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Waaaay O/T, but got a question for any musicians in the house.


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Hey all, I was just wondering if there's any musicians in the house that could help me out here. Many moons ago, I took piano lessons. My parents started me in it when I was something like 12 and at that time, being a stupid kid, I never really put my heart into it. I really enjoyed going to the lessons, but when it came to dedicating myself and practicing, I guess I felt I had better things to do. By the age of 14, I quit with it. Now, almost 20 years after that, and after seeing people play the piano and thinking "jeez...that could have been me, why was I so stupid to quit playing?", I'm looking to get back into it (you folks don't think I'm too old, do you??? :unsure:), which brings me to my question. Can anybody give me any advice on what would be a good starter keyboard? I'd prefer it to be 88 keys if possible. It's definitely going to have to be an electric keyboard though, because I don't have room for a regular piano at the house anywhere. I've browsed online and I see them for as cheap as around $199 to over $2,000 (USD). I don't need a keyboard with all the fancy shmancy, 50 million different settings on it, I'm just looking for something middle of the road that won't necessarily break the bank. Thanks for the help :cheers:!

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You're never too old!

I'd have a look at Casio for starters - they make some nice full-size digital pianos, and generally aren't too expensive. Yamaha and Roland are also good, but getting up there a bit price-wise. Mind you, it's been a long while since I was in the market for one smile.gif

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Morning,

About a year and a half ago I did my homework and purchased a Yamamha keyboard for my teenage son (musician) and wife (wanted to learn piano). I purchase the Yamaha YPG 235. The 235 It is a 76 key keyboard with graded soft touch keys. My son says the keys are weighted but still a lot lighter than piano keys. I paid close to $250 for it, had to purchase a AC power adapter,sustain pedal, and small table to put it on. One key feature that sold me on Yamaha was the Yamaha Education Suite. There are preloaded lessons/exercises for beginning piano players (my wife).In addition the keyboard can be connected to a computer via usb cable. In the end my wife never follwed through with the lessons and my son mainly uses the keyboard for dictation. Working out "cool" songs that sheet music is unavailable for.Basically messing around.We have an antique upright piano if he wants to play.

It's possible Yamaha has updated this model so the best thing you can do is read the reviews,and do your homework. Go out and try the keyboards you are considering. I thought about buying mine online but in the end went down to BestBuy.I am also a middle of the road, don't break the bank kind of guy.

For what it's worth I don't have a musical bone in my body but I believe if you're passionate enough, you can do any thing you want to do. The fact that you took lessons for a couple of years will only help. It's in there somewhere you just have to find it.

Hope this helps,

Jim S

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At some point, I thought about getting a harpsichord (got up to Grade 10 Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music in piano - but wasn't good enough to get to ARCT (teaching or performance) level) but opted to focus my money and my efforts on my photography. It took me from 7-18 to get to Gr. 10 level and that's not saying something for talent. The ones who were truly talented got to Gr.10 and ARCT within 5-6 years. That's why you see some 11 year olds playing Chopin polonaises.

It will take a lot of work and practice to achieve competence in piano/keyboard, but if you're willing to put in the time and effort.

Edited by The_Animal
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Wonderful info! Thanks a lot for the help!I think I may be somewhat musically inclined, because back in the day when I still played, I memorized the entire theme to Star Trek: DS9 on the piano and played it at a recital that my piano teacher had. I was actually pretty proud of that one..LOL.

Edited by TomcatFanatic123
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Soooo....what scale? 1/32? 1/48? happy.giflaugh.gif

Seriously, good advice on Yamaha(Ha!) or Casio for starter stuff...lots of choices, and if your playing takes off, you can always upgrade later.

A good general resource to check out for reviews/ opinions etc., especially if you're new to the music gear buying thing is "thegearpage.net" -lots of joking around, but some serious expert advice to be had.

Also, TGP's web format looks exactly like the old ARC, so it should kinda' seem familiar!

Forum here:

http://www.thegearpa...oard/index.php?

Good luck! 271.gif

- Rob

*Edit for 'smiley slash" removal...'sup-wid-dat...? hmmm.gif

Edited by Rraab
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My main advice is that if you're likely to "get in to it" I would recommend spending a little extra and trying to find something with weighted keys. There is a huge difference in feel when you go from a keyboard with simple keys to a piano and It can take a while to get rid of the choppy playing you'll likely pick up by switching from a non-weighted keyboard. Of course as others said, you can always upgrade later if you start with something else, but I look at that as wasted money IF you're pretty sure you want to get serious about it.

Funny, I was just talking about this very subject yesterday at Church. I want to find a weighted keyboard for myself and something my daughters can take piano lessons on. If I run across any great deals I'll let you know.

Bill

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I'd go for a Roland or Yamaha digital piano, but a lot depends on how much you want to spend. Yamaha Clavinovas have probably the best and truest action compared to a really good acoustic piano and any keyboard player will tell you that weighted keys is preferable. A digital instrument is much more convenient, it never goes out of tune and you can use 'phones if you don't want to intrude on the rest of the household. If you want to mess around with different sounds you might consider a stage piano with XG sounds, this will have patches for hundreds of different sounds including pianos, organs, synth etc., but again a lot depends on how much you want to spend.

peebeep

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