Elementary keyboard

General discussion about digital pianos

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Salaskan
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Elementary keyboard

Post by Salaskan »

I've never played an instrument before, but I'd like to learn to play the piano. Since they are immensely expensive, I think I should start with an elementary keyboard. The question is: which? There are dozens of keyboards on the market which all seem to be very similar to each other (e.g. the Yamaha EZ200 / PSRE213/313/223/323 / YPT210/310/410).

I'm looking for an affordable keyboard (preferably no more than €150) that sounds/feels like a piano to a certain extent (weighted keys, etc), comes with learning features (since I'm a beginner), and, if possible, has extra features like recording songs, importing MIDI files or viewing notes on a display. I don't need all those fancy electronic sound effects to spice it up, since I'm just looking for a simple piano substitute.

What would you recommend?
Last edited by Salaskan on 17 Jun 2009, 15:10, edited 2 times in total.
NewAge
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Re: Elementary keyboard

Post by NewAge »

Salaskan wrote:I've never played an instrument before, but I'd like to learn to play the piano. Since they are immensely expensive, I think I should start with an elementary keyboard. The question is: which? There are dozens of keyboards on the market which all seem to be very similar to each other.

I'm looking for an affordable keyboard (preferably €150 max) that sounds/feels like a piano to a certain extent (weighted keys, etc), comes with learning features (since I'm a beginner), and, if possible, has extra features like recording songs, importing MIDI files or viewing notes on a display. I don't need all those fancy electronic sound effects to spice it up, since I'm just looking for a simple piano substitute.

What would you recommend?
I think you would get more feedback by posting this on the digital piano forum. Go to the board index and check out the posts on the digital piano forum. There’s a link here which may help:
http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-forums/vi ... f=9&t=7067

A digital piano can be a reasonable compromise to an acoustic, but unless you find a good second-hand deal you could be disappointed with a cheap (150€ ) model. Try to avoid a unit with learning features as they are very gimmicky, and often short-lived! You will get most of the basic learning aids necessary from a good Piano Course book.
I was playing the piano in a zoo, when the elephant burst into tears. I said, "Don't you recognize the tune?" He replied, "No, I recognize the ivories!"
Salaskan
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Re: Elementary keyboard

Post by Salaskan »

Oh, I didn't see a keyboard section so I just posted my thread here, forgive me for my ignorance. Could it be moved to the proper section?

Since I've never played an instrument before and I'm a poor student, I'm a little reluctant to buy a more expensive model, because I'm not even sure whether I'll become a serious player, so I thought I'd start out with a cheap keyboard. But if you tell me they're really rubbish, I might borrow a keyboard somewhere, learn to play, see if I like it and then buy a higher quality keyboard, I'm not really sure yet.

What's so "gimmicky" about learning features? I thought it would be easier to learn that way and that you could always turn them off, but I may be mistaken.
markymark
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Re: Elementary keyboard

Post by markymark »

Salaskan wrote:I've never played an instrument before, but I'd like to learn to play the piano. Since they are immensely expensive, I think I should start with an elementary keyboard. The question is: which? There are dozens of keyboards on the market which all seem to be very similar to each other (e.g. the Yamaha EZ200 / PSRE213/313/223/323 / YPT210/310/410).

I'm looking for an affordable keyboard (preferably no more than €150) that sounds/feels like a piano to a certain extent (weighted keys, etc), comes with learning features (since I'm a beginner), and, if possible, has extra features like recording songs, importing MIDI files or viewing notes on a display. I don't need all those fancy electronic sound effects to spice it up, since I'm just looking for a simple piano substitute.

What would you recommend?
The keyboard models you mentioned are all rather basic and for 150 Euros, you won't get anything brand new with a weighted keyboard action for that amount. Did you check anything that caught your eye on Ebay?

If cost is your main deciding factor, then consider a Yamaha NP30. I was thinking about the Yamaha DGX range but these tend to be more expensive. The NP30 is a semi-weighted keyboard action all beit it better than those horrible flat keys you would get on those models you mentioned.
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