Whats the difference between...

[teamcullen]

an electric keyboard and an electric piano?

DD has an old keyboard and could do with a new one but the ones on the market dont seem to be any better than what we have.

So I was lookin at the electric pianos, which are much more expensive than a keyboard.

So what is the difference? She is starting GCSE music so will be using it quite a lot for playing and composing.

bump

I think it's to do with weighted keys

An electric piano feels 'more' like playing a real piano, a keyboard doesn't

But I am not an expert

An electric piano has more keys, weighted keys and pedals. It also looks like a piece of furniture.

We bought a new electric piano from a dealer on Ebay. It cost less then £300. DDs have piano lessons at school, and they are able to switch from the electric one at home to acoustic ones in school.

Thanks katymac and mme. So is it worth the extra money?

We have a Roland FP-4 digital electric piano. It does not look like a piece of furnitre though (some do) but is the kind of thing you would see on stage at a rock concert. We bought it because we move house a lot and it is far far easier to transport than a piano. I can pick it up and walk about with it.

It plays exactly like a real piano though, the same size, same number of keys, same weight and same sound but has the capacity to play a huge range of other sounds as well as output to a computer software package for composition.

Electronic keyboards are generally more limited instruments with fewer keys and we were advised a child should not learn piano on one.

Second hand electronic pianos are easy to pick up cheaply in February at second hand music shops as musicians short of money sell them off then - apparently.

thanks beenbeta

We got a second hand portable grand (I think) for about £300

Don't know if that helps