Choosing a piano teacher - would this put you off?

[MaryJBilge]

My daughter had a trial first lesson tonight and I was surprised to see that the teacher didn't have a real piano. She had an electric piano and tbh, it's put me off a bit. Why would someone who is committed to teaching an instrument NOT have a real instrument?

If DD did take to the instrument, I was just thinking that we'll have to find a different teacher in a few years.

Am I overthinking or being snobby here? I wonder if I have a set idea about what a piano lessons should be like based on my own experiences.

Sounds snobby to me.
I have a fantastic piano, family heirloom. We don't deserve it since no one plays. The avg. piano teacher couldn't afford one.
Real pianos cost money to tune. Real piano teachers are paid a pittance & may not be able to tune their own.

You can get really good quality electric piano's though
(I have one, as it has volume control etc) - they still have weighted keys and pedals etc.

A lot of schools will use keyboards, even for teaching piano, as easier to store etc.

My husband has done music for a job and we have a high quality digital piano. It feels exactly like an acoustic piano but he can play it whenever without disturbing the children or the neighbours. In answer to your question no it wouldn't put me off! What would put me off is a teacher claiming to be a piano teacher and only having a keyboard which is very different.

I play and whilst I would love a real piano, the electric ones (good quality, full size, weighted keyboard) are far more practical. You can play without anyone listening (handy for my neighbours), record if you need to and it's easier to move. Plus you don't have to pay to have it tuned every year.

I can see what you are saying, that perhaps it would be nicer for her to learn on a real piano but if she is a good teacher and your DD enjoyed the lesson then I wouldn't worry about it.

*keys not keyboard

We have a Yamaha Clavinova electric keyboard. The keys are weighted and balanced so that it feels like playing a real piano (I learned on a real instrument). The louder you press the keys the louder the sound and vice versa.

If the teacher's keyboard responds like a real piano then I wouldn't worry.

Ah some good points thank you. I suspected I was being a dick about it!

She seemed really nice and had some good ways of explaining things to my DD so I'll book her in for a few lessons to see how she gets on.

Thanks for your reasonable comments!

As long as the keys are weighted and the same size then it's fine.

I know what you mean though, it looks odd but actually you skip through the grades very easily with a very good keyboard.

As her about it.

You would probably have difficulty distinguishing the sound of a top-class digital piano from an acoustic instrument, and there is possibly an element of prejudice or snobbery involved.

As others said, you can use headphones for 'silent' playing; connect to computers via MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) for recording, multi-tracking, and access to hundreds of other sounds.

[I'll send you some 'links' tomorrow.]

Sorry got delayed!:

Here are some 'links' of digital piano software, from Synthogy: they are 'sampled' from famous Grand Pianos such as:

Steinway Concert D Grand.

Bosendorfer 290 Imperial Grand

Yamaha C7 Grand

www.synthogy.com/index.php/products/software-products/ivory-2-grand-pianos