Electronic Keyboard

[happymummy2010]

I'm thinking of getting DS an electronic keyboard for Xmas... If in the past you have bought a keyboard for your DC have they used it or has it sat in the corner of the room collecting dust ?

Is it worth spending more and getting a better spec Keyboard or is a more basic one ok ? DS seems quite musical and likes playing the piano apps on the IPad, but hasn't had any piano lessons etc.

Any views or advice gratefully received...

I started a thread about this last year

here

Fast forward a year, he stuck with the lessons for a year but getting him to practice was hard work. Has given up now though and we have lent it to someone else. However as a leisure item it has been very popular, we found a corner downstairs to keep it out in and the DCs have loved playing with all the sound effects, use it to play musical bumps with, play at discos, it is especially popular when friends come round. I am also hopeful that DD will give it a try next year when she is old enough for school lessons. My DCs are 6 and 8 BTW.

Do you have space for a digital piano? If so, I'd recommend that over a keyboard. A digital piano does all the same things a keyboard does, and far more. It is also a nice piece of furniture for around £200.

We got the Yamaha P-70 keyboard with the proper stand and stool for my now dd10 and dd8 around 4 years ago. Found a proper piano teacher for them and made them practice. They will in 2 weeks time be taking their Grade 4 and Grade 2 respectively. Older one loves playing. Younger one is lazy at practising but once on actually enjoys it.

Have now promised to get them a proper piano once they get to Grade 5 so previously we did not have the room but now have moved into our dream home so have loads of room for an upright piano.

Great for discipline and concentration and very therapeutic.
I reccommend it but get a small digital one first and if they like it then upgrade to a better one. We originally had a small one, then got a proper 88 key touch sensitive digital one which is the one they now use but need to upgrade to a piano as Grade 5 uses the proper pedals whilst our one now only has 1 pedal.

Can't really add much more than everything I put last year. However, in short;

Must have full sized keys. Half sized keys are as good as useless - you may as well have a keyboard app on the phone! Thankfully they are rare nowadays.

Don't get a casio. The sound quality is awful. If you want a toy, they're OK, but not good enough to learn anything much on.

If you can run to it, go for touch sensitive. (the harder you hit the note, the louder it sounds)

A digital piano will be better in the long run for someone who might want to learn piano. However, they generally have less buttons/ voices/ rhythms etc and so are less "fun" as a leisure instrument. You can get hybrids which incorporate both - keyboards with weighted keys and more octaves than most.

If they might want lessons, you can learn piano or keyboard, take exams in either and both are quite different. Even a lot of piano teachers don't understand this as they don't teach keyboard. To learn piano, I'd get as close to a piano as you can. Otherwise get a keyboard.