Purchase or rent for beginner piano?

[Needingadvice05]

Hello!

My seven year old will have his first piano lesson next week and I'd like him to have something to practice on... I'm looking into renting a keyboard but it's like £100 for a week - and then if I buy it's around £300... seems like a lot ... my neighbour said he could play on their piano but I'd like him to be able to practice at home..

shall I buy or rent??? Thankyou in advance!!

Ebay or FB marketplace. Assuming you mean keyboard and not piano (ie with pedals) a second hand one is fine. A 7yo might not show any interest or skill anyway so I wouldn't invest too much to begin with.

If they do show interest and skill it would be worth a chat with the music teacher for advice.

@Needingadvice05 charity shops sometimes have them in. Definitely get second hand until your little one knows if they are serious about it

Ok thankyou @Ohmygodthepain and @shellyleppard I guess buying second hand is the same as renting? Xx

Ask about, there’s always pianos available free (you pay transport but we just rented a Luton van and moved it ourselves)

Oh yes I've just seen they are mega cheap on Facebook marketplace thankyou!!!

@Needingadvice05 it depends on your budget limit but they tend to be very cheap in the charity shops. I did the same with my son at that age. He had piano lessons via junior school.... then stopped 😔

If I were in your situation I’d ask the piano teacher for the name of a local piano tuner. That person will have an idea of pianos in the area that have been taken care of and are for sale or free to a good home.
Charity shop pianos are often more trouble than they’re worth and you’ll need a tuner anyway.
DS’s first piano was a Casio weighted 88 key keyboard, about €300 twenty years ago! He still has it for silent practice, while in student digs and going to friends.
We also have 2 upright, one a lucky second hand find (Yamaha from Japan, not China) and a Silent/acoustic Kawai bought through a restorer/tuner.

Money well spent- I see they hold their value. I remember we set it up on the ironing board!
casio

I have a keyboard that my dad bought for my daughter. He always had a bee in his bonnet that everyone should play a musical instrument, I had the clarinet foisted upon me 🤦‍♀️

My daughter used it for about a year, then it was boxed up and lived in the loft. It’s been loaned out twice, to a friend and family member. It came back as the novelty wore off.

I’d look for a second hand one, kids are fickle and soon get bored 🤗

Get a second hand keyboard to start with. As your DC progresses you can decide if you have the resources to commit to an upright piano, or whether a digital piano is bette suited to you.

Thankyou everyone this has been so helpful! I'll go for a second hand one for now - you can get good ones for cheap! 🙏☺️

Start with a keyboard not a real piano. Make sure it has the requisite number of full-size keys, pedals and "touch".

Look on ebay. If he really takes off with it all then he can graduate to a proper piano.

The full size keys is critical. A child will internalise the distance between the keys and eventually be able to play without looking at the keyboard - but he won't be able to do that if he has a keyboard with narrow keys and his brain will finish up wrongly programmed ........

If rental is £100 per week and buying is £300 per at least five years, it's a no brainer surely?

Yamaha P45 is a decent starter keyboard that would be OK till grade 5-6 if not more.

Second hand upright can be a nightmare to tune and very hard to sell unlike a good keyboard.