Thinking of Buying a Digital Piano. Tips?

[Atavar]

Hello Everyone,

I am seriously considering learning to play the piano (I am a total noob at playing any sort of instrument). I also picture my little girl learning the piano someday. It looks like I would benefit from having my own piano. Since I cannot afford an acoustic piano I thought that getting a quality digital piano would be a good substitute.

Anyway, I don't really know what to look for. I saw a Casio Privia PX-110 at Best Buy, and a piano-playing friend of mine really liked it because of the weighted and touch-sensitive keys and its portability. Once I looked that up online, though, I was overwhelmed with all of the other possible choices and features to consider in such a purchase.

So, for those wiser than I in such things, what would you recommend in terms of my shopping for a quality digital piano? Ideally, I would like it to be as close as possible to the feel and sound of an acoustic piano and still be portable.

Thank you,

Atavar

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I play guitar, bass guitar & cello- but my Mom is a pianist who was recently looking for a keyboard. Here's what I learned during her shopping process:

Any keyboard will help you learn your chords & progressions and let you learn how to play songs...on a keyboard.

Most keyboards have a limited number of keys, don't have foot pedals and other features that a piano has. This will limit the student's capacity to learn the songs properly on an actual piano.

However, some of the more sophisticated ones DO have full keyboards (88 keys). And the better ones will also have keys that are weighted so they act and feel like actual piano keys- the usual keyboard keys feel & act more like those on a computer keyboard. Both of those features will help you learn how to play on an actual piano- you'll have the proper range of motion and the muscle memory to at least key the notes properly.

From what I understand, there are even some keyboards that have some form of foot pedals.

Other features include drives that let you download sheet music, autoplay, and so forth.

Shop around, especially in your local music stores. Especially in those that specialize in pianos and keyboards. If you're lucky, you'll find a good salesperson who will help you trudge through the forest of options.

 

[Davek]

This is the digital piano I have at home for my kids. Excellent sound and very close in feel and dimensions to a standard accoustic piano. I bought mine about 1.5 years ago and it was $2100 CAN

http://www.yamaha.ca/content/piano/...lpianos/clpseries/CLP-230 New/keyfeatures.jsp

 

[LightPhoenix]

Do not buy a Casio. Absolute trash, in my opinion. It's not worth the money.

If you're looking for something in the style of a piano-keyboard, Yamaha makes some pretty good ones. As mentioned above, the things you'll be looking for are weighted keys, and for that matter a full 88 keys, foot pedals, and touch sensativity for volume. Especially for beginning, when you're just out to learn technique, that will do well. As you get better and start to work on your sound, you'll want to find an actual piano to practice on. It will likely run you a couple grand for something good, though I haven't checked prices in a long time.

If you're really looking for a synth, or a true keyboard, Korg is the way to go, but again, Yamaha makes some nice stuff. This doesn't really sound like what you want though.

Also, if you're serious about learning piano, since you don't have any musical background, I would suggest going to your local community college and seeing if you can take some basic music theory classes and sign up for lessons. The more you use the notation, and the more you understand how and, more importantly, why it works, the better of a player you'll be. It's like the difference between rote memorization (and regurgitation) and actual understanding.

Also, by taking lessons through a college, you'll likely have access to a practice piano, so you won't have to buy one.

 

[ssampier]

Never realized there was that much to think about. I have considered playing the piano too, since as a single male I have significant time on my hands (I work, but my hobbies have been limited lately).

 

[LightPhoenix]

I re-read my post, and I think I came off as a little mean and condescending, so I thought I'd elaborate.

First off, I'm no virtuoso piano player. I was a music major (music composition) for two years though, and I've been playing instruments or since I was ten or so, so around seventeen years. My main thing is brass and vocals, with a good helping of drums mixed in. That said, I did have to learn to play a bit of piano, and sadly I haven't kept up with it as much as I should have.

Casio keyboards are very cheap, and that's because they don't replicate the actual piano experience much at all. In fact, many of them don't even have a full eighty-eight keys, which is important. Additionally, the keys aren't pressure sensative. That doesn't sound like it's very important, but it really is, because that's how an actual piano's dynamics (volume) are handled.

Playing piano isn't particularly hard, per se, though it does take some getting used to. What it does require is patience and time. A metronome helps too. At first, all you're really going to be practicing is scales, chords, simple songs, and getting adjusted to your fingers and hands doing different things at once. Honestly, that's pretty boring stuff. However, those are the basics. Aside from developing muscle memory and technique, you'll also be learning the basics of music theory. Knowing how to read a staff, knowing where notes are, knowing key signatures, the different types of chords - that's all very essential stuff. If you know that, it becomes a lot easier to pick up a piece and play it through pretty well even if it's the first time you've seen it.

On the subject of practice, I really do recommend practicing at least an hour a day. I realize that isn't always possible, but if you can manage just an hour a day practicing, and not missing too many days, you'll make pretty good progress.