CALLING ALL PIANO TEACHERS OR ANYONE WHO PLAYS THE PIANO

[TODAY]

PLEASE HELP
We want to get a keyboard for DD 11 years to learn with. She wants to teach herself rather than have lessons. Please help us choose

\link{http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?perPage=2147483647&storeId=10001&catalogId=4501&langId=-1&currPage=1&searchTerms=KEYBOARD&searchScope=458&searchType=&viewType=seeAll&maxResults=17&fltrCatIds_0=36693&catId_0=36693&catName_0=Sound+and+vision&catHits_0=17&catId_1=36163&catName_1=Office%2C+PC+and+phones&catHits_1=14&catId_2=36406&catName_2=Toys+and+baby&catHits_2=4&sortBy_1=16384&x=7&y=12\here are the choices we think the £79.00 is the best for a beginer}

What do you think?

My DD plays the piano which is in our sitting room, so we got her a keyboard for her bedroom and she spends ages on it. We bought the PSR295 but paid £149.99 at tesco.com and it does amazing things. You may also need a stand and a seat. We were told to get the biggest number of keys possible as then you are not limited to what you can play. Ours can be linked to the internet but we haven't investigated that yet.

make sure you get one with full size keys. Anything smaller is a real pain.

does your dd want to play the piano or the keyboard? because they are quite different instruments. because the keys on keyboards are weighted very differently, they are played with a different technique.

if she did decide to have lessons, most piano teachers won't take on pupils who don't have an actual piano to practice on. which isn't a problem if she wants to play keys and take advantage of all the fantastic effects etc. but it's something to take into consideration.

if she definitely does want a keyboard, i would suggest you ask advice from the music staff at her school. if you get one that's similar to what your daughter would use there, the teachers may be able to help her to get the most out of it?

celia
i have a technics electronic piano, and i think it's brilliant! my husband and i are both pianists - i have my grade 8, he has a music degree - and neither of us find it inferior to a "real" piano.
cg

You would definitely want one that is touch sensitive so that she can develop piano techniques. Also agree about key sizes.

dewmeadow - would agree, but would be more picky. some keyboards are touch-sensitive, in that you can control volume by the pressure you apply on the keys - but they still don't feel like a piano because they're not weighted in the same way as piano keys.

if you want to be able to play piano music, rather than create electronic music for example, i'd always go for a proper digital piano.

Hi - I'm in the minority on here but I find digital pianos massively different to acoustic pianos - you just can't get the same level of control, even with weighted touch sensitive keys. I think it is also possible to tell with pupils as the ones I have who practise on a digital piano find it very difficult adapting to a real one in lessons. We actually do have a Clavinova (on loan) which I NEVER play, because it is too unsatisfying compared to the acoustic piano downstairs.

However, there are a few threads on this, and I know that I am in the minority here!

Just to add - I think the difference is that it's not just 'volume' you control on an acoustic piano, it's variations in tone colour as well, and that's where a digital piano won't compare, as it only really touches the volume.

i've got a technics sx-pc15. no idea if they still make them. it does exactly what it says on the tin. only one voice (well, three, but to activate the other two you have to hold down top g sharp when you switch it on. or summat. and they're rubbish). volume control. pedals. headphone socket. music rest. lid. that's it. no scary buttons. no cd writer. no drum machine :) ooh, it's got a demo thing (another switch on while holding a certain key) - with a whole two songs :)

my sister has a different model that sings, dances and does the washing up. about 3 or 4 times as expensive. i'd be very surprised if she did anything more than use it as a piano! :)

TODAY - don't spend too much money if dd is a total beginner. We use something similar to the casio (59.99) in the classroom and will be more than adequate if she wants to practice keyboard skills.
However, if she is interested in tha piano, she should go to lessons and invest in something that is close to the real touch of piano keys (as many others have mentioned) though I suspect she is learning it at school and wants to practice for her music lessons. She may ask you for a drumkit next....!!

It's quite small at only 4.5 octaves - but I would presume that the 400 lessons it contains take that into account.

celia
137 cms wide, 45cms deep, 80cms high (not including the music stand).
any more questions, just shout!
cg