If you do not currently own a piano and are not sure if you are ready to have one in your home, keyboards are a perfectly good starting instrument for a beginning student.
The three main downfalls to watch out for are:
- lack of weighted keys – without weighted keys, the keys are much easier to press than a piano and therefore finger strength is not properly developed
- lack of touch response – without touch response the student cannot learn to control the volume of sound by finger action and pressure
- small key range – a full keyboard size is 88 keys
These are all problems that eventually need to be addressed if a student is to progress. I don’t recommend beginners even begin on a keyboard that doesn’t have touch response and weighted keys. Though I prefer that students have access to a full 88 key range, you may also consider 76 keys as a minimum range if budget is a concern in your purchase. Less than 76 keys is really not enough for a learning experience.
There are many options out there for keyboards. My preference is for keyboards that have the least amount of bells and whistles possible. Keys that light up, LCD screens that teach songs and hundreds of instrument choices often create bad habits that must be overcome in the lesson and create the sense that the keyboard is more of a toy than an instrument.
To give you an idea of what to look for, here are just a few Yamaha keyboards I recommend as I feel they adequately address the issues listed above but are also of high quality, reasonable price and will be much easier to resell should you find you are ready to upgrade or your child loses interest in lessons.
The P 35 has a full range of 88 weighted touch-response keys with a simple interface and currently sells in the range of $500.
The NP31 Piaggero is very similar to the P 35 with the difference of being only 76 keys and currently sells in the range of just under $300
Note that neither of these come with an adjustable bench or keyboard stand which are necessities sold separately. Don’t feel you need to buy an expensive stand or bench. There are so many options out there and the price range is incredible. Do consider that you want both bench and stand to feel stable and to be height adjustable.
These are just to give an idea of what’s suitable for a beginner student on the lower end of the price range. There are many other brands and styles available. I encourage you to investigate through kijiji, London Drugs, Best Buy, Future Shop, Costco and especially these local music stores (who have comparable prices and a wealth of knowledge to assist you)
Long and McQuade
Giovanni Yamaha
Axe Music
The Piano Centre
Jane's Piano Studio 