subject: Piano Lessons - You Don't Need a Fancy Keyboard to Have a Great Lesson Experience [print this page] Piano Lessons - You Don't Need a Fancy Keyboard to Have a Great Lesson Experience
You don't need a fancy bells-and-whistles keyboard to have a great experience with piano lessons. Often times people think they need to over-spend and buy something that's very high tech, high end and that the more money that is spent on it, the better the keyboard will be. This is not necessarily true for students. I will say it is often true for professionals, but if you are a parent of a piano student, student model keyboards are the best buy.
My favorite brand is Yamaha, and I'm not endorsing them or getting anything for saying that. I have taught lots of lessons and played on many different models from the various manufacturers available today. By far, Yamaha makes the best student models on the market.
However, if you already own an acoustic piano at home, that's fine to use. You don't need anything more expensive than that. I've had parents ask me if they needed to go buy a new baby grand for their child who had only taken one lesson, and the answer is an emphatic "no." Not yet. Wait until they've had anywhere from three to five years of lessons. That's because you really want to make sure they are going to be a piano player for life. If you are going to spend $15,000 on a piano, you want someone playing it!
What happens for most students is they take anywhere between one and three years of lessons and then get tired of it or want to apply their energy to something else and they don't play anymore. Lots of students have keyboards that far outlast their piano lesson days.
Before you spend the big money, spend the little money and get something your student is really going to love. The more they function on a low-to-moderately priced student keyboard, and the less intimidated they are by the keyboard itself, the more enjoyment they will receive from their lessons and the more they will play.
If you have questions about this, contact me through my website at http://anaheimpiano.com and I'd be happy to give you some assistance that addresses the players in your house. There's not one solution that works for everyone, so I'd be happy to address any individual questions you may have.
