Piano in the House

I would get the real thing. I have several piano students, and two of them have the weighted keys, but both kids prefer to play on my antique piano, which I bough for $150 on craigslist. One of them lives on my block and is a friend to my own kids, and she plays on the piano any chance she gets.

Then again, it's only my own opinion. I like the way a real piano smells when I'm playing (or teaching). The weighted keys do pretty well reflect the traditional piano...

I wanted a keyboard when I was 7, I had rock star dreams, and my mom signed me and sis up for piano lessons and told teacher she was buying a keyboard, not a piano. The teacher told her piano or no lessons so we got an upright. Even though the keyboards these days sound like a piano there is nothing like the feel and the actual sound reverberating inside the instrument. Plus for some reason pianos make it more sentimental. I don't remember anyone saying remember the first Casio I had? But everyone remembers the baby grande they learned on at their teachers studio and the upright, that now my sister has in her house, I think I need to pay her a visit!

I got a paino from the newspaper ads for $150. Had it tuned and moved into my house for under $500. It's a 1903 Lillington, beautiful cabinet grand. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I like an actual piano so much better than keyboards. No matter how much they cost they are still just keynoards, but that's my opinion.
A piano becomes part of the homes feel. It gets it's own room, It is heavier than keyboards so much less likely to fall over. People will come over and play it. I actually had a dishwasher repairman play mine, he had lost his in a fire months earlier and was so excited to see a real piano.
So my vote is piano form Craigslist or the newspaper or somewhere.

It really depends on the quality of the piano and the quality of the keyboard. Just because it's a "real" piano doesn't guarantee that the feel/action is any better than the keyboard. There is a vast difference between the feel of my piano and the one my mom has. Likewise, there is a big difference between the keyboard my aunt purchased and the cheaper model my grandmother bought.

Do you play yourself? I would recommend playing (or taking someone with you who does) the piano you're considering and the keyboard you're considering and deciding which is better. In my experience trying to find a used piano, I don't know that you'll get anything great for $500, and the keyboard may be a better value in the long run, especially since it's low maintenance. However, sometimes there are great deals to be had on Craigslist, so it truly is dependent on the particular model.

We went through this as well when our daughter was 3 1/2 and we wanted her to start piano..... Our daughter is now 5.

We were patient and watched Cragislist. Found a Samick piano for $175! (Actually went and looked at the exact same piano that another person wanted $1000 for a couple nights earlier!) Just keep watching. Our piano teacher was adamant about getting a REAL piano, especially for a younger child to learn on. We only tune ours once a year and we actually moved it ourselves. TAKES LIKE 4 GUYS and an enclosed trailer!

Keep watching. You CAN find a better deal out there than what you have so far. I've even seen some older ones for free on there! I suggest going that route if possible since you just never know if the child will continue with lessons.

And one last point that our piano teacher makes is that pianos always have a resale value to them. The keyboards go down in value.......

Hi Paul. You have to get a very expensive keyboard to even START to compare to a piano.
I say.....look on Craigslist for a piano. Too bad you don't live near me. I am giving away a piano as I don't have room for two pianos anymore!

FWIW this is what we did:
Our 8YO's started with a secondhand keyboard that had full size keys that were touch-sensitive but not weighted action (I think my cousin probably got it from Costco). Hubby thought it made sense to start w/the keyboard b/c neither of us play and he didn't want to have to deal with having an unused piano sitting around the house if the kids didn't stick with it. Their teacher was fine with them starting on a keyboard for the first couple months but emphasized that they *would* need to use a "real" piano if they continued for more than a couple months.

After a couple months, we moved my mother in law's Baldwin console piano (which had been sitting around her living room mostly unused since hubby was a kid) to our house - piano mover cost $180, tuning (tuner had to do two successive tunings b/c it hadn't been tuned for over 20 years) cost us $165. FWIW I think the kids appreciate the "real" piano more after having started on the keyboard.

we have both a piano and a keyboard, if cost is your only concern and they are similar, consider space?, even upright pianos are huge, however they are much more elegant, longer lasting, and the sound quality is unmistakeable., although electric keyboards are more mobile and reletively small.

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I actually bought my son a BRAND NEW weighted hammer style key piano for less than that price. Kraft music (online website) ordered the Yamaha YPG635. HE LOVES this - it is an awesome piano, love it. Check it out:

http://www.kraftmusic.com/search/index.asp?query=ypg635

you can usually find free pianos on craigslist too because people dont want to move them when they move into new houses, we got a really nice one free of CL just needed tuning.

I think there is nothing like a real piano. sitting there and using all the pedals and hearing the sound is something that can't be duplicated. I say go for the real piano and it only costs about $75-$100 every year or so for tuning and new strings if needed.

It took 8 men to move my piano out of the pick up onto my deck then in my house, it is cast iron inside. It was my grandmothers and made in the 1800's. The truck had a lawn mower ramp we borrowed and used to get it in the truck.

We are not piano players but started our 8YO on a Casio we bought a few months ago through Coscto.com. Delivery was free and the digital piano with a stand was about $650. It didn't include a bench or foot pedals but they can be added to this model. The keys are weighted. She takes lessons on a 'real' piano and hasn't mentioned a difference. The space savings and portability are very nice. We also saw a Yamaha after the purchase at Guitar Center that we would have considered.

We rent our upright piano for $50 a month from Kennelly Keys. It's rent to buy, so if we decide to keep it all of our "rent" goes into the purchase price. Personally, however, this is just a "temporary" piano for us... as when I finish remodeling (in about 3 years)... I'm going to get a babygrand.

Even though it's only $50 a month... there was about a $600 "startup" cost. First and last month (lol), delivery & pickup (paid at the same time... but if we keep it "pickup" goes to the final payments), and the piano tuner.

I'm a piano teacher and answer this question all the time. My favorite keyboards are the Yamaha YPG 535 - http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Portable-Graded-Action-Keybo...

Keyboards such as these don't have a long shelf life. It's actually better to start with a used upright piano - IF - it's a good one. If all the keys work properly, it's a slightly bigger upright - usually the spinets don't sound very good and don't have a very good bass. I would rather see a student with a good digital piano than a bad upright.

The Yamaha Arius - I've seen is very good as well - this again is a digital piano.

I've also seen some VERY reasonably priced Kohler and Campbells at Pedigo piano. If you are thinking down the road of an upright piano - then it's better to invest in either renting a good one or buying one right away rather than tossing your money on a keyboard. Most stores will apply the rental price to the piano, should you decide to buy it, or if you decide on a different one than you rented at the store, they will even apply the purchase price there.

If your $500 piano happens to be a good one (use a technician to find out) then, I would recommend going with that.

If you buy a keyboard, make sure it's 88 key and weighted. I also insist that my students have pedals coming with the keyboard, because we use pedals even in the very beginning. The piano teacher should know what it is your child is playing on. Yes, my students notice when their instrument is not as good at home as it is in the studio. My digital piano is first class, and so is my piano. If their instrument at home is bad, they won't want to practice. You have to make sure EVERY key works properly, and pedals, and seating is proper, or it takes away from the child's learning experience.

Another thing to consider - pianos hold their value. My piano is worth $20,000, built in 1971 and will never go down in value. I spent $5500 on my digital piano in 1992 and it's worth NOTHING today.

Also, check out MYC.com for a teacher in your area - they have group keyboard lessons for children your son's age! In my opinion they are the best early child music program ever developed - beats Kindermusik and Musikgarten.

Go with the weighted action keys. Tuning can get pretty expensive, especially if you have to have some of the innerworkings replaced (as is the case in our very rare upright). Also, pianos can be heavy. You have to have someone who's experienced in moving them or they can do some serious damage to it.

It was all based on sound for me. I got a piano on sale from the piano store in town. I have had it for some years. It is still a great one and has lived through my 2 children. My oldest is 10 now. I say buy something good. Pick a sound you like and something you like to play. It needs to fit your personality or you will get it home and not be happy at all.