Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum When to make the switch?

I believe that--in an ideal world--all piano students should at least be practicing on an upright acoustic piano. I understand that parents of beginner students want to have a "trial period" on a digital keyboard before making the investment to buy a piano. But I have seen evidence that practicing on a digital keyboard DOES affect the student in a negative way; the student is not sensitive to the different touches of the piano and does not develop a good ear for tone production.

My question is...when do you piano teachers insist on making the switch?

All of my private piano students are on acoustic pianos by now. The last one to make the switch took forever. She was already playing Clementi Sonatinas (the first two), and doing quite well despite not having a real piano at home. Since her mom made the switch, she has been practicing a lot more and making excellent progress. The difference is night and day.

Well, first there needs to be a distinction between a digital piano and a keyboard. I let students be on a keyboard for the first couple of months as a "trial", but after that I recommend that they make the switch because the student will start to get frustrated whenever they have to play on a piano. They won't be able to press down the keys as easily, they won't be able to do piano and forte, they won't be able to use the pedal, etc. I help them find an instrument, whether acoustic or digital piano, that fits into their budget. Sometimes this doesn't happen right away, but I let them know that their money for lessons won't get the results they're looking for without a proper instrument to practice on. Whenever they do get an instrument, there is always an immediate result of practicing more and better playing overall.

I recently had a beginner boy who tolerated a keyboard for 6 or 7 months before his parents bought him an upright. He was very persistent, and now that he has an instrument I notice him doodling a lot more on my piano when he comes, which means he's creating music at home as well and feels more comfortable at a piano. He is making great progress and I am sure to let him and his mom know so that she feels reassured about buying the instrument.

When i first started teaching, I used to be very strict and would not even take on a student that had only a digital piano to practice on.

But in time I've had to become more leniant. I've learned that most often too, students might actually be better off practicing on a quality digital versus an acoustic piano that would cost the same. I would rather have a student be practicing on a touch sensitive digital with full size weighted keys than either a spinet, an older not well regulated and/or voiced piano, or just a generally poor quality acoustic.

In the ideal world I would insist on a student having at the very least a Yamaha U series piano that is well tuned, regulated and voiced. And I would expect the piano to be purchased before lessons begin. Then the question would be *when* to move to a grand piano of excellent quality.

But since our world is not ideal and to help answer your question. I would give 6 months before making the switch. This to me is enough time for the parent to see if they want to make the investment.

IMO, though, even if you don't play piano, you should still have the best you can afford in one's house.

Another comment too is... how can a parent know if a child loves to play the piano when he is practicing on a digital piano? Two different instruments really. It contradicts what we are trying to teach.

I will gladly give any student with a burning desire for playing the piano the gift of music, but I do sometimes nudge students toward making the switch. At the same time, I understand that not everybody (including myself) can afford to just go buy a piano because they want one. The good news is, once you have one, they last a long time.

This reminds me of my childhood. Ever since I was around four years old I wanted to play the piano. I even nagged my parents to buy me piano records and casette tapes. It wasn't until I was 15 that we could afford one. My parents, God bless them.

AZN, I explain to the parents that there is in reality a world of difference between the two, and at some point, if their child excels at all, will be purchasing at least a decent upright. The money they've sunk into a synth will be pretty much gone, so they should give it a lot of thought.

I explain to them that they can rent, and the amount they spend on renting probably won't be any more that what they would have spent on the synth.

In the end, I will take the student, but I want to make certain the parent understands that their child will soon outgrow it and from that point on, they've hobbled their child's progress.

I've been thinking for some time now that I should get a real acoustic.
I started lessons 15 months ago, and although I notice a huge difference between my crappy digital and the Studio's acoustics, I hoped to be able to wait a bit more to take the plunge and start looking for a decent upright.

Your comment about the Clementi Sonatinas has been some kind of "eye opener". I'm working on Sonatina n.3 at the moment and maybe it's about time to treat me with a real piano.

I've been talking lessons for 1 1/2 or maybe less. I became serious right after my first recital. And theres been a lot of music recordings going inside my head ever since I drop my ipod on hold for months. My teacher recommended me making the switch because he stated that I need to hear, feel the Piano to the fullest (my translation of how he said it). I'm also doing the Sonatina Albums. He also said I was going to do more complex music sooner or later than you'd expect. I wasn't really pressured about buying a piano but I felt that in my current situation I have to do alot of thinking before I get one.

I have a Digital and it still rocks because I'm making music Either Way!