REQUEST PRE-OWNED STEINWAY & Bösendorfer INVENTORY LIST

Book a Tuning

What is a Baby Grand Piano?

November 03, 2022

What is a Baby Grand Piano?

Most people have used the term “Baby Grand” Piano at one time or another, but does anyone really know what that means? Or if there is even such a thing?

 

Through the years hundreds of sizes, types, and brands of pianos have been called baby grands. And they are probably all correct because there isn't a definitive description of what a baby grand really is. 

 

If you google the term, you get a plethora of descriptions of what size and design parameters of what constitutes a baby grand. Because there is no definitive definition you can believe whatever one you believe to be true, because it's only a name anyhow. 

 

Confusing? You bet.  

 

Many stories on how the term originated floating around out there but nobody knows for sure where it came from.

 

My favorite is that it was a cute term used by a piano company to promote smaller grands and make them seem less imposing and more private home size friendly then their big brother, the Grand Piano.

 

It's as good as any of the origin stories, and I'm sticking with it.

 

In any case there are smaller grand pianos and larger grand pianos and what you call them doesn’t matter, but size does. Larger pianos usually sound and play better than smaller ones.

But the brand and quality level of any size piano changes the playing field.

 

One thing you will hear is that piano tuners prefer to work on the larger pianos dismissing the smaller Baby Grand Pianos. That came about because the smaller pianos are the ones, they usually build to a fit a price point not a quality level (this is not always the case).

 

Just remember this: No matter what you call the smaller instruments They are all technically Grand style pianos, no matter the size.





Also in NorthWest Pianos Blog

How to Choose the Right Digital Piano in 2026: A Beginner's Guide
How to Choose the Right Digital Piano in 2026: A Beginner's Guide

September 28, 2026

Shopping for a digital piano in 2026 can feel overwhelming. The market is flooded with options across every price point, and the technical specifications — weighted keys, polyphony, touch sensitivity, sound engines — can make it hard to know where to start. This guide cuts through the noise and gives you the key things to look for when choosing a digital piano, whether you're buying for yourself or for a child just starting out.

Continue Reading

How AI Is Changing the Way We Learn Piano in 2026
How AI Is Changing the Way We Learn Piano in 2026

September 23, 2026

Learning piano used to mean booking a weekly lesson, sitting down with a teacher, and slowly working through a method book. That still works — but in 2026, an entirely new layer of learning has arrived, and it's powered by artificial intelligence.

Continue Reading

The Lo-Fi Piano Phenomenon: How Ambient and Focus Music Is Creating a New Generation of Piano Listeners — and Buyers
The Lo-Fi Piano Phenomenon: How Ambient and Focus Music Is Creating a New Generation of Piano Listeners — and Buyers

August 28, 2026

If you have spent any time on YouTube, Spotify, or TikTok in 2026, you have almost certainly heard it: the unhurried piano chord, the soft crackle of vinyl, the gentle rain in the background, the tempo that never rushes. Lo-fi music — specifically its piano-centered variants — has become the defining sonic backdrop of concentrated work, study, and intentional rest for a generation of listeners. And it is doing something unexpected in the process: it is turning passive listeners into curious beginners.

Continue Reading