Piano lessons with no piano??

[Emmas Mom]

Our older DD has said several times that she wants to learn how to play the piano. We don't have one, certainly couldn't afford one & wouldn't have room for one anyway. Does anyone have any ideas on a way to practice without a piano? Are there small keyboards? I don't even know if that would work. I would totally sign her up if I could find a way for her to practice....that wouldn't involve taking her somewhere to do it.

[traumarn]

walmart has the little table-top keybaords from $14- 500...they can also be easily 'put away'. i imagine target and 'everybody else' does too...
the only suggest i would make if going this route, is to check 1st with a potential teacher to see if there are any 'absolute' do's/don'ts w/ this kind of keyboard...
good luck!!!!!:jammin:

[Melbel]

My son began taking piano lessons at age 7 last September. Similar to you, we did not want to invest (finances or space) for a full size piano. We purchased a Casio keyboard from amazon that has been working out great. My son practices daily and has made wonderful progress. Most piano instructors state that at a minimum, you will need full size keys, preferably weighted to emulate a real piano.

Here is the link for the keyboard we purchased:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GACQOW

It has a lot of fun teaching tools, including a TV plug in for tutorials. There may be less expensive options at Best Buy, Circuit City etc. I would not buy a cheapie keyboard before talking to a piano instructor.

[lmintzer]

My son (almost 7) started piano last summer. He practiced on a keyboard at home, and it worked out well. A keyboard is fine for a beginner--just make sure it is full-sized (or almost full-sized--you don't want to lose too many keys) and that the keys are touch-sensitive (i.e., you can control the volume with how hard you press the keys). The very cheapest keyboards don't have this feature, and not having it would do even a beginning pianist a disservice. In an ideal world, you'd get something with weighted keys as well, but it's not necessary.

We are in the process of piano shopping now, but it's more because we play too and would enjoy it. : )

[citymama]

I'm a former piano-school drop-out - who sadly gave up piano lessons at 11 after 3 years of studying with no piano at home. It was no fun. That was before the days of affordable keyboards, and I still look back on it with some regret (at 12 I switched to guitar, which is cheaper and more portable, but how I wish I could play the piano!). So if you can afford some kind of piano substitute, an electronic keyboard of some kind, I would highly recommend you invest in one when she starts her lessons!