Piano vs. keyboard

poolmom · 04-21-2005, 10:59 AM

Hi there. New to the forum. My daughter is interested in playing the piano. I have been around our area and looked at pianos. All of the dealers say that she should have a piano and not a keyboard. It's quite an investment if she doesn't like it. She also has a disability with her right hand. It's smaller than her left. She has played the accordian with her grandfather, and seems to be able to reach. Would we be better off getting an inexpensive keyboard from the local department store and see if she is able to play? The piano dealers say that if they don't start off right that they will get discouraged and give it up quickly. I don't mind the investment if it will work. Any thoughts or suggestions?

RockMusicMatt36 · 04-21-2005, 11:22 AM

Definitely get a cheap but decent keyboard. It will help her, and if she doesn't like it, you won't be out $2,000.00.
>Peace, Matt

Nathanael · 04-21-2005, 01:01 PM

The piano dealers are trying to make money. What would you say if you were trying to make money?

Get her a small keybaord to see if she's interested, then later if she continues buy a weighted one or a piano.

Derek_B85 · 04-21-2005, 05:36 PM

Some keyboards have less tension than pianos which can make playing a real piano harder....meaning that the keys on the piano are tougher to push than that of some keyboards

hardcorerocker · 04-22-2005, 05:00 PM

I started out on a little keyboard...I think that's the way to go just to see if she likes it or not. Mine was only like 100 bucks, but hey, I've gotten a lot of use out of it.

**bread man** · 04-27-2005, 05:20 AM

Get a cheap keyboard and when she has lessons (assuming she will learn from a teacher), that should get her used to the piano. It worked that way for me when I started learning at 9 years old.

kaff · 05-03-2005, 03:51 PM

being a keyboardist, I would reccomend a wieghted keyboard.

They take up less room than a piano, can be shifted more easily than a piano and some of them look better than a piano as well! Just get a cheap one though. the difference in wieghting wont be too much between a keyboard and a piano, and even then there is usually difference in weight between two acoustic pianos anyway.

The added bonus with a keyboard rather than a piano is that your daughter can also have a bit of fun by playing around on the different sounds. disabilities arent much of a problem either if shes playing contemporary music.

**thesteve** · 05-03-2005, 03:58 PM

I see upright pianos being sold in the sub-$750 range all of the time.

as far as the hand size differentiation goes it's not going to make a big difference unless you get with a smaller scale instrument.
how old is your daughter? does anyone in your immediate (not extended) family play?

Decency · 05-03-2005, 05:15 PM

Yeah, I'd go with the keyboard. I learned on a piano, but the transition is very easy going both ways.

frog · 05-04-2005, 01:26 PM

being a piano teacher for 8 years now I say its fine to start her on the keyboard and see how she likes it. If she starts doing classical or even jazz then you should consider getting her a piano.
If you don't mind spending the money weighted keys are the way to go for keyboards but in the beginning stages don't really make all that much difference.

player123496 · 05-04-2005, 02:57 PM

I learned on an uber-cheap (<$400) upright piano and moved onto a nicer upright and then to a grand. I know that in my case I just find a piano easier to play than a keyboard. I don't know if that'd be true if I was just learning, but I like the feal of the piano much better than that of the keyboard.

nickpayne90 · 05-05-2005, 04:31 PM

I have had both a keyboard and a piano, I liked the piano's sound but there are some advantages to the keyboard that the piano didn't have. I'd get Digital piano which can cost anywhere between $800-$4,000. They have piano-like sound with many of the advantages of a keyboard.

I don't care for the keyboards sound because of its light-weight keys, which also doesn't give it as rich of a sound.
Hope that helps, hope your daughter has fun playing.
-Nick

PontiusPirate · 05-05-2005, 04:41 PM

Quote:

I know that in my case I just find a piano easier to play than a keyboard. I don't know if that'd be true if I was just learning, but I like the feal of the piano much better than that of the keyboard.

Ditto. I also learned on piano, and I honestly don't think I would've done as much if I had started on keyboard instead.....of course, my mom made me stick with piano when I started that "I don't wanna do this...I wanna play something else" stage. The feel of piano is much different....even from weighted...but it's up to you. As far as her hand goes, I had a friend in Highschool who had a birth defect on her left hand....she had no fingers. Just stubs....but she was one of the most amazing pianists I've known.

brainiac2007 · 05-07-2005, 04:15 PM

I learned on piano, but needed a keyboard for the worship band at chuch. I'd go with the keyboard because they're cheaper, moveable, and easier to store. If you looking for cheap quality, I recommend a Yamaha DGX-203. It's less than 300 bucks and has a good grand piano voice.

Rocket · 05-08-2005, 04:58 AM

i would also go with the keyboards - because they are more portable - if you really want to learn something [musically] it doesn't matter what your first instrument feels, looks like or costs. my 2 cents.......