Basel - Piano rental or piano practice rooms available ?

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Hello : My husband works in Basel , and my teenage son and I will be visiting him over this summer. My son studies piano as a hobby, and I am looking for options for him to continue piano practice while he is in Basel. What are the options for (a) renting a piano on a weekly/monthly basis ; (b) purchasing a used piano at reasonable cost, that will be functional ; (c) renting/finding practice rooms to practice in ? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

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Contact the Basel musikhochschule. They will have practice rooms though priority will be given to their students. Never hurts to ask and see if you can book in advance:

http://www.hsm-basel.ch/home.php

How will you be around for? AFAIK, its not possible to rent a piano unless its for a minimum of 12 months. As for purchasing a used piano, check out www.ricardo.ch .

Do bear in mind that it will take some time to sell the piano when you leave. If you are here for 3 months or less, its best to rent practice rooms.

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Please do NOT try to use the Musik Akademie's practice rooms. There are not nearly enough pianos and rooms for the students as it is. Your better bet would be to look into community centers, church choir rooms, private clubs (singverein). Keep an eye out on unibas.ch/markt for hobby rooms or practice rooms with a piano available. They come up all the time. Otherwise just post a "Wanted" note at your neighborhood Migros/Coop stating your needs.

For the used piano, again, keep your eye out in the Gratis section of Unibas (most of the people I know got their pianos for free - good ones too!), or check Ricardo.ch.

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Summerrain : Thank you very much for the comments and links. My husband will be there for 3 years at least. In the US, my kids play on traditional pianos - we have an an upright and a 6 foot grand. My husband said that we may not be allowed to keep such a piano in the apartment in Basel. So, I am also thinking of possibly looking for an 88-key electronic piano with headphones. It appears that you are well trained in piano and music. Would you be able to give me a comparision between the traditional and electronic pianos, in terms of their effectiveness for a student to learn/practice ?

10:30 - Thank you very much for the comments. One question : What is unibas.ch ?

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www.unibas.ch

Basel University

https://markt.unibas.ch/

Marktplatz = University Market Place

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midwestlady, I am not sure about Basel as I live in Zürich. As far as I am aware, according to the mieterverband (tenants association of some sort) playing music constitutes part and parcel of apartment living. You are allowed to play up to 2-3 hours a day freely - unless its drums or trumpet which special permission must be sought:

"Sofern Ihnen die Mietsache nicht ausdrücklich und ohne Einschränkungen zum Musizieren vermietet wurde, müssen Sie im üblichen Umfange auf die Mitmieterschaft Rücksicht nehmen. Im Allgemeinen geht man davon aus, dass in jeder Mietwohnung ausserhalb der Ruhezeiten 2 - 3 Stunden pro Tag musiziert werden darf. Dieses Recht kann durch einen Mietvertrag oder eine Hausordnung nicht eingeschränkt werden. Eine Ausnahme gilt für sehr laute Instrumente wie Schlagzeug oder Trompete. "

Here is a thread that you might find useful:

Music instruments and flats - do they mix?

Of course that rule is simply for when you have neighbours who are fussy and tell you to stop - you can then politely point out to them that rule. Music comes from my apartment about 3-4 hours a day (excluding lessons) and I've never had a single complaint (TOUCH WOOD!) despite living above 2 offices.

If your husband is here for 3 years, are you and your son planning to stay long term? I got a little confused there as I got the impression from your posts that you were only visiting for holidays.

So, some options personally I would take, considering the factors you mentioned:

1. If you are here for long term, and your son is planning to take it seriously, either:

a. rent a piano with the silent option.

Musikhug and Jecklin offer pianos with that - good brands too, like Yamaha, Schimmels, Bechsteins (although the Bechstein silent system is totally different from the technology of the Yamahas and Schimmels) etc. It still serves the function of the upright, but it has the silent option where you can play during quiet hours or late in the night. The rest of the time, you can play freely. The silent option must not be substituted for practice times as the effect is like what it is on a digital - the sound and touch completely changes.

I personally wouldnt encourage the clarinova route for your son if you are here for long term - whom you've indicated is a early advanced player if you are here for the long term as it will seriously affect technique (think how the real piano works, and how striking the keys different produces different sounds on just one key which the clarinovas cannot achieve, and you'll see my point).

I did explore that option of a digital piano once and as much as as they are technologically advanced now, they cannot compare to the the real uprights and grands, touch wise. Thats just my opinion anyways.

b. get a second hand from ricardo . Make sure you get a proper technician to take a look. Some pianos on there go for cheap but turn out needing alot of work (hammers worn etc) which costs just as much to get it back up. You dont want to end up with a white elephant.

2. If you are just here for the holidays , a clarinova will do as its just 3 months and your son can go back to banging his proper one when he gets back to the US.

Good luck in your search and welcome to Basel in advance - if your son is keen, lets get in touch. I am always looking for fellow pianists to have a go on 4 hands pieces like this!!

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Summerrain : Thank you very much for the clear guidance. At this time, my son and I will visit my husband during summer, and holidays, as he is in Grade 11 in a USA school, and he wishes to finish high school in USA and then go to college. I want to have some option for him to continue his practice at Basel, when we visit, as his teacher gets really upset if he misses practice during vacations. He prefers to play late in the night. So , having a unit in the Basel apartment would be great ! He has played 4-hand and even 8-hand pieces, in the past ( eg Pomp and Circumstances by Elgar). So, if we can get together when we are visiting, I think that would be great ! Zurich is an hour from Basel by train ?

Additionally, he has formed a non-profit org here in Cincinnati, OHIO, called Share The Music, with his piano buddies. They put up piano recitals in various Senior Centers and Old Homes, to entertain Seniors. They have one coming up tomorrow. He was wondering if he could team up with other pianists / piano students and organize a similar piano recital in a church or senior center, while he is in Basel, as a Share The Music event out there. Is this something that might interest you and others in the area ? Perhaps you can PM me, if this interests you.

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Hi midwestlady, if he prefers to play late in the night then headphones are a MUST. The Swiss have a no-noise rule for anything after 10pm, and some buildings like mine have even stricter rules: no noise after 7pm, though people are much more tolerant in the summer months.

Obviously, due to unique situation of the laws here, he does need to put in practice times during the day and not get carried away with the silent/clarinova option just because he prefers to work at night - which I am sure his teacher will notice after he gets back from vacation if he has been.

I am not sure about the scene in Basel or Zurich when it comes to bringing music to the old folks though I have to say that it is an excellent idea, and a great opportunity for him to clock performance hours! Most impressed

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You can often rent hobby rooms, part of the nuclear bunkers under every new Swiss building. You need to contact your landlord or agencies for hobby rooms / Bastelräume near where you live, some here start at Fr 160 per month, often they are fairly soundproof as they are in the cellars,

http://www.immoscout24.ch/IS24Web/_V...12&wl=1&lng=de