Piano lessons when we CAN'T AFFORD A PIANO???

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Forum -> Parenting our children

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amother

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 2:52 am

Is this doable?? Is it possible to buy a cheap keyboard or something that can function enough like a piano, or should we forget it?

myself

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 5:51 am

I don't see why not, as long as there is somewhere to practice.

grace413

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 6:31 am

When I was a child I took piano lessons for a year before my parents agreed to buy me a piano. I practiced on a cardboard keyboard daily and twice a week at a facility where I could use a real piano.

Let your child start with an arrangement like this and see how it progresses. If the kid is talented, the teacher will probably help find a practice place.

anonymrs

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 6:35 am

I did it for three years with a small keyboard until I got a piano. My parents didn't want to get a piano unless I was serious about it. (I continued to take lessons until I got married!) It was definitely worth it!

Ani

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 6:38 am

I had a similar dilemma, and since I was taught to play on the real instrument, I do realize the difference. It depends on what you wish to achieve. If it is the piano per se, that is if you want to learn to play classical music in the proper, skillful, refined manner, than no, keyboard could never come close to the sound and feel of the real acoustic piano; but if it is just the taste/sense of music, not necessarily classical, that you’d like to instill, than, I guess, the keyboard could do just fine.

Also, bear in mind, for the proper hand development and command, the finger prowess, strength, dexterity, etc., there’s no substitute for the real piano. I bet there’s not a single accomplished concert pianist who was taught to play on the keyboard. Wink

For my family I’ve resolved this issue in favour of a different affordable instrument – the guitar (classical guitar). If one day we’ll be able to afford an acoustic piano, then I’d like to switch or add that too.

TzenaRena

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 7:16 am

Quote:

Is this doable?? Is it possible to buy a cheap keyboard or something that can function enough like a piano, or should we forget it?

of course it's doable. it's exactly what people do. not a concert pianist here, but our keyboard was a great substitute for a piano. I had a second hand one I had to get rid of - no one wanted to buy it or take off our hands. Pianos are big and you need a lot of space for them, keyboards fit well into small apartments. Wink

Now keyboards aren't as long lasting as pianos, we're on our second, which is now needing to be replaced, OTOH, they are so economical! for every budget. $100, $200, for basic , more for better, but even the basic are good!

also, the repertoire of sounds is amazing! (at least to me, who grew up in pre-keyboard days). You get all the instruments.

red sea

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 7:21 am

You can practice on cardboard , a small keyboard , or a keyboard with weighted keys. You can buy them used too (except the cardboard). If it gets serious eventually you can save up for a piano.

crbc

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 7:22 am

Tons of people are giving away free older pianos. Check craigslist, in the free category , type in piano. You will have to find means to pick it up.

nyc craigslist

I would love to get a piano, but we have no room for it Sad

Simple1

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 8:59 am

I took lessons on a keyboard. I can play but wouldn't consider myself near being an expert. So in my unprofessional opinion, a keyboard should be fine for a beginner when they are simply learning their way around a keyboard.

I think it's important to get one with full-sized keys, and with a lot of keys - like 5 octaves. Touch sensitive keys is also a plus.

Ima2NYM_LTR

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 9:59 am

We got DS a piano last year after he had been taking lessons on a keyboard for a few years. We found one (well the piano teacher did) in someone garage, all we had to do was remove it and it was ours.

Good luck

anuta

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 10:00 am

amother wrote:

Is this doable?? Is it possible to buy a cheap keyboard or something that can function enough like a piano, or should we forget it?

We were in this situation. First we bought a keyboard from Costco to practice.
But you should know that if your child gets serious about it, keyboard won't cut it. It has a different feel than a real piano, different weight of the keys, different response, and shorter note range.
There are keyboards good enough that emulate the piano much better, but they cost thousands of dollars.

In the end we got a free piano from Freecycle. It is not a good one, it needs frequent tuning and ultimately $3K worth of repairs. So I am going to get another one from www.pianoadoption.com
You have to have an outlay of money for a free piano too - you must get a professional tuner/repairman to go and examine a piano you are thinking of picking up (it will cost you about $60-90 for labor) is worth it! Because you will have to pay more for transport, and it doesn't make sense to transport something that is beyond repair, or repair is beyond your budget.

You should also put a word out (but only after you are sure your child is going to stick with it) that you need one; you will be suprised how many friends of friends have unused pianos taking up space in their home, that they would gladly let you take off their hands. For years, of forever. This is ultimately the ppl who put up their ads on the abovementioned site (piano adoption)

My daughter has been studying piano since she was 3.5 - she is 6 now and is a real talent. She is on level 2B, and she composes her own music, and she can play any melody by ear, and even with two hands (harmony)... But she only started flourishing after I changed her teacher five months ago, with the first teacher by the end it was so bad I thought of stopping the lessons alltogether - the teacher couldn't motivate her to practice, and she left every lesson feeling like a loser, and she was stuck on level 1 for well over a year and forgetting notes between her lessons! Now I cannot believe her gift and that I almost gave it up!

But we only got a piano for her maybe a year and a half into her studies. So don't rush. Start the lessons, than see how it is going.

auntie_em

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 10:25 am

Seriously, you might be surprised at how many people are willing to give you a piano, as long as you transport it yourself. Like the others said, have it checked out first and see what it needs in terms of repairs and/or tuning.

If this would have been a year ago, I would have been begging you to come get the piano from my house!
I inherited it from a deceased relative quite some time ago and gave it the "affectionate" nickname of Albatross!
I used to joke that I was confused by this inheritance because although my dear old Aunt always seemed fond of me, I now wondered if she secretly disliked me! LOL

I ended up giving it to a family much like yours, with a young aspiring pianist!

Best of luck to you!

(side note- Sort of off-topic but if you are thinking of leaving someone a piano, please ask if they want it first.)

Chayalle

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 10:27 am

I play the piano, and I can't stand keyboards.

However, I guess it should be fine for the beginning...as others have posted, at some point the posture, the position, the feel of the piano, the pedaling...is totally different and there is no substitute for the real thing.

Now I'm in the opposite position....I have a(n old) piano and my DD (age 9) is really talented B"AH....she can pick out any tune that she knows how to sing, and she's diligent and hard-working by nature. I wish I could afford lessons for her, but they are so expensive and we're on a shoe-string budget.

I've given her a few lessons myself but it's hard to find the time, and she really would benefit from lessons...I wish I could give them to her.

anuta

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 10:40 am

Chayalle, maybe you can arrange a barter?

Lessons for home cooked meals? Lessons for babysitting? Piano lessons for craft lessons? Lessons for your daughter in exchange of you letting use your piano and room for teaching other students in your home (I know some start-out teachers, especially immigrants from former USSR, have neither an instrument nor room, but are highly qualified teachers who want to start their business!)

My parents sponsor part of the cost of my daughter's lessons - my dad pushed me into starting her so early by saying he'll pay for it (he has perfect pitch and plays many instruments, so he spotted her talent early on)

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Nov 17 2010, 10:50 am

A digital keyboard such as the the Casio Previa, which has weighted keys, would work very well for piano lessons. I own a digital keyboard similar to this one and use it when I play for musical productions that don't have a good piano. It's not as light as the cheapie ones and doesn't have 3 zillion different sounds, but the full-size, 88 weighted keys make it feel like a real piano. See link:
Casio Previa
If you go this route, buy a decent pedal to go with it.

amother

Fuchsia

Thu, Nov 18 2010, 12:41 am

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Last edited by amother on Fri, Jan 01 2016, 12:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

BestMomBrooklyn

Wed, Dec 29 2010, 1:40 pm

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Last edited by BestMomBrooklyn on Thu, Feb 27 2014, 8:18 am; edited 1 time in total

geemum

Wed, Dec 29 2010, 1:48 pm

Ima2NYM_LTR wrote:

We got one free, and thought we were so lucky because we only had to pay transport costs. but after a tune (or three) we realised that it is totally damaged - even with a tuning it sounded terrible.

Be careful when taking someones piano FOR FREE, especially if it's been stored in a garage (possible damp or other unsuitable conditions). It's easier to give away a piano for free, than it is to dispose of one, so its possible that the one that you get is damaged.

I would start with a keyboard, perhpas changing to a piano once you see he's serious. OTOH perhaps for a boy it's useful to learn keyboard - think playing at simchas?!

Last edited by geemum on Wed, Dec 29 2010, 2:43 pm; edited 1 time in total

manhattanmom

Wed, Dec 29 2010, 1:51 pm

you'd be surprised at how many good pianos are on Craig's List. I know a few people who got pianos this way. You just have to have a good piano mover ASAP because they go fast. (and yes, to move a piano you need a piano mover and a good tuning afterwards. If you live in Long Island, Queens, or Brooklyn I can recommend a piano tuner.)

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