A decent (and cheapish) keyboard… any recommendations?

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I am after a keyboard (one with stand, and with a stool and a music stand etc) for dd8 for Christmas, in the hopes that piano practice will not longer be the painful experience it is (currently using a crap keyboard on the floor, so I don’t really blame her!), has anyone got any recommendations?

She is basically a beginner so doesn’t need to be anything fancy, and would rather not spend too much, just in case she/I get bored of my constant nagging to practice and jacks the whole thing in…

Thanks!

You want to make sure it is full size and has weighted keys. Yamaha are dh's go-to, although he'd suggest getting an electric piano rather than keyboard and stand. He likes the Clavinova series, but they may be more than you're happy to pay. It's worth looking second hand though as people get them and then their child gives up!

Thank you, but I just want something cheap and cheerful until I am sure she is going to take it a bit more seriously!

DH and DS1 are both pianists and we got the Donner DDP-80 for a room where we needed a practice keyboard and an upright wouldn’t fit. They say it’s about as good as it gets for £399 and it doesn’t look terrible either. It didn’t come with a stool but we found one in a charity shop for a fiver (and a normal chair would have been just fine as well).

You can’t go wrong with a Yamaha P45 it’s currently on sale for £300. This is an absolute bargain.

https://www.gear4music.com/Keyboards-and-Pianos/Yamaha-P45-Digital-Piano-X-Frame-Package-Black/18XM?origin=product-ads&gadsource=1&gadcampaignid=22247589480&gbraid=0AAAAADkjLRaSnyYUf0R1qP9nzZ6ovAmp&gclid=CjwKCAiA2svIBhB-EiwARWDPju1Uebi5WyoHwFCRGIItBt9YLvni0LzGqSJ13tZsleyfBkCE4dMAohoCno0QAvDBwE

My son prefers Roland but I don’t think they’ve got anything suitable at that price point.

She won’t take it more seriously if you don’t invest in a decent instrument. I’m so sick of parents thinking we’re kidding around when we say a keyboard isn’t good enough.

Following this thread OP as we are in the same boat with DSS9. He has little interest in playing but DH is adamant he must keep going so is looking to invest. How do you keep the peace with practicing or is it just a case of suck it up? Poor DH puts so much time into trying to help DSS and money on Yamaha lessons. Do children learn to love something like this if their hearts aren’t in it?

We've got one of these

Its old, my dad bought it for nearly £2k late 80s! But it's decent & a quick look on Ebay etc £100-£150 now.

Is heavy, but if you are reasonably strong can do it on your own if you separate stand & keyboard.

Just one person is totally correct.

@JustOnePersonNotAnOctopus sorry if I have upset you, I do want her to take it seriously, but sadly money and space constraints mean that I do not have currently funds or the space to have a proper piano so I was looking for something in between that would encourage her more.

@mnforadviceI feel your pain. I think dd likes the idea of playing the piano and enjoys the (extortionate) lessons, but is making next to no progress because she can only bring herself to practice maybe once a week (after threats/bribery/you name it!).

As I said, I don’t blame her as she is currently using a crap keyboard on the floor at home at the moment, so wanted to get her something that resembles more of a piano (like a 66 key keyboard on a stand) to see if that helps. Already spending so much on lessons, and her reluctance at the moment means I don’t want to spend huge amounts!

Let me know if you have any helpful tips on getting them to practice!