Digital piano for beginners
March 22, 2024 7:16 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for a digital piano for beginners. I'm not looking for the highest quality piano possible - more of a starter instrument for a kindergartener to use for a few years to determine whether or not they have a long term interest, at which point I'm ok with spending thousands.
Ideally I'd get something less than $500 (maybe like this). I realize this is pretty cheap, I just need to know it's not a terrible idea and that it won't impact the quality of the kids' learning. Please make any and all suggestions that help me figure out this little kids' piano lessons thing!
Ideally I'd get something less than $500 (maybe like this). I realize this is pretty cheap, I just need to know it's not a terrible idea and that it won't impact the quality of the kids' learning. Please make any and all suggestions that help me figure out this little kids' piano lessons thing!
wirecutter recommends the Alesis Recital Pro if you are looking in that price range. Seems a much more popular choice than the one you link to...
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-budget-digital-piano-for-beginners/
posted by ManInSuit at 7:55 AM on March 22
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-budget-digital-piano-for-beginners/
posted by ManInSuit at 7:55 AM on March 22
My son started out on a hand-me-down simple 61-key keyboard like this one, which even took him through his first year of lessons. Eventually he got to the point where his teacher said he needed a full-size piano, so we moved up to this full-sized electronic piano. And he's an excellent pianist today.
But something like that smallish one might be enough to see if your kindergartener has an interest and affinity.
posted by martin q blank at 8:06 AM on March 22
But something like that smallish one might be enough to see if your kindergartener has an interest and affinity.
posted by martin q blank at 8:06 AM on March 22
I'd recommend going the used route for this, there is a healthy market in Casio and Yamaha Pianos and Keyboards, so you can buy one of those, play it for a couple of years and sell it for roughly what you paid when it is time to upgrade. Very early digital pianos did not have the most realistic sound, but anything made in the last 5-10 years is going to be fine for a beginner.
Some off-brand piano from Amazon is likely to be unsellable when you are done with it.
If you are buying a smaller keyboard pay attention to the size of the keys, small keys can be good for kids to learn but also they may grow out of it and need something full sized later.
posted by Lanark at 8:07 AM on March 22 [7 favorites]
Some off-brand piano from Amazon is likely to be unsellable when you are done with it.
If you are buying a smaller keyboard pay attention to the size of the keys, small keys can be good for kids to learn but also they may grow out of it and need something full sized later.
posted by Lanark at 8:07 AM on March 22 [7 favorites]
It's really important to get something with weighted and normally sized keys so that it has the same/similar feel as a real piano. Moving between a "normal" piano in lessons and different keyboard when practicing at home can be really disruptive to the learning process. If you have a teacher in mind, they're a great resource for suggesting reasonable priced instruments for beginners that they find are supportive of the learning process.
Going the used route is a great idea - if you curate a few specific models that you're interested in, Facebook Marketplace / your piano teacher that knows someone who recently upgraded / whatever your local neighborhood message board is should be awash in secondhand keyboards.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:12 AM on March 22 [8 favorites]
Going the used route is a great idea - if you curate a few specific models that you're interested in, Facebook Marketplace / your piano teacher that knows someone who recently upgraded / whatever your local neighborhood message board is should be awash in secondhand keyboards.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:12 AM on March 22 [8 favorites]
Agree very much with Lanark and A Blue Moon. Getting a decent quality (if not super fancy) digital piano is important. I grew up learning to play piano on an ancient semi-broken never-in-tune upright and I think it really hindered my enjoyment of the instrument.
I recommend Yamaha as a reliable brand, either the P-225 or the P-45 (here). It's likely you can find one used for cheaper as well.
posted by daisystomper at 8:53 AM on March 22
I recommend Yamaha as a reliable brand, either the P-225 or the P-45 (here). It's likely you can find one used for cheaper as well.
posted by daisystomper at 8:53 AM on March 22
You should be able to find a used Roland FP-10 for around $400 on marketplaces like Reverb. You'll also need to spring for a sturdy stand. It's a good digital piano. The next model up, the FP-30X, is an excellent digital piano that will meet the needs of someone learning piano for many years. Around that price there's also the Kawai ES-120 which will be good enough for playing everything but the most advanced pieces. These pianos tend to hold their resale pretty well, so if you buy a nicer (around $1000) one, and it turns out the kid won't play it, in the next 5 years or so you'll probably be able to get $800-900 for it on the used market.
posted by dis_integration at 9:35 AM on March 22 [2 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 9:35 AM on March 22 [2 favorites]
Just as a data point if you're considering second hand, we have a Kawai ES100 (the old version of the ES120 I believe) which has weighted keys and feels and sounds pretty realistic, definitely good enough to learn to a fairly high standard on. Ours is a decade old and has been thoroughly bashed about by a grumpy small person over the years. I did have to open it up once when a key got stuck following a particularly unnecessary tantrum, but it was easy enough to fix. A few keys are a tiny bit squeaky but you can get grease to fix that on eBay, and apart from that it is rock solid, I would not hesitate to grab one used unless it was obviously broken.
posted by tomsk at 10:13 AM on March 22 [1 favorite]
posted by tomsk at 10:13 AM on March 22 [1 favorite]
Another vote for a used Roland FP line or Kawaii midrange. I have the FP-30 and am very happy with it.
Alesis is ok if you have to buy new but you'll get better quality for the price used. These things are pretty tough and from what I can tell the used music gear market is pretty honest and safe. I've never had any problems myself and reports of foul play are pretty rare in online fora.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:17 AM on March 22
Alesis is ok if you have to buy new but you'll get better quality for the price used. These things are pretty tough and from what I can tell the used music gear market is pretty honest and safe. I've never had any problems myself and reports of foul play are pretty rare in online fora.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:17 AM on March 22
My kid's piano teacher recommended the Yamaha P-45. We were able to buy it secondhand (but practically brand new) on FB Marketplace for about $500 including a stand and stool. Because this is a really commonly recommended set up, you should be able to find it second hand (there were second hand ones at Guitar Center too), and you should be able to sell it at a good price later on.
posted by vunder at 10:28 AM on March 22
posted by vunder at 10:28 AM on March 22
We have a Casio CDP S100 and are very happy with it. I believe that it's been slightly updated to the CDP S110 which is about the same. Full size weighted key action, good feel, nice sound, and probably the smallest and lightest of the 88 key weighted action digital pianos. If you have a Guitar Center in the area, you can pick up a used S100 or S110 for less than $400 and have it delivered to the store for pickup, with a 30-day no questions asked return policy if your kid doesn't like it.
posted by indexy at 2:23 PM on March 22
posted by indexy at 2:23 PM on March 22
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posted by icaicaer at 7:46 AM on March 22