Convincing Student To Buy A Piano

[Bosendorfer_214]

Hi all-

I recently acquired an adult student who has an 88 key Casio keyboard.  How do I go about telling him him that if he really wants to advance in piano he will need an acoustic piano?

[amp]

That is a lot to ask of a beginner student. But, maybe you could ask him to practice at a nearby church or school, so that she gets on the piano for a while. Most people wait a while before they invest in a piano. But, she, too, can gets some good things done with only a keyboard.

[Wired]

Let him discover it for himself.

I am playing/practicing on an 88-key Kurzweil semi-weighted keyboard. While I grew up playing on (what I thought was) a decent upright, I purchased this keyboard last summer to allow me to keep playing and learning songs since I was heading off to college. Sure it sounds ok, but the feeling just isn't there.

While at the time I bought the keyboard, it was doing great for me, but as I left college this last summer, I realized that I wanted something with an action. But, I can't get a piano until I get a house of some sort (I don't think apartments are too friendly when it comes to people and pianos ).

But my main point is that you might be wrong in your assumption that someone needs a real piano to advance. I am almost through learning Chopin's Polonaise #53 as well as Rachmaninoff's Prelude in B Minor. I also finished working up Rach's Prelude in G Minor at the beginning of last summer on it. It also was what I practiced on for my classes in school.

And if someone is ever at the level to play these songs and doesn't realize that a real piano is much more superior than keyboard, there's something wrong. If the student in question is at this level or higher, then I was wrong in my initial assumptions

[eddie92099]

Rachmaninov's Prelude in B minor played on a Kurzweil keyboard is like a Rolls Royce driving down a mud track,
Ed

[Wired]

Oh, I agree, the sound sucks. I'm just saying it's possible to work a piece up on a keyboard that isn't fully weighted. In case someone is wondering, there are 3 types of keyboards:

1. Not weighted: the keys have little or no resistance
2. Semi-weighted: the keys offer some resistance, kind of like a spring. More realistic than #1, but still nothing good.
3. Fully Weighted. These usually have some type of balancing mechanism that mimic pianos rather well. The best I've played are Yamaha keyboards -- they're almost like the real thing.

So yes.. any of the pieces played on a Kurzweil suck. That's why my weekend activities include going into various piano stores around the area and playing on their real pianos

[chopinetta]

i think the acoustic piano has something in it that really cannot be found in a keyboard! have you ever noticed it?

[eddie92099]

i think the acoustic piano has something in it that really cannot be found in a keyboard! have you ever noticed it?

Yes - strings!
Ed

[Wired]

i think the acoustic piano has something in it that really cannot be found in a keyboard! have you ever noticed it?

Beyond the obvious answer that Eddie came up with, I agree. Even the top end keyboards still lack something -- the pedaling is one part. The feel is getting very realistic, and so is the sound. I wouldn't be surprised to have keyboards in the next few years that you can't tell a difference between the sound of a real one and it.

However, it doesn't keep me from saying that it is possible to continue learning on a keyboard. In most cases they work quite well, and especially if you're living in an apartment complex or similar situation where a real piano would annoy your neighbors (I like to play early in the morning, and late at night )

[Greg_Fodrea]

Roland makes an incredible line of fully-weighted, 88-key digital pianos that sell for between $1,000 and $4,000.  No, I don't work for Roland, but I have had students purchase these as "starter" instruments, and they're the closest thing to an accoustic that I've ever seen.

Another piece of advice I might offer would be to develop a relationship with a local piano retailer, and develop a cross-referral discount program.  They can refer students to you, and in exchange you send them piano business.  Offer each other discounts, and it's a win-win-win situation.  I've been doing this for about 6 months now, and it's working gloriously.

Also, keep in touch with your local piano merchants.  Any time there's a big sale, give your students the courtesy of a call to let them know!

[littlegrass]

guess what,  I've been told that it is actually recommended by the ABRSM that if you don't have a proper piano at home, should play on one of those yamaha P-80 or more recent electronic piano....

[llhyperdude]

Taking the perspective of a student, what if I couldn't afford an acoustic piano? I still want lessons and am willing to pay for a teacher. I'm not saying don't tell him the benefits of an acoustic, but don't also say you'll never advance with just a keyboard. Be happy he is giving you money for teaching him. But also respect him if he doesn't get one.

[glamfolk]

I have a 15-year-old Kurzweil that has paid for itself many times over, because many places to play simply don't have pianos.  Sad, but true:  if you're looking for gigs, sometimes you have to settle.  :-/  Another thing that's true is that acoustic pianos generally are quite a bit more inexpensive than digital grands.  Talk to realtors and movers in your area, and you may find that many people have pianos that they'd rather get rid of than move, and you might find something very nice, very cheap.  I got my 1929 6' Chickering for $200, moving included.    

The main difference between a real piano and a digital is like the difference between sitting in a car that's running and listening to the sound of a car on the radio.  Or between climbing a mountain and watching a video about mountain climbing.  The digitals are getting pretty good, but a real piano is 500 lbs of vibrating wood, iron, and steel, which in turn vibrates whatever room it's in.  There's not much that can replace that.

I've found that the students who last the longest, or play the best are the ones with real pianos in their homes.