<p>Hi,
My daughter's music teachers at school have been telling her that as a future music ed major it is extremely important for her to take some piano before college. That said, I can take care of that but I do think that a new piano is a little out of my price range. (we are looking at possibly buying a new/better french horn in the next couple of years) She has been asking to get a keyboard for a while and I would like her to have something to practice piano / composing on. Can anyone recommend an economical keyboard for this purpose? It does not need all the bells and whistles and will definitely not get a gigantic amount of use. I have been looking around and was wondering if ability to hook up to a computer is an important component in a keyboard? Any and all advice in this matter will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Probably need to seriously consider a full-sized key board and close to real key action. When we factored that, we went with a Yamaha Clavinova. I think you can buy them with minimal bells and whistles. Ours is old the only bell on it is a MIDI port, but we never have hooked it up to a computer. DD uses keyboard to compose, but never bugged me to run a line to computer with Finale on it. </p>
<p>Prices may be steep, but you could look used. You can also look used for a real piano, but those need tunings and the price of a few tunnings may help you go for a new electronic thing.</p>
<p>Your daughters teachers are correct. Piano lessons give far more than just the ability to play the piano. Both of my kids say that they can picture the piano keyboard whenever they have to deal with music theory questions. My advice (and that of my two kids), if possible, get a used real piano. Don't get something too old. Or look for a reasonable new piano. I don't know what your price range is, but we decided to buy a new Kawai piano (console) and it was about $3000. I would guess you could get a late model used one (under 10 years old) for about $1000. The "action" on a keyboard is very different than that of a real piano, unless you are buying a digital piano. You also should get a full size keyboard, if that is the route you take, not a smaller keyboard which would be less expensive.</p>
<p>get a used piano??? it should be around 1000 dollars.... if you can't get the casio digital piano for 800 dollars.. i think... at sam ash... or a cleviano... the wieght action is realistic</p>
<p>You can get a used "real" piano for $500, but I wouldn't recommend it. The action is usually quite horrible, and sound isn't great either.</p>
<p>If you go for a keyboard, I would buy a full size digital with weighted keys. We own a grand at home, but my son travels with the digital, and finds it terrificly functional. We did buy a separate loud pedal for it, and it needs an amp or sound system, but there are others that have that built in. We shopped carefully, and spent about $800 for the digital, and have been pleased.</p>
<p>Since she likes to compose, getting a keyboard with a midi output would be helpful. I personally hate keyboards, and hate it when one of my students only has a keyboard to practice on. I'm thinking of making it a requirement for any future students that if they have a keyboard, it must be full-sized (88 keys), have weighted keys, touch sensitive(plays louder when you hit the key harder), and has a sustain pedal. A decent electronic keyboard can cost as much as a decent used piano. I hate it when a student comes to a lesson who hasn't been able to practice a song with low notes, or dynamics, or pedal - because they don't have that feature at home.</p>
<p>However, in your case, I do think you can find a satisfactory keyboard for what your D needs. I would say find at least 5 octaves, and as many of the above features as possible. If you have to drop touch sensitive, you can probably get away with it. Your D does not have to become a pianist - just needs to know where to put her hands! I think you could find something satisfactory for just a couple hundred dollars. You might even be able to find something used in the want ads.</p>
<p>My S has a Casio, 76 keys, that we bought for about $300. (We have 2 pianos - the keyboard was primarily to help him compose.) It is not a highly regarded instrument, but it works. It has a midi that he plugs into his computer. My H (an engineer) built the stand and the sustain pedal for it. I suspect something like this might be perfectly satisfactory for your D.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. Like Binx I have the opinion that my daughter does not have to become a full fledged pianist at this point so a basic full size keyboard should help her out. I should clarify that she is not into composing but sometimes her High School music theory class requires access to a piano or keyboard for certain assignments and composing is part of that. Right now she has very basic piano skills which will hopefully improve with some lessons. The hard part is finding a piano teacher that will understand her specific needs.<br>
Binx, can you tell me what model Casio you have? I know your child is also a french hornist and it would be a good jumping off point to start by looking at the same model that you have.</p>
<p>Sorry - MomOf3Stars - I'm not ignoring you - just hunting for the info. Unfortunately, we put the keyboard in storage when we moved here (actually, the grandparents have it) and I can't seem to find anything with the make or model #. Since we bought it some years back, I don't know that the number would do you any good anyway. </p>
<p>I do think you'll be fine if you look for "weighted keys", "touch sensitive", and "full-size keys." 76 keys is a bit over 6 octaves - should be perfectly adequate for all but the super complex or modern music! I suggest you visit a couple music stores, find a couple keyboards you'd be happy with, write down model numbers and prices, then shop around on the Internet and see if you can beat the price! Remember to note (or ask salesperson) if it comes with a stand, speakers, sustain pedal, etc. Along with a stand for the keyboard itself, you'll need a bench for your D. You don't want her to try to learn by sitting it on a table and using a kitchen chair!</p>
<p>Thanks Binx for all of that info. I did, in fact, plan on visiting some local stores and then pricing the ones we liked on the internet. I want to get a good price because she will be paying for half herself. I am glad people on here have mentioned the weighted keys and number of keys. I would never have known otherwise. I also have a friend who has offered her piano anytime for my dd to practice on. </p>
<p>Try the wholesale price warehouse stores too. I have seen full keyboard, weighted keys models for 400-500 with the same model costing over 800 at a music store. You can find Yamaha or Casio, are far as I can tell both are pretty good.</p>