I'm a new member and self-taught pianist. I guess I'm alright you know, I'm not a beginner but I'm not amazing. Though I don't do classical (I did learn the first movement of Moonlight Sonata ages ago though, but other than that, I'm interested in contemporary piano) I'm a fast learner and I have some musical experience already (I play ocarina and I do theatre, so I came into piano with basic music theory mastered, already able to read sheet music). The creative things come easily to me.
I guess what I want to ask is two things. First, I want to discuss the instrument I'm playing on. Well, I learned on a lovely grand piano my grandfather has. However, since I don't have much money to spare, I couldn't afford anything good of my own. I mean, I'm playing on a cheap Yamaha keyboard. I like it, but I hate it just the same. I fail miserably when I attempt playing on anything else, because my cheap keyboard of course doesn't have weighted keys. But for the future, what would be my best option with a proportional price and quality? A cheap electric or digital piano, or just a nicer keyboard with weighted keys?
Second, I have a question about using the sustain pedal. I know how to use it, and I've used it before. But the songs I have used it in, either have the pedal information on the piece or I've been told by others a good pedal technique for the song. I have no clue how to figure that out on my own, and as I'm getting better and I learn pieces faster, well, I go through them a bit faster and I'm facing this issue more and more. What are some things you keep in mind when deciding where to depress the sustain pedal and such?