Piano or keyboard for a beginner: what to buy and what to skip

A beginner needs an instrument at home from the first week of lessons. An acoustic piano in good condition is the standard. A digital piano with 88 weighted keys is the closest substitute and suits many homes. A small, light keyboard can cover the first months, and most teachers will want a step up after that. Ask your child’s teacher before you buy.

The three kinds of instrument

Acoustic piano. Hammers strike strings inside a wooden case. The keys have weight and respond to the lightest change in touch. It needs space, it cannot be turned down, and it needs tuning by a technician. Many piano makers advise tuning at least once or twice a year.

Digital piano. It has a full set of 88 keys that are weighted to feel like an acoustic piano. The sound comes from speakers or headphones. It never needs tuning, and it takes less room.

Portable keyboard. It is light and has fewer keys, often 61. The keys are springy and not weighted. Many have hundreds of sounds and rhythms.

The features that matter

88 keys. Beginner pieces use the middle of the piano, so fewer keys work at first. Within a year or two, pieces reach further.

Weighted keys. On a piano, a key pushes back. Fingers build strength and control by working against that weight. Look for the words “weighted” or “hammer action.”

Touch response. Pressing harder makes a louder sound. Without this, a child cannot learn to play loud and soft. Some low-cost keyboards lack it.

A pedal. The right pedal on a piano lets notes ring on. Digital pianos come with one or have a socket for one. A child needs it within the first couple of years.

A stable stand and a bench. A keyboard on a table or a bed is at the wrong height. A fixed stand keeps the keys from wobbling.

The features that do not matter

Hundreds of sounds, drum rhythms, light-up keys, and built-in songs do not help a child learn to play. They are fun, and they can distract.

Buying an acoustic piano

A used upright is how many families start. Condition matters more than the name on the front. Before you buy or accept a free piano, pay a piano technician to look at it. Some old pianos cannot hold a tuning, and the repair can cost more than the piano is worth.

Plan for moving costs and for the first tuning after it settles into your home.

Is a small keyboard enough to start?

For the first months, a 61-key keyboard with touch response is enough to learn where the notes are and to practice short pieces. Its limits show up soon. The light keys do not build finger strength, and a child who practices on them may struggle on the teacher’s piano.

If you start this way, treat it as a trial. Plan to move to weighted keys once you know your child will continue.

Setting it up

Height. When your child sits with hands on the keys, the forearms are about level with the floor.

Feet. Small children’s feet dangle. A footstool or a box under the feet keeps the body steady.

Place. Put the instrument where the family is, not in a far room, so it is easy to sit down and play.

Headphones. They let a child practice while a baby sleeps. Take them off some of the time, so the child hears the sound in the room.

Questions for the teacher

• What do you want my child to practice on in the first year?
• Do you teach on an acoustic piano?
• Is a digital piano fine for the level you expect my child to reach?
• If we plan to take exams, what does the exam board require?

Print and play

Print the piano keyboard chart to learn the names of the keys. To decide when to begin, read best age to start piano lessons. For the wider picture, see the parent’s guide to music lessons.