Question re Keyboard to learn Piano

[purplerabbit]

So R wants a keyboard for his birthday. He wants to learn to play the piano and we don't have room for a piano in our house. So do I have to get an 88-key one for him to learn properly. I am confused by the array of keyboards and the different numbers of keys -- 61, 76, 88 -- and need to know what to get him. Suggestions?

Comments

[the-misha.livejournal.com]

For a beginner's learning keyboard, a 61-key keyboard will be more than sufficient; as vvvexation pointed out, most pieces don't actually use the full 88-key range of a grand piano.

More important even than the number of keys, IMO, is that the keys of the keyboard be sized (and weighted) roughly like those of a piano, rather than being the sort of pseudo-keys found on many "children's keyboards." Most serious keyboards will be fine, honestly, though it might be help to have R actually test-play a couple of them to see which ones his hands like. Also, you can check with the salescritter to see what zie recommends, though - as ever - take their responses with an appropriately-sized grain of salt.

[freeimprov.livejournal.com]

The key quality is an excellent point. It's a much bigger playability issue than the number of keys. I have a Kurzweil stage piano that feels really good. The Yamaha synth? Feels like a toy.

What you want is "fully weighted keys" if possible, and the kind with flat, piano-style fronts rather than cutaways. The cheap Casios have the cutaway, unweighted or "semi-weighted" keys, and don't feel nearly as substantial. Weight means resistance, and resistance means more precise control.