WHAT INSTRUMENT DO I NEED TO TAKE PIANO LESSONS?

Are you Taking PIANO Lessons or KEYBOARD Lessons?  If you are taking Piano Lessons, starting on an electronic keyboard will NEVER help you to play piano!  Keyboards have 61 or 76 keys, they have a plastic non-weighted touch, and they typically don’t come with a pedal or bench.  In our 37 years of business, we have NEVER seen or heard of anyone who learned to play by owning one of these keyboards with less than 88 keys and a NON weighted piano action.  Consider a Digital Piano:  A high quality digital piano will have 88 keys, the touch of a piano, pedals, and a bench.  You CANNOT LEARN to play piano properly with a keyboard just as you cannot learn to drive on a golf cart or go cart, or learn to play basketball while wearing Ice Skates!​

Why not a Keyboard?  See our section below “What Piano Students CANNOT Learn on a Portable Keyboard”.  Lots and Lots of reasons!

Why 88 Keys?  Most students will have music in the first few lessons where they experiment the full 88 key range of a piano.  Even if you are only playing in the middle of the piano, you peripheral vision will see all 88 keys.  If you practice on less, then go to your teacher’s piano, it can be confusing and disorienting to the student.

Weighted Touch?  It is extremely important to have a fully-weighted-hammer-action piano touch to teach proper technique from lesson NUMBER ONE!  Good (and bad) habits are formed from day one.

Touch Sensitive (Touch Responsive)?  If you choose electronic, the question to ask here is “How many levels of sensitivity”?  A keyboard may be touch sensitive, but only on a scale of 1 to 5, while an acoustic piano has a touch sensitivity of 1 to infinity.  A Roland digital piano has this type of touch sensitivity.

What about a used piano?  Always hire a piano tuner / technician, or piano store representative to evaluate a used piano.  This person looks deep into the inner workings of the piano itself.  A small fee for a professional opinion can save you thousands!  Generally speaking, a used piano under $1,000 is rarely going to get you a very good piano.  What looks to be the “deal of the century” on craigslist, classified ads, or from your neighbor may cost you a whole lot more than the piano is worth!  Add the price of moving ($175 and up), tuning / adjusting / regulation ($300 – $800), and the cost of the piano itself… it’s easy to spend much more than what the piano is worth in just repairs!  Seek professional advice when buying a used piano or you could be “playing the blues”.

What about a hand-me-down piano or a piano advertised “Beautiful” or “Antique” or “Free”?  A piano might look beautiful on the outside but might need hundreds or thousands of dollars of work on the inside to make it into a decent piano.  Good intentioned family members probably have no idea how much work the piano they are trying to pass down to you really needs.  Always seek professional advice about used pianos! Old “Antique” pianos (built before 1960) generally cannot be tuned nor do they have any antique value.  Generally, we dispose of these old upright pianos that were built before 1960 as they probably cannot be tuned and will cost much more than they are worth to repair.

What is the maintenance?  An acoustic piano should be tuned at least twice per year, and needs voicing and regulation about once every 5 years.  An acoustic piano has over 10,000 parts which include leather straps and felt that wear out and deteriorate over time.  Most acoustic pianos should have major work or rebuilt at least every 25 to 35 years.  Even one of the best pianos in the world, Steinway and Sons, says this!  A piano is a fine precision instrument that needs to be properly cared for.  It should be tuned a MINIMUM of once per year if it is played or not!  If you want to play piano and don’t want to maintain it, you should buy a high quality Digital Piano that is maintenance free!

Is Practice Important?  You cannot be successful playing piano without practice just as you cannot be successful at sports without practice.  Having a piano at “Grandma’s House” or at your church does not offer the adequate situation for you to practice.  The only way to learn to play piano is to have a piano or quality digital piano in your home to practice on.

Is Silent Practicing Important?  It may be if you have younger children with naps, early bedtimes, or even if Mom or Dad had a stressful day.  Some children are self-conscious about practicing.  A digital piano with headphones allows practice at anytime without disturbing anyone in your household.