Hi all,

My daughter is just starting her ABRSM, and I decided to pick up popular piano as well. I've been taking lessons for a month, but I used to play the Yamaha Electone and am progressing fast. I initially bought a Casio non-weighted keyboard (with 76 keys) for my daughter, but am not satisfied with the feel of the keys. It does have a velocity sensor though.

Being able only to practice at night, I need to either buy a silent acoustic piano or a digital. Unfortunately the price is quite steep, and my wife doesn't want a $2000 white elephant in the house. I need to demonstrate that I won't give up the piano for a year before she'll let me buy one.


Will it be detrimental to my learning progress if I don't practice on a weighted keyboard for 1-2 years? Is it essential to get one now?

I don't think that it is.

Alot of people seem to think so, but for me, I don't care that if I sit down at a real piano it will feel different and I will have to use more strength to press the keys etc. To me it's a minor adjustment and can be made pretty quickly. I would just get your technique good and your playing as far as you can.

Keep in mind though I've only been playing for around 6months and 3 of those I didn't touch the keyboard.

Also you can find pretty good Digital Pianos for under $1000 if you don't mind the digital look. I love my Yamaha YPG-635, it's $799, and the Casio Privia is $499.

I do find that I make lesser mistakes when I'm playing on the weighted keyboards in my school compared to the soft-touch one at home.

Probably not and probably not - but it seems to me I saw a Yamaha with a weighted keyboard at Costco a lttle while back for less than $700 - check out their website - this could be just an $700 gorilla instead of a $2,000 white elephant .

But, what do you mean "your wife won't let you..."? Who wears the pants in that family?

Regards, JF

I bought a nonweighted Casio keyboard like you just to see if I could pick up piano and stick with it. I've only had it for less than a month but I got sick of it really fast. Though it has touch sensitivity, it's hard to control the dynamics because the keys are unweighted (So I play with hardly any dynamics at all). But what really pushed me was how weak my fingers are when I tried playing on a few acoustic pianos at a store. Sometimes, no sound comes out at all! I'm going to have my keyboard replaced with a better weighted digital piano (and pedals to boot). The pedal lesson came earlier than I expected in the Alfred method books and it's one other thing I was missing with my keyboard.

Anyway, you could get a weighted digital piano/keyboard for relatively cheap (the Casios are $500 to $700) - maybe even less if you could find one with a discount. So if you can afford it, I suggest you get a weighted DP.

I've been practicing on an unweighted keyboard for a couple months now. I told myself that if I can stick at practicing for 6 months, I can justify spending a lot on a proper digital piano.

Obviously the danger is that you spend a lot of money and pack it in after a few months (which I think a lot of people do - it'd be interesting to know the percentage of people who stick at it for more than one month and less than, say, six). I reckon that the proportion of "survivors" is fairly high after six months.

I spent 2 months on a NW keyboard, most of which, I spent learning Fur Elise. Got fairly good at it, and decided to go with an 88-key weighted DP. (Have only had the DP for 3 days). Pathetic! Can't get any consistent tone, but that was to be expected. More importantly, for some reason the fingering that worked on the old keyboard doesn't always work on the DP. I guess this is caused by having to strike the keys harder, which changes the span of other fingers. Not certain of the cause, but sometimes I'll be one or two notes off the old fingering.

The NW keyboard was good for practicing some of the basics, but I regret spending so much time on Fur Elise. I need to start all over on it.

In a word, "yes" you need a wighted action; IF you plan to play piano, but if your goal is to play synth or organ, then no. Playing synth is different than playing piano in that you have different controls for the sound such as aftertouch (additional pressure at the bottom of the keystroke that modifies the sound such as increasing volume), pitch shift and modulation. These controls don't make much sense in the context of piano but are essential for synth.

If your goal is to play Piano then the control afforded by a weighted keyboard is essential.

My 2 cents,

Rodney

I've only been learning for a little more than 5 weeks, and i'm already sick of the non weighted keyboard I started on. I have access to an acoustic piano, and even though I have to take time out of my day to drive to where the acoustic is located in order to practice, I do so as often as possible. All you have to do is get on an acoustic once or twice, and it'll happen to you, too!

To compromise with the wife, get a Casio PX-120 ($500). You can learn happily on one of those for a couple of years are more. This is the route I will eventually take(when I can afford it), except the Casio will have to serve me as permanently as possible. If you can afford the (relatively) small outlay of cash compared to acoustics or some of the finer digitals out there, it's a no brainer.

Yes, if you're going to learn piano - and stick with it - you need a properly weighted digital piano or a decent acoustic piano.

How can a beginning student know if they are going to like and stick with playing if they don't start off with an instrument that will encourage their playing and help them progress?

Understanding often a student/parent doesn't want to invest too much in the beginning, they are at a serious disadvantage by not starting with a proper instrument. It's a good way to just about ensure they won't stick with it.

You definitely need to get weighted keys. You can get as others have said a decent DP for $500. Plus, why not look at it the other way...you're spending the money, so you'd better stick with it. Piano takes a long time to get good at it, which is why people study it for *years*. If you quit after a year, then you're selling yourself short. Take the plunge and make that long-term commitment.

I think having weighted keys is important, too. I find it incredibly difficult to do any real practicing on a keyboard with non-weighted keys! Part of learning to play piano is learning the touch of the instrument, learning control of your fingers in order to play dynamics. It's really best to begin developing all this right away even as you're just beginning.

Best,

Kim

PS - I have a Casio Privia that I paid under $800 for and I love it.

Before Gyro steps in here, let me put in my 2 cents. In my experience, my development was slowed down because I started on unweighted keys. So for initial learning, I think it is essential, particularly since a weighted Casio isn't that expensive. Lots of bad habits can be learned on unweighted keys.

However, after you have developed proper technique (after many years), the unweighted keys don't hurt you as long as you get back to a weighted every so often.

This is actually my case now as I have an unweighted keyboard and a regular piano.

If you go to a music store and try out the weighted versus non-weighted keyboards, you'll see why most people would prefer to get the weighted one, even if it costs a couple of hundred more. It just feels so much better!

I second the recommendations on the Casio weighted keyboards. I bought a very lightly used Casio CDP-100 for $300. It costs $399 new, has 88 full-sized, weighed keys, decent sampled tones, and the hammer action feels great for a digital (even compared to some other much costlier models I've tried). IMHO it's worth the extra $150 or so you would have spent on a non-weighted keyboard.

You need to think of the resale value too in case you decide to upgrade to a better piano in the future. I think you would get more people interested in buying an used 88-key, weighted keyboard, than one with 76 non-weighted keys.

YES!!! I speak from experience and from being a teacher - weighted keys are a MUST if you ever plan on advancing beyond the beginner level. The primary reason is because non-weighted keys will stunt your growth as far as technicality is concerned. Due to the lack of weight in the keys, you will not develop your finger muscles, which means that you will not have finger strength and be able to work on the little subtleties that comes with playing the piano. Back in the day, I also started with a cheap non-weighted keyboard, and when I tried to play on a real piano, the difference was HUGE and although I was playing the right keys, my playing SUCKED because I did not have finger strength.

I did have to drop some cash for a digital piano (Yamaha's YDP 223), that has 88 keys, full-sized, fully-weighted, and has the pedals. I personally got this one for $1,500. As others have mentioned, there are cheaper ones out there that are weighted, but if you do NOT plan on ever getting a real piano, then I would get the YDP 223 that has the pedals and is very close to the real thing. I advocate getting the "top-of-the-line" so that you don't have to keep re-buying different keyboards, especially because you want one with pedals.

It also depends on your goals - if you're totally cool with only playing keyboard, then it doesn't matter. However, if you want to play on real pianos, then it matters... tremendously. I have not yet seen any student (or any person for that matter), who has been able to play REALLY WELL only learning from a non-weighted keyboard. This is because there are so many aspects in playing piano other than reading the notes. What separates a decent pianist from a great pianist are all of the little details that makes the music come together!

Thanks for the replies all.

My interest is in learning piano, not keyboard. We bought the 76 key non-weighted keyboard because it was cheaper ($250). A weighted keyboard would cost at least $750 (Casio being the cheapest) in my country. Believe me, I've checked.

The crux of the issue really is whether a year or two on a non-weighted keyboard would make much difference. I do intend to change to a weighted keyboard eventually.

If I could sell the $250 keyboard now, I suppose I could settle for the cheapest weighted keyboard now. (the wife would still take some convincing though). Alternatively, I could save for a year and get a really good one with pedals and GH3 keys.

Hey redryder,

I can't really be considered a pro on this subject, but I'll give my opinion anyway. =)

I've been taking piano lessons for the past 4 months, and I have a digital piano. It's a Kawaii CE200 that I bought used for 1100$ and has a reasonably realistic action... it's a great digital piano as far as I'm concerned. I can't imagine playing on an unweighted keyboard, much less one with only 76 keys... I'm sure I would lose inspiration in a heartbeat.

In my opinion I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now if I was playing on a nonweighted keyboard, and I think if I would play on one for the first few years of my piano lessons-- the foundation of all your future playing-- I would be considerably limiting my potential. Learning to use and becoming familiar with the pedals is another significant issue. How serious are you about playing piano? Just remember that if you choose to keep using a keyboard, you will be creating a foundation of piano playing on an entirely different instrument: one that cannot help you learn ultimate control, and in turn, will make it more difficult for you to convey emotion in the music you're playing.

It is your decision though. Personally I don't think keyboards should be allowed for piano students. =P

Think of it this way: if you wanted to learn to play flute, would you think that playing a kid's toy recorder would be a good start until you can afford a flute? If you wanted to learn to play golf, would you start by whacking at a ball with a stick? No. You need the right tool for the right job. I'm sorry you wasted your money on a keyboard. Had you asked prior to buying that you would have found out that it's not the same thing. Promise your wife that you will stick with it, and then do so.

another option is that in the US, many music stores will rent pianos for a monthly fee. I think you can get one for $40/month here, and then after 6 months or a year, your monthly payments go towards a purchase of a new instrument from them. Check around with your local piano dealer and see if this is an option for them.