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Hello all - don't know if this topic belonged better to Teaching or Adult Beginners ?

I'm asking about your learning and teaching experiences with the lighted-key keyboards like the Casio EZ and LK series. Are more powerful keyboards like that still made ?

I thinly rejected choosing one of them, in favor of a more modern and feature rich conventional keyboard (Casio CTK-800) which has only an LCD staff and key display.

I think seeing keys directly light may help with those with (for me, until recently) predominant visual-oriented style - forming 'mental links' with eyes on keyboard and fingers, but it may hinder true real-time reading from sheet. A good gentle method like Piano Adventures also helps with classical reading. Your opinions ?

I had a simple lighted key Casio for a short while, quite a long time ago. What it teaches you to do is to look at your hands, which is always a bad thing. I would not recommend the lighted keys to anyone who wants to learn to play from sheet music.

i actually hated it when i tried it at some store long time ago. the light on the keyboard is so distracting.

I don't think that lighted keys are a good feature at all. Lights might seem like a great idea for a real beginner that knows nothing about music. There are a few problems, however.

1) You're going to be looking at the keys and still not learn anything about them.
2) You're likely stuck with whatever songs are built in.
3) Lights still won't tell you what fingers to use like a beginner piano book will.
4) Reading music and finding the keys really isn't that bad. Now, you won't be sight reading and playing along at any speed at first but for me reading notes came along very quickly.

Of course, I currently only have a non-weighted 66 key Casio but it doesn't have lights. If it did I'm sure they would be off anyways. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll upgrade to a full size and weighted digital piano but I'm saving up for something nice. The cheap digital was an xmas gift and to see if I could keep myself playing and teaching myself (never took lessons as a child).

OK, I agree with your opinions that it distracts from reading.

What I was saying on my 'visual learning' was that now I can read mechanically simple melodic lines without looking at keys, but :
1) for unexpected jumps etc. I still need to look at keyboard right after reading that note to arrive at the right place, and
2) true understanding of chord structures, the WWTWWWT of different scales etc. came only after looking at keys, not the sheet.