can i take piano lessons but practice on a portable keyboard?

[hothell]

lidl is selling yamaha keyboards in a few weeks....

Sorry

The keys on a keyboard are just not weighted like those on a piano - playing is so much more than getting the right notes.

You can get more expensive piano-realistic keyboards, but these are £1000s and not likely to be what Lidl have in stock!!

yes, if your just beginning piano lessons then by all means just by yourself a keyboard to practice on for a year or two.

I'm sure most people don't sign up for piano lessons then go out and spend 10 grand on a piano.

I bought my keyboard from ToysRus - I was too embarrased to tell my piano teacher.

great, hadnt' thought of toyrus!

I'd always advise getting a piano if at all possible, or finding one you can practice on somewhere. You don't need to spend 10 grand, you can get a cheap one second hand for a couple of hundred.

If your budget is even tighter than that, then I guess a keyboard wouldn't hurt for a little while, as long as it's full sized keys.

What does your teacher say?

Our piano cost me a £25 donation to a new church hall fund and came delivered by tractor. Well worth looking around locally for one someone needs to get rid of.

if you get a keyboard you'll have to make sure it's one with "weighted" keys - otherwise your practice will amount to nothing.

if you were anywhere near me I'd let you have my (old upright) for £50

You could probably get a decent electronic piano, full size with weighted keys, on ebay or somewhere like that. It wouldn't have to be ridiculously expensive. If you are anywhere near Edinburgh you can have mine (yamaha p-200) I'm moving soon and want to get rid of it!

Just had a peek on ebay, there are plenty of cheap pianos.

i have a yamaha dgx 620 digital piano. it has a graded hammer action (the "weighted" keys mentioned) and also comes with a sustain pedal. i bought mine new on-line from chappell of bond st (google) but you can get them on ebay for around £250. the yamaha dgx 620 is an excellent choice for a beginner imho. experienced musicians will, ime, usually recommend a piano, however, don't forget that if you get a cheap second hand one, you are usually looking at not insignificant tuning and reconditioning costs before it will sound anything like as good as a quality keyboard!

so get the exact spec of the yamaha keyboards lidl are selling, post it on here and let's have a look at the details.

hth and good luck.

here are the details of the yamaha from lidl, if anyone is still around and has an opinion about it
www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20081030.p.Yamaha_Portable_Digital_Keyboard.ar2