Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Shopping

From everyday essentials to big purchases, swap tips and recommendations. For the best deals without the hassle, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

OH GOD we have got to the piano lesson stage... but don't have a piano. Any recommendations for reasonably-priced*, decent keyboards?

55 replies

AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 19:57

*okay, i mean cheap.

OP posts:
Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:05

i will be bumping this obsessively throughout the evening, i warn you.

OP posts:
TarkaLiotta · 01/09/2011 20:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:22

Aitch, I think you are in Glasgow. Pop along to Biggars, and stick a postcard on their noticeboard asking for a second-hand piano or keyboard. Do you want a keyboard for space reasons, or would you take a piano? They sometimes come up in our local paper - free, but you'd have to arrange uplift.

AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:23

Also, try gumtree.

AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:25

Here's a free one in the west end.

maddiemostmerry · 01/09/2011 20:26

We hired a piano until we knew the kids were serious about playing. Where abouts are you? It cost us around £35 a month including stool.
It also meant we knew what we were looking for when we eventually bought a second hand piano.

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:26

space thing and a neighbours-would-kick-up-fuck thing, unfortunately. actually she has been picked by the school to learn violin (they would give her the violin) but i have had to pass as i cannot bear the idea of having to deal with the cunts downstairs about her practising.

OP posts:
AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:27

In fact, there are several free pianos on gumtree at the moment.

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:29

i know... i've been looking. she can practise on a real piano at my mum's, but for here it will have to be digital i fear.

OP posts:
MmeLindor. · 01/09/2011 20:31

Our piano teacher said to get a piano-similar-keyboard (I have no idea what it is called in English, was told in both French and German E-piano?)

It is a electronic doodah, but the keys feel like a real piano.

But they are not cheap.

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:35

i KNOW. i've been looking. and i cannot afford the not-cheap ones, esp as i don't play myself and have no idea whether she'll want to keep it up.

if anyone has any recommendations, though, i can set up an ebay watch to alert me to any second-hand ones. there seem to be heaps online but who knows whether they are good or crud?

OP posts:
AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:36

God, I hate the violin - I would be a cunt if my neighbour was learning violin too. DS plays all sorts - piano, clarinet, chanter, drums - but I put my foot down when wanted to try the violin. It makes my teeth clench.

He's just bought a digital piano for gigging, but it was pretty dear. If you're interested I can PM you details - I he researched it well, and is delighted with what he bought. It would save you traipsing round every music shop in the west of Scotland on a Saturday afternoon.

MmeLindor. · 01/09/2011 20:39

Me neither, Aitch. Which is why we are looking to hire a piano to begin with until we know if she is going to keep it up.

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:41

well precisely, AP, and she is quite the cunt already so you see our predicament. any help would be SUPER-appreciated. i am hoping that some nutter has shelled out for a decent one somewhere and is now ebaying after his/her little prince/princess decided they wanted to pursue a career in kabaddi instead. that is wot i am hoping.

OP posts:
AgentProvocateur · 01/09/2011 20:42

Have PMd you.

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 20:44

and i have responded. Wink [speedy]

OP posts:
silverfrog · 01/09/2011 20:51

Costco had a couple of reasonable ones (in terms of cost, and in terms of key action) last year around Christmas. might be worth a look?

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 21:16

oh, okay, hadn't thought of costco. don't have a card at the mo but can ask SiL to keep an eye out.

OP posts:
stinkyfluffycat · 01/09/2011 21:22

Does nowhere hire out Clavinovas or such? That way you could get a decent one for not much cash while you see if she's serious about it, start saving up for one in the meantime, and if it turns out she's not serious you can spend the cash you've saved on shoes/wine..

Original poster
AitchTwoOh · 01/09/2011 21:24

excellent point. now, what's a clavinova and can it fit on a table-top? Wink

OP posts:
WhiffOfBath · 01/09/2011 21:26

Whose idea is it for her to have lessons? If it's hers, and she's desperately keen, you have a problem. If she's only sort of keen, steer her towards something else inoffensive. I do play the piano, and I personally think it's a mistake to go for any kind of electronic doodah if your child is really interested in the piano. And if she isn't, you're wasting your time and money on lessons.

stinkyfluffycat · 01/09/2011 21:30

Clavinova is basically just a keyboard, think they come with their own stands but you could also put it on a table as far as I know? Stand folds, anyway.
They have the right number of notes (some crappier keyboards aren't the full length of a piano so with some pieces you can run out of note, if you know what I mean) and they have weighted keys, actually feel & sound like a proper piano. They weigh LOTS though.

WhiffOfBath · 01/09/2011 21:32

And they are vair expensive (more so than a plinky-plonky piano, which I'd still say was a better bet overall).

stripeybump · 01/09/2011 21:34

Cheapest new piano, a Chinese factory job, will set you back about £1800 minimum.

You could go down the electronic route, and could get a nice new upright for about £500, which will last your DD a good few years and won't need tuning.

Second-hand ones vary wildly in quality - if it hasn't been tuned then avoid, it may be untunable and warped. Go and see ones on EBay, Gumtree etc with a friend who knows about pianos before purchasing - a free piano may sound like a great plan but not if it's unusable and costs over £100 for someone to pick it up and skip it!

stinkyfluffycat · 01/09/2011 21:36

They are expensive, but you can plug headphones into them to keep cunty neighbours happy, which you can't do with a real piano...