Piano/Keyboard

[Skai]

I am very interested in learning how to play the piano. However, I am not interested in taking classes, rather I want to teach myself how to play by going through textbook and video guides I "found" online. My learning materials have been collected, but I have yet to acquire the means to put them to use.

I'm on a somewhat of a budget here, maybe less than $500? Space is an issue so a real piano is out of the question, but not so much that I can't get a regular-sized keyboard. A quick check through BestBuy and I see there are various types. I believe I am looking for a digital piano that can produce sounds as close to a traditional piano as possible.

What does BG have for recommendations? Brands? Online stores? Retail stores?

[DAKPluto]

Gonna have a hard time finding anything that's 88-key and fully weighted in that price range new.

I recommend keeping an eye on craigslist and your paper's classified section. People are commonly giving away piano's for dirt cheap or even free if they are moving. Normally they require you to do your own moving of course, hence the low cost. But if you can get a few friends to help you do the lifting, have a truck available and plenty of tie downs, you can do it.

Understand that it will require a tuning after the move. A good professional tuning is not cheap at all, but would be less than $500.

Oh....and get lessons, seriously. Save yourself a ton of heartache.

[Rockstaru]

If at all possible, try and get a keyboard with weighted action keys. Cheap keyboards will only let you adjust the volume to get a softer or louder sound; regardless of how hard or gently you press on the keys, it'll play at the same dynamic level, almost like a harpsichord. Weighted-action keys will feel more like a real piano, and will allow more tactile control over dynamics.

[Skai]

Thanks for your suggestions! I am willing to increase my price range and look into actual lessons.

I am a newbie when it comes to piano knowledge. I believe most traditional piano have 88 keys right? If I want to produce the most accurate rendition of a real piano that should be what I go for?

[Linliel]

Thanks for your suggestions! I am willing to increase my price range and look into actual lessons.

I am a newbie when it comes to piano knowledge. I believe most traditional piano have 88 keys right? If I want to produce the most accurate rendition of a real piano that should be what I go for?

Yes, with weighted keys.

[wop]

http://www.musician.com/product/Korg...ano?sku=702903

You can't go wrong with this.

Great touch, great sound, great price.

[DAKPluto]

Thanks for your suggestions! I am willing to increase my price range and look into actual lessons.

I am a newbie when it comes to piano knowledge. I believe most traditional piano have 88 keys right? If I want to produce the most accurate rendition of a real piano that should be what I go for?

Yes, a piano is 88 keys. Going from A0 to C8.

And if you do go electric, as said above, you wanna go fully weighted. Besides the fact of sounding more realistic, it will be much less of a shock sitting down at a real piano as you will be familiar with the action. Also invest in a good foot pedal. The cheap ass "box" shaped ones are horrible and will make you want to kill yourself. Get a good weighted foot pedal.

[DAKPluto]

http://www.musician.com/product/Korg...ano?sku=702903

You can't go wrong with this.

Great touch, great sound, great price.

Never did like the action on the Korg's :\ They feel good going down, but they also put too much spring action going back up for me. Other than that nitpick they are perfectly fine.

and yes, if you start on a Korg, this would not be a problem for you.

[Yuri-G]

http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Yamaha-P...FQsNDQodAn4pmA

this is what I have (actually, I paid $600 for it *grumble* but that was a few years ago so meh)

it's pretty much the cheapest you can get and still have any level of quality. it's an incredible instrument for the price imo. the action (weighted keys) feels realistic, the sound is pretty good, it has a few different instruments if you like that sort of thing. and don't be fooled by me calling it cheap, it's not a bad instrument by any means. I just mean that it's a great value. you pretty much won't find a realistic digital piano with weighted keys and decent sound quality for any less than this.

so yeah, unless you're willing to go used, this will be your best option for both price and quality.

[wop]

Dakpluto, yes I agree regarding Korg's touch, but you have to take into consideration of his budget.

Of course Korg's touch can't be comparable with a Clavinova CLP for eg.
However, OP is a beginner and this entry level that I recommend, fulfils all his needs.

It's miles better than casio's and yamaha entry level 88 weighted keyboards for sure.

[Teorem]

The last discussion on buying a keyboard, only a couple of months ago.

[Teorem]

I want to add a follow-up question to this because it's at least relevant to learning how to play: what are some good technical exercises for working on hand coordination?

I have a musical background of decent length in several instruments (and am concurrently learning violin), but for the most part it's always been a matter of producing one note at a time. So, piano is kind of a challenge for me when it comes to trying to make the disconnect between both hands and playing multiple, independent notes.

I've gone through a few of what seem to be the more popular websites and looked at a some basic intervals exercises, though many of them just involve the same one-octave-apart pattern, which I don't believe is really helping me be able to read both lines in the grand staff at all. I just end up focusing on treble (which I'm used to reading) and ignore bass altogether because it becomes obvious to me which corresponding finger I'm supposed to put down on the left hand. Improving my sightreading skill was a big factor in choosing to learn this thing, so I'm really hoping not to start slacking off already.

Chords don't really bother me much, and I'm making some decent progress (or so I think) on transitioning between them. But even though this is only my second week of class, my teacher likes to single me out and I have been "challenged" to replace all my chords with arpeggio chord patterns, and that's driving me nuts.

I definitely know that lots of practice is involved, so I'm not really unrealistically thinking a single book is going to help me by tomorrow, but I plan to look around a few stores this week and am hoping for some recommendations to look out for as I browse through the texts sections.

Thanks!

[Yuri-G]

if I read you right, you're asking about coordinating both hands - for that, I suggest:

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Two-Part-...2910735&sr=1-1

any of Bach's two-part inventions are going to be fantastic for teaching hand coordination/independence, plus you get the bonus of learning a lot about arpeggios and scales and all sorts of fun stuff.

and no post on piano practice would be complete without a mention of:

http://www.amazon.com/Virtuoso-Piani...2910564&sr=8-1

there's some controversy as to whether his techniques are too rigid or not, but I think it's bullshit for the most part. the value of what you'll learn from this book far surpasses any possible downside (of which there are none as long as you're cautious not to get into bad hand habits anyway). and the amount of finger strength you'll gain from doing just a few of these exercises per day is staggering.

[Waraji]

My gawd, look dis hea I found near my area... ; ; /want

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/msg/1723853520.html

[SephYuyX]

CL really does have wonderful ads for pianos. Youll get your typical crap, but most tend to be in a really good condition with people just not having the room for them anymore and want to sell for cheap (often times free) to get rid of them. $200 for a good upright, plus around $100 for a good tuneup is all you need for a starter piano.

[Kenshiin]

Sorry for bumping an old thread but I had a couple questions. Do they make keyboards that connect to your computer so you can play games in order to learn how to play? Something similar to how you learned how to type? What kind of keyboards would be able to do this if it's possible?

[zeal5050]

You may want to consider a quality MIDI-Controller such as the Akai - MPK88. Great build quality and very realistic action. Can find refurbished units for around $650(USD) price point. Be aware that it is a MIDI-controller and you will need computer connectivity and decent speakers or headphones to get the most out of this setup.

I'm currently using the Akai MPK-49 along with AKG-701's (Headphones) Logic Pro and some epic Piano VST's. Could not be happier with the outcome.

The type of keyboard you choose ultimately comes down to the type of music you will eventually want to play. Purchasing a Midi-controller allows a lot of flexibility when it come to sound and style.

[Boyiee]

Games that teach you how to play... I'm not sure, maybe somewhere. They aren't really necessary thanks to youtube.

Realistically you can grab a cheap midi keyboard for under 150$ and learn to play quite easily. Learn to play well at that, and eventually bump up to something with weighted keys and more realistic action.

[Kenshiin]

I would probably like to start off cheap in order to learn how to play first. This is my first time looking at getting a keyboard so I have no idea what the different keyboards do or don't do. It sounds like a MIDI controller can not produce it's own music and needs to be connect to a computer. Is this correct? Is there an option that can do both and is it a lot more expensive? I was planning on putting it either right next to my computer or swapping it on and off my desk anyway but just in case it doesn't stay there.

What size should I be leaning towards? I probably have room to get a full 88 but do I need them all as a beginner? Links to suggestions would be wonderful.

[isladar]

A synth, or a digital piano, will have on-board sounds. They will cost you, especially if you're going for 88-keys, and you'll have to go for a full 88 if you want weighted keys. A MIDI controller will not be capable of producing sounds (and MIDI is a bit of a misnomer, since most/all nowadays are USB; yes you'll have a MIDI in/out/through, but I don't think there is a soundcard on the market that has a direct MIDI port, most likely you'd have to get a MIDI-to-USB connector).

"Something that does both" would be a synth hooked up to your computer as described above. You'd have to hook it directly into your soundcard to get the on-board sounds to come out of your speakers. Honestly, you'd be paying a shit metric ton for a synth. I cannot really recommend it. For what you are describing, you do not want a synth, since anything with 88 keys is going to be a goddamn workstation, and then you're looking at dropping at least $2500. If you want a shitty Casio, it'll have on-board sounds and it's own speakers.

As far as controllers: A poster mentioned the Akai MPK series; I love these controllers, but unless you're looking for DAW-mapping capabilities, I don't think they're what you're looking for. The Roland A-500 Pro still has knobs and sliders and whosits and doo-dads, but it's a little more compact. The Yamaha KX series is a very solid, very basic controller, great keys (used to own the 88 weighted, it was godlike), but unfortunately the series is discontinued, so you'd have to scour the used market. It really, really comes down to personal taste. I don't happen to like Korg boards, but some people swear by them. Rolands are nice, but I find Yamahas to be superior. Some people swear by Fatar boards. There's no right answer. You can get cheapos for cheap, but don't expect anything resembling quality.

Anything small enough to fit on a normal computer desk is going to have 'synth action' keys. Think of what a shitty Casio feels like. Semi-weighted keys, like on the Akai MPK series (the 49 and 61 are semi-weighted, 88 is weighted, iirc) are great for most anyone, but a piano player is going to feel weird using them. Took me a long time to get used to my friends MPK 49 after having the KX-88, and I'm by no means a pianist.

No, you're not going to need all 88 keys as a 'beginner', as in, you won't be playing across all the octaves, but if you're truly interested in learning to play piano, you'll need all 88 keys because that's the only way you'll get anything resembling hammer action.