Tackling inequality through music
Donate YOUR piano and
Change lives
Inspiring and unleashing musical creativity by making quality instruments accessible and sustainable for all
REPAIRABILITY + HELPING UNDERFUNDED SCHOOLS + WASTE PREVENTION + PRESERVING SKILLS + SUSTAINABILITY +
WHy YOU SHOULD CONSider DONATING YOUR PIANO?
The plight of many schools and rising inequality are important issues but there are many other reasons we believe you should consider donating your piano to organisations in need.
YOU CAN Make A Difference Today
Donate YOUR PIANOMUSIC EDUCATION IN CRISIS
The UK has a rich history of music making but music education has been eroded over the last decade with a chronic lack of investment. Teachers and educators are doing more than ever with less and many students lack the opportunities of previous generations.
Serious inequality exists and is widening
Reflecting a wider change to equality in equality, music education is now more unequal than ever.
World class education being undermined
Music is crucial part of a balanced and rounded education. After suffering years of underfunding and chronic underinvestment many schools now lack the equipment to support our world-leading teaching efforts. As a result a worrying number of schools now have no music program at all.
Music is valuable to us all
Just think of the times you've listened to your favourite song, danced the night away, or listened to an incredible performance. These moments are just one part of our world-leading creative industries that impacts all our lives. Together they generate £116bn of value to the UK economy and are one of our great exports.
Not only that, susic provides children and young people with unique opportunities to express themselves, explore creativity, work hard at something and shine. Experiences that stay with them and can shape their entire lives but sadly more children are being denied this opportunity.
YOU CAN Make A Difference Today
Donate YOUR PIANOWould your school or organisation benefit from a piano?
Your school or organisation can apply for an instrument or instruments to help you enrich lives within your community. We have a form that starts the process, this helps us to understand your needs, we can then carefully match your organisation with a quality piano from one of our generous donors.
We can organise everything: delivering with professional piano movers, tunings ourselves or putting you in touch with local tuners, and helping with fundraising or contributions to delivery costs.
What does Pianos Equals aim to achieve?
"Our vision at Millers Music is to inspire and unleash musical creativity by making high quality instruments accessible and sustainable for all". Simon Pollard, Managing Director
We passionately believe in business being a force for good but through our work in local communities we uncovered huge problems in music education and provision. We created Piano Equals as a first-of-its-kind, unique piano reuse and recycling scheme to help tackle some of these and contribute to some of the biggest challenges we face: namely widening inequality and our transition to a low carbon economy, also known as Net Zero.
We believe sustainability is an opportunity for the Music Industry to lead the way to a more circular and equitable future. Instruments have been sustainable for centuries, especially pianos. If made to a high quality and with careful maintenance they can last for decades It is only recently that many products have become less repairable and less sustainable. This is something we're committed to changing.
You can find out more about how Piano Equals aims to achieve this below.
YOU CAN Make A Difference Today
Donate YOUR PIANOThe huge opportunity FOR US ALL in reusing old pianos
Pianos, and musical instruments generally, hold a special place in our hearts. They are unlike many other possessions in our homes, often having poured our heart and soul into learning with them as trusty partners . Quality acoustic pianos can last for decades, even centuries with careful maintenance but many are no longer desirable for customers to buy as tastes change.
The most sustainable pianos are the ones we already have!
Lots of acoustic pianos were actually made in the UK or Europe and so their carbon cost has already been incurred. There is only a small, incremental carbon cost to assess and move the instrument to a new home where is can give years or decades more service. Better still, we use skills in the UK to move and maintain these instruments which will build a more sustainable future for us all.
Can't schools just buy digital pianos instead?
They can and digital pianos can be a great option for many organisations, they are lighter, more flexible, and verstatile but they also come with their own challenges. They have a much shorter lifespan than an acoustic piano, some new electronic instruments only last 1-3 years then they can be difficult, if not impossible, to repair because of a lack of spare parts, schematics, or repairers. We are advocates for reusing quality electronic instruments and have provided these to schools as part of our scheme. We believe a mix of acoustic and digital instruments is often the best solution.