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Jack Scott moves in the latest donated piano at Keys 4/4 Kids in St. Paul,Minn.
The emotions evoked by the deaths of used pianos are powerful,and they came flooding in response to a recent article in The New York Times about their frequent disposal and the reasons for it. But when it comes to keeping old pianos alive,owners find that their feelings collide with the reality of expensive repairs and inexpensive,easily available brand-new replacements.
Still,a few options exist.
One is a charity called Keys 4/4 Kids,based in St. Paul,but it helps only if you live in parts of the Midwest,and even then there is no guarantee of survival. The 88 Keys Foundation arranges for donations in the Sacramento area. Pianoadoption.com is an online clearinghouse,but the pianos offered have not been vetted. And the practitioners of a mini-genre of the visual arts — sculptures and designs using piano parts — might be happy to take in instruments.
“If people want to get in touch to see if I’m interested in something,absolutely,” said Louise Philbrick,an artist in Portland,Me.,who often creates works out of piano parts. “I try to honor the piano by giving it a new life.”
Keys 4/4 Kids accepts all pianos and will pick them up free if they are nearby and valued at more than $1,000. The owner is asked to make a donation to pay for the move for an instrument valued at less than $1,000. Keys 4/4 Kids does the appraisals by telephone and e-mail,said its executive director,Newell Hill. It has satellite offices in Chicago and Kansas City,Mo.
Moving is handled at competitive rates by a for-profit piano-moving company owned by Mr. Hill,he said. The pianos are refurbished and sold:about 850 last year,he said. Most are priced under $1,000.
The proceeds pay for the foundation’s overhead and for piano refurbishing. Pianos that are not worth keeping are used for an after-school program in which schoolchildren are taught about piano mechanisms and then get to paint the instruments. Some are used in a version of the street-piano project that has popped up in two dozen cities,with passers-by encouraged to play on pianos placed in public spaces.
Keys 4/4 Kids also donates refurbished pianos to needy families and institutions. It gave away 18 last year. Starting this fall,financial grants will also be made to art and music teachers,Mr. Hill said.
The pianist Lara Downes founded 88 Keys to support arts education in schools. It acts as a clearinghouse for used pianos,matching schools with donors. The schools pay for the move,Ms. Downes said,and technicians in her network of piano acquaintances donate basic repairs. She said the foundation had placed about 50 pianos in northern California in the last four years.
Along with the schoolchildren who benefit,the donors gain from the transaction,Ms. Downes said. “There’s this real feeling of gratitude,knowing this instrument is going on to do something else,” she said.
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in the Manistee National Forest in western Michigan said it would be happy to accept donations.
“We’re looking for pianos in playable condition,” said Lazaro Vega,the jazz programmer for Blue Lake Public Radio,a station owned by the camp,based in Twin Lake,Mich.,about a four-hour drive from Detroit. “This is another lifeline for the continuation of them,” Mr. Vega added. “They would be played.”
The station’s general manager,Dave Myers,said in an e-mail that a technician would assess a potential donated piano in the area,and that the camp would pay for the move if it decided to take it. As for pianos far from the area,Mr. Myers said,“We’ll have to decide on a case-by-case basis.”
