hurt by it.)

Note: If you turn down the gift of a piano, and he buys one for your sister-in-law's family, but nothing for you... no whining allowed! You turned down the gift.

Nor could I with good concience try to prey upon his generosity by trying to "trick him" (your words) into giving you something else.

Also, you never know; your 3 year old could show an interest in playing, and maybe not too far in the future.

Plus, he is offering it to his daughter, not his son-in-law.
posted by The Deej at 11:50 AM on July 6, 2007

Unless you don't have the room I agree with the just-take-it faction. I'm sure you were just being factitious but your question comes off as a little snobby.

You really want to deprive your kids of growing up with a piano and insult your father-in-law because your friends might think you're bourgeois?

Now if you just don't have the room tell him that.
posted by Bonzai at 11:51 AM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Reading the answers so far, it occurs to me that you'll want to keep in mind that any bickering over whether or not he's going to get you (er, rather, his grandchildren? your wife?) a piano, after having politely stated your piano discomfort, is venturing into that awful thing where people bicker over the bill in a restaurant. The No-I'LL-pay-reallys think they're being polite; they're not, and they're making everybody else at the table miserable.

Your children can make good use of a piano; its being overpriced will not negatively affect that. Unless your wife is screaming out against it, it's just rude to make a fuss.
posted by kmennie at 11:52 AM on July 6, 2007

If you have room for an upright, do some research and/or visit local piano shops and scope out a beauty. A piano is a wonderful thing to have, and if you can spare the extra five-feet-squared to house one and don't loathe the idea of having it around, just take it. If father-in-law is willing to drop fifteen large on a grand, less than that will buy you a stunner of an upright and seems like a solid compromise.

I mean, it's possible your kids will never play it, your friends will never play it, your sister-in-law will never visit, and you'll end up five years down the road with a dusty, out-of-tune gift, and if that's a problem, it's time to steer the f-i-l with some hard ruddering; but, biased though I am, having loved our shitty brokedown upright growing up, I have a hard time seeing a piano as a bad addition to a home.
posted by cortex at 11:53 AM on July 6, 2007

I have in-laws that periodically become dead-set on giving gifts to my husband and me. Even if they're things we don't want the in-laws still give them because they're trying to be nice and look out for us. I've learned that in my case it's really not a battle worth fighting, and it's probably not in your case either. If I were you I'd ask for an upright piano, shove it against the wall, let your kids bang on it, and thank God that your father-in-law got you something nice-looking instead of a velvet Elvis painting or something.
posted by christinetheslp at 11:56 AM on July 6, 2007

Ask for a digital piano instead. They can look pretty stunning, they never need tuning, are easy to move and can play nice classical music by themselves.
posted by esilenna at 11:59 AM on July 6, 2007

Plus, he is offering it to his daughter, not his son-in-law.

A fine point. Let your wife pick the piano she wants. To do otherwise would be (in my I-want-a-piano jeaously) prickishly ungrateful.
posted by DWRoelands at 11:59 AM on July 6, 2007

I'll point out something else - this is a man who has thirty grand to blow on two pianos. If you decline now, he may decide that you simply don't want any gifts or assistance from him in the future. And that could be a problem, in the future.

Honestly, its a piano. Piano's are beautiful objects, and children as young as yours will benefit from having music in the house. Unless you really don't have room or they can't get it in the house, accept the gift. Not doing so will lead to many hard feelings. Trust me on this part.

Did you know there is a Bluebook for Pianos? Maybe you can use it to pick out a $5000 - $7000 model that you "fell in love with" and thus won't feel so bad about the expense of the gift.
posted by anastasiav at 12:01 PM on July 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

If your wife doesn't want the piano, then she can politely decline. However, you have no right to expect another gift of similar value.
posted by 26.2 at 12:04 PM on July 6, 2007

Take the piano now. Let your kids play until they get sick of it, which if they're like the lion's share of kids, they will. Sell the piano after dropping lots of hints to the father in-law about what a shame it is that the kids aren't more interested in his wonderful gift.
posted by yellowcandy at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2007

Take the piano. Pianos aren't bourgeous. They can be marvelously revolutionary. Plus no one said you had to play classical on it, after all. And every child needs at least some musical education to be wellrounded. Pianos are perfect in that music theory is much easier to grok with a keyboard.

When I was young I started out banging on my grandma's old upright. Now I am middleaged and I am a songwriter. Life is awesome.

Take the piano!
posted by konolia at 12:13 PM on July 6, 2007

Ask about a harp. Think about it: don't you want a big, golden harp in your steampunk submarine? Easy to learn, incomparably beautiful, moderately mobile, (I used to move stage manage a recital hall, so I know this is true, though utmost care is required) dreadfully expensive. You might even be able to rent it out for cash, though of course that's a time sink.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:30 PM on July 6, 2007

Ask about a harp.

My favorite thing ever said about a harp: "It's a good instrument for any Christian because it keeps you humble and keeps you at home. You can't run around with a harp. Having one is like living with an elderly parent in very poor health: it's hard to get them in and out of cars, and it's hard to keep them happy. It takes fourteen hours to tune a harp, which remains in tune for about twenty minutes, or until somebody opens the door."
posted by jbickers at 12:36 PM on July 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

Why don't you poke around the Baldwin site? The verticals come in styles that range from utilitarian to "look, *I* have a piano!" to, well, this. Perhaps more practical in a home where nobody (yet) plays is a MIDI player piano conversion kit (Wikipedia suggests PianoDisc or Pianomation) or even the Yamaha Disklavier. Oh we had a lot of fun with those in grad school.... Basically, instead of traditional player piano rolls, the piano itself becomes a MIDI playback device. You load .mid files of your favorite piano music of any genre and century, and it plays. You get piano sound, all the class of a Nordstrom shoe department, no tipping necessary.
posted by ilsa at 12:40 PM on July 6, 2007

Maybe it isn't about the piano. It is about the giving.
I read this as He has decided to give the sister with the playing ability and kids who also play a piano. So now FIL feels has to give the other daughter a piano.
If you and your wife are dead set against the piano approach the FIL with the idea of setting up two 529 College plans for the kids. I don't think he will be offended.
posted by Gungho at 12:44 PM on July 6, 2007

For people of certain generations and cultures, having a piano in the living room spoke of having arrived to a desired station in life, of having achieved the prosperity, stability, and the cultural temperament that allowed the aquistion and care of a fine musical instrument. Perhaps that's what you are reacting to, when you call it bourgeois. Perhaps in today's culture, that same moment of arrival might be marked by the appearance of a 50" flat screen TV in the living room, instead of a piano.

This piano isn't for you. It's from a man to his daughter and more so, for his grandchildren. There's something sad about the general state of being when one cannot easily find it within themselves to graciously receive the stewardship of a generous gift, especially knowing how much this means to the man who is able to make this offer.
posted by jamaro at 12:51 PM on July 6, 2007 [5 favorites]

You agree about the value of a musical education but you'd rather support them in lessons on their instrument of interest [. . .]

Knowing a bit of piano never hurt anyone, especially anyone with musical aspirations. Lots of musical concepts are just easier to see on the piano. I'm primarily a bass guitarist, but the little bit of piano I've learned has only helped me and I wish I knew more (and I wish my parents had been cool enough to provide one for me to learn on when I was young).

Here's a guarantee: kids won't learn piano at all if they don't have one to bang on. Just having one around might encourage your kids to take an interest in music, and that's good for their education in general (not just in music class). If one of your kids does take an interest in music, imagine explaining to him or her that you could have had a nice piano to practice on, but you didn't want to take it for fear of looking "bourgeois."

If no one takes to it, they're still pretty to look at.
posted by wheat at 1:07 PM on July 6, 2007

It's not a horse, you don't have to feed it or muck out it's stall.

A thought experiment for you: next year, FIL decides to give his daughters each $15,000 -- except for your wife, since you were so ungrateful and refused to accept his previous gift. How do you feel now?

Accepting a gift graciously is a way of giving back to the giver. If your friends think you are a bourgeois pig for having a piano, make friends with someone who plays the piano. I know a struggling single mom who would love to have a piano for her child -- if you live in the southwest, I'll come take the piano off your hands and deliver it to her, if that would help relieve your guilt.
posted by yohko at 1:11 PM on July 6, 2007

Look, youre not going to use it, so why not take it and then in a few months of it collecting dust just donate it? I'm sure there are schools that would love it. You can even write it off on your taxes. This is win-win.

Personally, it bothers me to see a nice unused piano sitting in someone's house as "furniture." Christ, there has to been tons of kids who would love to get their fingers on a real piano. We had an unused piano when I was growing up. It retrospect its a bit embarrassing.
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:12 PM on July 6, 2007

kids won't learn piano at all if they don't have one to bang on.

They can learn on a cheapo synth. If their interests last more than 12 months then its time to think of spending some real money. You dont buy a 60s fender for a kid who wants to play guitar. You buy him the cheapest strat knock-off you can find.
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:13 PM on July 6, 2007

Dude, let your wife handle it.
posted by Wild_Eep at 1:26 PM on July 6, 2007

Disclaimer: IAAPianoOwner. I dreamed all my life of having a piano and spent a lot of my childhood cultivating friends with pianos while teaching myself to play on my cruddy (yet beloved) $20 discount store Magnus chord organ. Finally I had the room and geographical settledness to pop for a piano of my own, and my dinged-up Yamaha studio model and I are very happy together, thanks.

That said, what is with these ostensibly generous but actually control-freaky relatives who impose their gift taste on others? The whole point in giving a gift is for it to be something the recipient actually likes and will value. Deep pockets are all well and good, but if my nearest and dearest tried to foist some horrid free SUV upon me or have my living room painted puce, I'd tell 'em right where to get off in the most merchant-marine language possible.

Sounds like you aren't in a position to do that with dad-in-law, though, so if you have to take the piano, I say go for the outrageously elegant, compact and great-sounding vintage Steinway Vertegrand, a grand piano in an upright configuration. The ones with crosscut wood are especially beautiful. Notably less than 15 grand, but invest some of the leftovers in a climate control system, a handsome lamp or two, a big stack of learn-to-play books and kiddie sheet music, etc. Also have it tuned at least twice a year whether it gets played or not.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:32 PM on July 6, 2007

Knowing a bit of piano never hurt anyone, especially anyone with musical aspirations.

Yes -- I'd even go so far as to say that regardless of one's "home" instrument, not additionally knowing piano is a significant handicap if you ever want to go beyond playing in other people's ensembles.
posted by mendel at 1:32 PM on July 6, 2007

Oh, and you might need to get some restoration work done on the innards of an antique piano too, so that could eat up the rest of the 15 grand.
posted by FelliniBlank at 1:34 PM on July 6, 2007

What about a clavichord?
posted by bluebird at 1:47 PM on July 6, 2007

I grew up with a piano in the house. Even though I bagged out on lessons early and never pursued a music education, I'm glad I had it, and it probably made me a better person in some way. Let him give you the damn piano, for the sake of family harmony (in all senses of the word).
posted by matildaben at 1:56 PM on July 6, 2007

1. Accept the piano, because your kids may really enjoy it -- and music, like many things, is something that comes much more easily if you take an interest at a young age and have the necessary tools right at hand (so keep it in a high-traffic area, open, so that they can touch the keys even if they're just walking by);

2. Accept the piano, because you can always sell it if you get stuck financially;

3. Accept the piano, because you never know -- perhaps you or your wife will enjoy it eventually, and it is a good conversation piece for parties.
posted by davejay at 2:29 PM on July 6, 2007

I got a piano from the in-laws last year and the process certainly brought me closer to my wife's family (scroll down to the end of that post for the happy outcome). Perhaps you can convince your father-in-law to let you help him find a great used upright, and have him invest the remainder in a college fund for your kids. If you end up going that route, you can find some good resources linked from my piano page at backpack.
posted by danblaker at 3:09 PM on July 6, 2007

Piano is an easy entrance into the musical world. You learn scales, memorize the sounds of the notes, and learn to read sheet music - all musical skills that help with any instrument. Even if you don't think anyone will play with it, they will; even if your kids simply start by idly poking at a key, it may set off a spark.

I can think of a million things I would rather spend $15K on
That's great, but you're not the one thinking of it nor paying for it. It's a gift from father to daughter. It's not your decision to make.
posted by Meagan at 3:22 PM on July 6, 2007

It's not about you.

Your father-in-law is giving his daughter and his grandchildren a gift that will help them learn a very important instrument if they are interested in any future musical education. The only contribution you should be making to this process is presenting your grateful thanks to a man who is capable of making such generous gestures.
posted by winna at 3:33 PM on July 6, 2007

I'm with most people in saying that a piano is a cool thing to have around, and pianos-as-possesion doesn't trip my relatively sensitive bourgeois pigosity sensors; that said the one compelling argument against getting a piano is that they really are a pain in the ass to move. If you think you are likely to have many unreimbursed moves in your future, that may be reasonable grounds for resistance to this gift.
posted by yarrow at 4:03 PM on July 6, 2007

It is most certainly about YOU.

Your FIL is trying to force a 450 pound piece of furniture that you told him you didn't want into YOUR home.

She may be his daughter but she is YOUR WIFE and the two of you live in YOUR home, not his.

This whole situation is a power play on his part, and if you don't stop him on this one, what is to stop him from buying you other furniture that you don't want, or a pet or god knows what else.

this is not about music, it is about power.
posted by Megafly at 4:24 PM on July 6, 2007

Take the piano. 3 is the perfect age for it, and if many of their relatives play then it's quite possible your kids will have basic musical ability.

Aside from that, maybe it's not a scrooge-like epiphany, but a sudden windfall he's received, and he's thought 'what can I do with this that will provide a lasting benefit for my kids/grandkids?' Or maybe he's been putting the money aside until he could afford to get one for both of them at once.

You haven't mentioned
- what your wife thinks
- why he'd like to give you a piano, in particular (have you even asked him?)
- whether you've mentioned to him that you are surprised at the idea of a piano

If you can't talk about these things, then your relationship is not good enough to refuse the gift. Under no circumstances can you think of it as $15,000 to spend on something (unless he says exactly this after you talk to him).
posted by jacalata at 11:37 PM on July 6, 2007

I would take the piano, and save a little money each week so your kids can have piano lessons.

It's a very cool gift.
posted by lucien at 8:26 AM on July 7, 2007

Your FIL is trying to force a 450 pound piece of furniture that you told him you didn't want into YOUR home.

Where does it say he told him he didn't want it in his home?

This whole situation is a power play on his part... this is not about music, it is about power.

That is a HUGE assumption to make based on the information provided.
posted by The Deej at 9:20 AM on July 7, 2007

Ask for a $10,000 piano and ask him to save the remainder until the kids are ready for lessons, so he can continue giving an ongoing musical gift to his grandkids.
posted by iurodivii at 12:20 PM on July 7, 2007

I don't know what's up with you and the FIL. But you have two kids and you aren't accepting a free piano? I'm sort of at a loss here. Are you allergic to pianos? Did a piano kill your parents?

Whether your children grow up to become musicians or not, they will be better human beings for growing up with a piano in the house. I'm quite serious.

I took piano lessons for two or three years as a kid. I hated it. Hate-hate-hated it. But it meant I could pick guitar up really easily ten years later, which I love-love-loved, and I have to say that it's wonderful to still be able to sit down at a piano at a party and be able to riff. These things do stay with you if you learn them young.

But it's more than just playing music. Learning a musical instrument - and piano seems to be the best for this, because of its very linear, very obvious layout - will help your kids understand everything from math to poetry better. It can enrich your life to. They give a lot of love back if you give them just a little.

Take the damn piano, perhaps adding iurodivii's suggestion in to the mix.

(But don't then force your kids to take lessons out of resentment or trying to milk value out of this so-called gift horse. Suggest it, make it a fun idea, but let them come to it initially.)

Sorry, I'm just a little aghast that a parent wouldn't be accepting a free piano (it would be fun and healthy for you too, you know). Maybe that's a little judgemental of me.
posted by poweredbybeard at 8:11 PM on July 7, 2007

You could also try looking into one of those newfangled electronic pianos known as "silent pianos". They're a little smaller than your standard upright piano, and a lot lighter.

They sound a little tinny and synthesized - they are, after all, electronic and need their power cables plugged in before they can start up. The bonus to the tinny synth-sound is that you can plug in a pair of headphones and ta-da, no-one but yourself can hear the music. Excellent for cramped apartment complexes and the like, or beginner pianists who are embarrassed of not immediately sounding like Juilliard professors.
posted by Xere at 5:06 AM on July 8, 2007