Uprights, grands, and digital pianos: What to have for a beginner piano lesson
The piano in my home as a child was not ideal. In fact, the A above middle C was broken and needed to be pressed harder than all the other keys or it wouldn’t sound. My dad also had a few keyboards that he used in his band, but usually I only played with those when I wanted to experiment with the sound banks (especially making race car sounds!)
When I was in eighth grade I got a new piano teacher. My motivation was higher than ever and I started practicing 45 minutes daily and that broken key was really slowing me down. My dad chose this time to buy a really wonderful upright, I love playing on it when I visit home. One time I wandered into the music store in the nearby town of Dickinson North Dakota, and I discovered our old piano! It lived with my aunt and uncle for years, then they sold it to the music store when they moved out of state. I recognized it because of the broken key.
I did my last two years of high school in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I had my aunt’s baby grand piano to practice on at home, several uprights in the practice rooms at school, and a couple of grand pianos I could access after school hours and for jazz band. I started to learn how to play on stiffer keys, and to adjust to different instruments on the fly, which helped me with my college auditions.
I’ll note here that there is a significant difference in playing an upright and a grand piano. Uprights have less resistance, so it feels easier to play the notes. Grand pianos have a point when you are pressing down where the mechanism snaps the hammer, and if you press too softly it won’t make a sound. It takes some practice to get used to the action and produce the louds and softs with accuracy and finesse.
For college I moved to St. Paul Minnesota to attend the college of St. Catherine. As a piano major I got access to the best instruments in the school. These were all six foot Steinway pianos in individual practice rooms. For recitals and juries, you could get access to practice on the 9 foot grand! All these pianos have a much harder action than anything I played as a child, and it takes a little extra work to get your fingers to snap the hammers precisely.
What should a piano student have to practice on?
I recommend getting the nicest instrument you can afford for your piano student. Having a quality instrument that is satisfying to play can help encourage a child to stick with music long enough to get advanced piano skills. I’ve had students be successful on $300 digital keyboards and I’ve had students lose interest playing a $100,000+ Bosendorfer grand piano.
For most students, a decent digital piano or upright will be more than sufficient for many years. I didn’t worry about playing on a grand piano until late high school, after over 10 years of lessons when I started doing piano competitions and college auditions. As long as the keyboard has hammer action keys, weighted keys, or semi-weighted keys it is probably good enough for a beginner.
Is that old keyboard you found at a garage sale good enough?
Count and see if there are 88 keys, which is full size. 76 keys might be okay for a few years of study but any smaller I wouldn’t recommend it. When you press the keys softly, it should make a quiet sound and when you press harder it should make a louder sound. You’ll also need a damper pedal, a bench, a keyboard stand and a music stand. If it doesn’t have built-in speakers, you need external speakers. If you want to be able to connect to a computer, make sure it has MIDI capabilities, space for large round plugs labeled MIDI In, Out, and Through
People often ask me about the free pianos you see offered when people are moving. These are a gamble! Many are in poor condition, they might be free because they are broken and unfixable. Even free pianos take money, for tuning and for moving. I don’t recommend moving a piano without a professional mover, they are very very heavy and dangerous.I don’t recommend acoustic pianos unless you are willing to make a large investment and pay for upkeep. It takes space, temperature and humidity control, yearly tuning, and a professional piano mover.
What do I play on?
My favorite instrument is my Korg SV-1RV. Not only is it the prettiest, most stylish keyboard I’ve ever seen, it has a wonderful hammer action keyboard and vintage sounds that will knock your socks off. Someday maybe I’ll upgrade to the Korg SV-2. I also own a microKorg, a Yamaha P-130 76 key portable grand that only weighs 6 pounds and can run off batteries, and I recently bought a used Casio Privia PX-300 for my setup in Mexico, until I get the Korg Sv-1Rv transported down here. In addition to Yamahas, Korgs, Casios, I’d trust Roland or Nord digital pianos. In the past I’ve owned Studiologic and Aleisis keyboards but probably wouldn’t use those brands again. Someday maybe I’ll have a space where I can buy an upright or a grand piano, but probably not while I’m living beachfront, too much humidity.
Digital Piano Buying Guide
88 keys (full size)
Hammer action or Weighted keys, sometimes called touch sensitive or velocity sensitive. This means they can play soft or loud based on your touch.
Damper pedal
Keyboard stand (X stands are common and work okay, but Z stands and H stands are more comfortable and worth the investment!)
Piano Bench (adjustable benches are great for kids who are growing or families where multiple people play)
Music Stand
Built in speakers, external speakers, or headphones
Spend minimum $300 to $700 to get a quality new instrument
Good Options: Yamaha P-143, Korg SV, Casio Privia, Roland FP-30X
