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As a pianist of over 20 years, I have racked up crazy tools from books to sheet music, to metronomes. The one thing these all have in common is they need a place to be put. I have always liked a piano bench with storage for this reason.
A bench that has a storage compartment for me is so simple, yet smart. I have loaded so many folders that I have misplaced over the years with sheet music and pieces that I was learning. Having storage directly underneath where you sit is such a nice feeling as you don’t have to go anywhere to grab what you might need. Let’s go over some of my favorites below.
Skip Ahead? I believe there is a big difference in quality between $50 and $150. You will notice a big difference and for that reason, I recommend the CPS Imports Pillow Top Bench.
Things To Consider
Budget: Some of these can get quite pricey as you can use these for really nice pianos or for just a standard keyboard. Figure out what you’re looking to spend and stick to that budget, you will be able to find something nice for any price range.
Composition: This is something that will definitely reflect in the price as the nicer the bench is made, the more expensive it will be. Typically, leather will be expensive. You can tell when you sit on an expensive seat as it feels very stable and comfortable.
Color: They come in a variety of colors so you will be happy to pick and choose what matches your keyboard the best. Most will come with different color options, so if you find something you like, but want a different color, be sure to check.
How Serious Of A Pianist Are You? If you are a very serious musician you might want to invest in a quality bench as it is something you will be sitting on quite often. You will definitely notice a slight difference in quality as you go up in price range.
Posture
Make sure you are always trying to practice good posture when playing the piano. You’re going to think that it’s not that important as it doesn’t really directly affect your ability that you can play at. However, in the long run, having good posture will lead to you being able to play pieces more effectively and at a higher level.
You run the risk of running into back problems or joint pain by having bad posture while playing. This is something that takes hours of playing for years on end to show itself, but it definitely does happen.
1) Make sure your feet can touch the ground completely. If you are smaller, you can place a footstool underneath your feet so that you’re not just dangling weight. You can also adjust your bench if it has that ability.
2) Sit towards the front of the bench. This will give you the ultimate form to cover the whole range of keys with good posture.
3) Keep your thighs underneath your keyboard or piano if you can. If you can’t then maybe you want to invest in a new stand or bench so your knees aren’t running into your instrument.
What To Store Inside Your Piano Bench
1) Books are the first thing that comes to mind. I have all of my lesson books and songbooks inside. If you are a beginner, check out my post in which I describe my favorite lesson books for newcomers.
2) Metronomes are essential for all pianists in my opinion. You can store these easily in here. Want to learn more about these? I go super deep into depth in this post on the use of metronomes.
3) Paper to take notes. If you are working on lesson books and you don’t want to write in the book, you can write on loose-leaf paper. Make sure to put a pencil inside the bench as well since you won’t want to try and find one like I always end up doing.
Piano / Keyboard Benches 2019
CPS Imports Pillow Top
This is one of the better products you can look at. It is 100 % leather in the cushion and has 17 buttons that give it a nice look to your eye. It feels great when you sit and also feels good to the touch as well.
The framing is made of solid wood and feels very stable leaving no sound of squeaking.
A big feature to this is that you can adjust the height of your bench quite easily on the sides.
This will go along way if you have people in the house of different heights. I will say that this destroys the cheaper products in every element. It has a better build, appearance, and feel.
Note: This is a hydraulic piano bench. I recently put together a complete list of hydraulic piano benches and I think these are great options.
Overall, I think this is great for a piano. If you only own a keyboard and just need something to sit, this isn’t your pick unless you really desire a nice bench. Because it’s expensive I recommend it only for the serious musicians.
Neewer Duet Wooden Piano Bench
The Neewer Duet is an in-between for very expensive and not so expensive. I presented this option because I think it blows the other ones near its price range out of the water. Everywhere that I have read has also said that this was a nice surprise compared to the other products they tried.
It is made of Polyurethane leather. In other words, it is faux leather, however, this is one of the better fake leathers out there. This one doesn’t smell like others smell and I mean that in a good way.
This provides you with a large amount of space inside and a good seat to sit on and play. No squeak is key and this is another example of this. I keep bringing this up because so many products are built so poorly that they start to squeak over time.
Overall, I like this as an in-between pick. You will most likely be happy with this product in pretty much every way. I didn’t think the padding was as comfortable as the CPS Imports benches, but there’s also a big gap in price there.
SONGMICS Padded Wooden Piano Bench
The Songmics wooden bench is a nice choice since it’s affordable and quality.
I like that I never had a problem with this squeaking on me. There’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with squeaking every time you move while playing.
It is made of faux leather so it’s not going to feel or look as nice. However, it is very cheap so there’s no way you can find real leather at this price.
The storage is nice and wide on the Songmics product. You will find yourself easily able to load it up with all of your books and lesson gear.
Overall, solid for the price. Not going to match up to some of the high-end products, but gets the job done easily for you.
Conclusion
I hope that you found everything you were looking for in this post. These are all examples to give you storage on your bench. If you found this helpful or found I left some good ones out, let me know below!