There is an ongoing debate about whether new students need to have an acoustic piano or not. Of course, there is no doubt that students must have an instrument to practice every day for success with piano lessons. Learning instrument relies on muscle memory, and these muscle memory fundamentals are learned through constant and daily repetition.
For acoustic piano vs digital piano, If your family has space and have a budget for an acoustic piano, I encourage you to purchase the acoustic piano. If a beginning student has access to a quality acoustic piano, they will have the opportunity to develop better musicianship from the very first stage. The pianistic technique uses their arm weight and finger strength to play the piano as an expressive instrument cannot be achieved with a digital piano. There are limitations to learning all aspects of playing the piano even though one has the nicest digital piano.
Although if you’re not ready to invest acoustic piano for your child who is going to take her/his first year of piano lessons, I would recommend purchasing 88 weighted keys digital piano to start. You don’t need to purchase an expensive digital piano. Prepare to invest to get a real acoustic piano in the future. I highly encourage to purchase acoustic piano after one year of piano study.
Here are my suggestions for acoustic piano and digital piano.
1.Acoustic Piano
There are good brands such as Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Boston, and Schimmel. Many piano stores also offer affordable acoustic piano rental programs such as EZ Start Rental Programs at M. Steinert & Sons. You could also have a luck to find the good used piano at craigslist or estate sale. If you plan to purchase or rent a used instrument, be sure it is in tune and the keys are in good working order.
Here are some lists of the piano store.
- M. Steinert & Sons – West Newton (Piano Sales Consultant: Vivian Handis)
- Williams Piano Shop – Brookline
2. Digital Piano
I recently purchased Yamaha P71 for my mission trip and was quite amazed by the sound and touch quality with this budget. You could choose a starter bundle that has an adjustable stand but this deluxe bundle one looks more sturdy. Unless you plan to move your piano often, I recommend a deluxe bundle. Yamaha P45 and P125 are also great budget-friendly keyboards that you could find online or offline stores.
Also, check Roland Digital Pianos at M. Steinert and Sons. (Their Trade-In program offers you that you get full value for your Roland digital piano purchased at the store towards one of their acoustic pianos).
Many digital instruments can also be connected to a computer with a midi cable and used with all kinds of educational and music production software so our older students who get interested in composing and arranging it’s functional for enriching their piano study.
A beginning student can get a good start on learning the piano with one of these instruments.
