Hi Moms,
I would love to buy a real piano. However, I am limited on space and I do not think my husband is ready to make such a big purchase for our 51/2 and 3 year old. I am wondering if anyone has bought an electric piano/keyboard on a stand with a bench? My 51/2 year old would like to take piano lessons. He has a real desire to learn a musical instrument and I would love for him to play the piano. I did when I was young. I still can play a little, but I would definitely have to relearn how to read music. I am just wondering if anyone is really happy with their electric piano/keyboard and recommendations on where to buy one?
I don't have any experience with digital pianos, but wanted to mention that there is a piano store near you in CL. I believe they sell both new and used pianos, as well as digital.
http://www.pianotrends.com/
Hi M.,
I don't have any specific recommendations for you on what keyboard to buy, there are a lot of choices out there, and you will have to look to see what is within your needs and price range. Here are some things you should look for though when shopping for one. Check to make sure the keys are weighted, that they are not thin keys, but resemble the feel of a real piano. Check for velocity, which means they behave just like real piano, and will sound differently depending on how hard you hit the key. Also check that it has at least 16 note polyphony, meaning you can hit that many notes at the same time and they all make sound.
As far as where to look... try Guitar Center, and Sam Ash. Also shop around at your local stores. It is worth checking small shop prices, but I think they might be very high. When shopping at Guitar Center or Sam Ash, I know you can actually try to talk the price down. Don't be ashamed to ask to lower the price... name your price, and see if they agree, or try to meet you somewhere in the middle.
Here is a link to one of the keyboards that you might wanna check out... though it doesn't say anything about weighted keys (not sure what they mean when they say real acoustic piano feel) but other than that, it looks pretty good. This one has footpedals... how awesome, mine doesn't :)
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-YDP-223-Digital-Piano-...
Happy shopping :D
We started out with an electric keyboard with all those important features mentioned by the other post (weighted keys, etc) and we were very happy with it for beginning piano lessons. Also, it was MUCH cheaper than investing in a piano. I also liked that the kids could turn the volume low when practicing. After about two years, we saw the progress in their playing and felt ready to purchase the piano. We still have the keyboard and it still gets used for practice now 7 years later.
