DeFord & Sons Piano Sales to offer instruments, services, lessons

Andrew DeFord, an Indianola local, has been in the piano industry for nearly a decade. As a CPT, a certified piano technician, he’s done the tuning, the upkeep and the selling. He’s worked out of everywhere, from a dentist’s office to a house to, most recently, a storefront in Clive. 

DeFord and his wife, however, lived here in Indianola, and the trek became tedious. 

So, when the opportunity to bring his work close to home arose, he jumped at the chance. 

“I saw a need for used piano sales,” DeFord said. “I just want to help people who are on a tight budget and can't afford to go buy a brand new piano or don't want to pay the large market price for brand new pianos.”

Pianos can cost thousands of dollars, a price tag not everyone can afford. DeFord said he saw the need for used pianos and wanted to bring the joy of music to those who can’t afford the market price. 

“A lot of times, what would happen in my industry, is people would spend the money on either the piano itself or pick it up for free and spend money for having it moved,” DeFord said. “I'd show up and then I find tons of issues with the piano and the people would feel terrible that they wasted their time and money on that instrument.” 

DeFord aims to eliminate that step in the musical process. 

“I more or less decided, ‘hey, I'm gonna grab a bunch of pianos from different customers that are either moving or they're no longer at the piano, and I'll sell it for him to another customer so that they don't have to run the risk of going and buying it off of Craigslist or Facebook or wherever.’” DeFord said. “That way, I can sell them something I've already looked at.” 

Along with selling used pianos to the Indianola community, DeFord said he hopes to offer piano lessons from his new studio. 

“Right now, Indianola is honestly hurting for piano teachers,” he said. “We've had several either move or retire. I've not found a piano teacher yet to necessarily take a place inside my studio.”

DeFord is not just focused on Indianola’s need for a piano technician; he is also working with a program, Keys for Kids, a group of local piano technicians that makes the process of finding and buying a piano for kids much more accessible. This program makes getting a piano cost less than $1,000. 

“We're offering this program to help you get started in the industry,” DeFord said. “We keep people interested so that they're able to still get their child an acoustic piano rather than just not being able to pursue that path because of money restrictions.”

DeFord’s new studio with tuning, maintenance and piano-selling services, will be located at 220 W. Salem Ave. 

If you want to take a look at what De Ford & Sons Piano Sales has to offer, you can book an appointment by contacting Andrew DeFord at (515) 661-0902 or filling out this form at desmoinespianosales.com.

“I'm telling people that I'm open right now if they want to come in and look at the pianos,” DeFord said. “So if people want to come in and look at pianos right now, I am open to anybody who wants to come and check them out.”