The 10 Best Christmas Gifts for Piano Players

by Elke Galvin August 23, 2023 • 6 minute read
Piano players (and teachers) gift everyone their music for Christmas. But what do you have as a present for them? There's a lot of Christmas-themed gifts around music and the piano out there - but you have to choose wisely. We have a few popular and a few hidden gems for you in our list of the 10 best Christmas gifts for piano players.
Picture of a wrapped present on a piano keyboard
We have really looked far and wide to find the best piano Christmas gifts for piano players of all kinds. Of course, occasions differ, and the best gift for one person might not be the best gift for another, so we applied a whole spectrum of criteria, like overall versatility, value for money, excellent experiences, ratings in our piano community, foolproofness, and yes, fun. Have a look!
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1. Hit the Right Note: The OKTAV Gift Card for Happy Piano Players

OKTAV giftcard on a white dotted wrapping paper
  • This amazing gift unlocks access to over 20,000 pieces of sheet music across all genres and difficulty levels for piano players. It is a bit like Spotify, only for sheet music. Have you ever tried buying sheet music for a piano player? It is really hard, you have to know things like what genre they like best, how well they really play, and what they already own.

With the OKTAV gift card for Christmas, you don’t have to worry about any of this.

Piano players just

  • sign up,
  • choose the genres they like,
  • select their piano level, and
  • discover sheet music will love! From beginners to virtuosos!

There are also extra features, like videos and printouts, to keep any piano player going. Also, if you are looking for a last-minute gift, this one is perfect.


2. Budget-Friendly: Piano Wear

A couple wearing piano themed shirts

These shirts are the perfect Christmas gift if you’re not sure what to give to a piano-playing person because you don’t know them very well, but you DO know they play the piano, plus they have a sense of humor.


3. For Absolute Beginners: Prep That Piano!

Piano key stickers

Once you have trained yourself to see the C on the piano you can’t unsee it (say that out loud to grasp the full beauty of this sentence!). But beginners may be happy to have something to help them see which key is which. These stickers will help. And they can be removed without a trace, which is so much better than labeling the piano keys with an editing pen.

piano chart wrap

If you are opposed to the thought of sticking anything onto piano keys, you could wrap this chart up nicely. Sidenote: It also creates a nicely-sized Christmas present.


4. Playful & Cute: The LEGO Grand Piano

lego grand piano

Make no mistake – this adorable little Grand Piano by LEGO is NOT a toy for little children. It is already on the way to becoming a valuable collector’s item, and has won the “Toy of the Year 2021” award by the toy association. Its 25 tiny keys all come with their own string and hammer. The seat is height-adjustable, and the cutest little orange tuning tool is included. Make it sound by downloading the app, putting your phone onto it, and connecting it via Bluetooth. This will make every piano player smile.


5. Useful Tech: A Sound Recorder

Zoom audio recorder

Pianists need to record themselves if they want to get better. Now, if your friend or significant person has forever been wrestling with their mobile for that purpose, they will certainly be happy if they find the ZOOM H2n in their stockings. This is a tiny hand-held sound recorder that packs a punch for its price.

Its high-quality microphones are adjustable (stereo, surround, …), you can choose to record in various qualities, and adjust recording levels. It comes with its own downloadable audio software. Whatever you record goes onto an SD card. You can just stick that into your laptop and drag your sound files onto your computer to cut and mix.


6. Stylish: Posh Metronomes

Wittner Metronom

Don`t call these two noble metronomes “click-tracks”, they are refined rulers of rhythm and timing! Metronomes are an essential part of practice and rehearsal, and yes, there are cheaper options than the ones we picked for our list. But Santa would only give the very best, wouldn’t he?

The Wittner Metronome 816 is the goth of its kind – it will sit on your piano or shelf looking elegant in its black-and-silver beauty (other wood colors are available!). One feature Santa likes a lot is its little bell that rings on every first beat.

Soundbrenner metronome

The Soundbrenner Core Steel is ideal if you live in the same household as the prospective piano-playing metronome user and hate having to listen to the obnoxious click-clack during practice. This makes it a Christmas gift that holds value for both the receiver and the giver. This one looks like a wristwatch, but sends out powerful vibrations on each beat! Of course, there’s the Soundbrenner metronome app to go with it, with a ton of useful features including a tapping pad.


7. Best Little Helper: A Page Turner

Blueturn iRig Bluetooth page turn pedal

We really like the iRig Blueturn to turn sheet music pages. If you are not a pianist, you probably don’t know how annoying it is to not be able to turn your own page. Trust us, modern-day musicians, especially if they use OKTAV, love to rely on Bluetooth pedals. It works with their iPhone, Ipad, Mac, and Android device. They can use it as a foot pedal, or install it on the piano to use as a hand switch.


8. Longterm Investment: A New Tablet With a Large Display

Woman sitting at the piano holding a tablet

Piano players love tablets for a variety of reasons. They can read their sheet music, add their own annotation, they can listen to, record, and edit music – and share it with their friends. The Apple iPad Pro with its 12.9-inch screen is an excellent device that lots of our users use (or a similar tablet with a large display). And it fits through a chimney!


9. No-Nonsense Practical: Piano Dust Cover

piano dust wrap

Piano players want their music to always sound fresh, not dusty. So they need to protect their instrument by making sure dust cannot settle between the keys. Acoustic pianos come with a protective sheet in addition to the flap that closes over the keyboard, but secondhand pianos or stage pianos need protection, too. Of course, you can start sewing something yourself and perhaps personalize it, if you know how to. Or you could just buy a dust cover like this one.


10. Weird & Funny

Playable Piano Bathroom Rug

This one is so freaky we just had to include it in our list – you decide whether the piano player you want to buy a present for is someone with a secret desire to play music with his or her feet while sitting on the bog. We know we have a few piano-playing friends who would love this sort of thing! But then, we have odd friends. Oh, and before we forget – this is probably the only bathroom rug that comes with its very own songbook. You can actually produce sounds with this.

Piano mug

Share a chuckle with friends and family as you gift them this piano-themed gem. It's not just a mug; it's a conversation starter, a mood lifter, and a symbol of resilience.


Whatever you decide to buy for your piano playing friend or family, keep in mind that glowing eyes matter, not size or expense! When choosing a gift, bear in mind that big is not always better. Every gift takes up some space – preferably in the receiver’s heart, but often also in his or her living space. There are bulky gifts, like concert grand pianos you need to build an extension to your home to accommodate, and gifts that only need space in memory, like cards to a wonderful concert – your beloved will remember that for the rest of their life. Don’t make them moan “oh no, yet another thing to store somewhere”. Make their eyes glow! Make your gift matter!

Merry Christmas!


AUTHOR
Elke Galvin
Elke Galvin is a British-Austrian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer. She has worked both as a musician and journalist for over 25 years. Not only is she an acclaimed songwriter, she loves to write about music, too! Making music theory easy to understand is her passion, as is writing about music styles, music and the brain, and how to have fun learning and playing music.

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