Do I need a piano?

Short answer: Yes

In order to become proficient at any instrument, you will need an instrument on which to practice frequently, preferably daily. Some prospective students are able to work out a deal with a local church, relative, or extra-friendly neighbor to practice their piano, but the majority of piano students will need a piano in their home in order to achieve any satisfactory progress. Students will see the best results with daily practice time, even if some days that practice time is limited.

What kind of piano should I get?

Here's the fun part: discussing instruments. As I'm sure you're aware, pianos come in a dizzying aray of sizes and price points. Here are my recommendations for a beginner student.

You will need an instrument that is truly a piano--either acoustic or digital--which has the full keyboard (88 keys), with full-size,  weighted keys. 

Many families are tempted by small, inexpensive keyboards, but those are typically a bad investment. While they make for a great deal of fun for playing around with sound--I have just such a keyboard in my piano studio--they are not appropriate for learning touch sensitivity, developing posture and muscle control, and many other of the technical aspects of learning to play piano. Having only a keyboard as a practice instrument will at best seriously hinder a student's progress if not frustrate the student to the point of quitting. Please don't purchase a keyboard as a practice instrument!

The same goes for organs! The organ is an entirely separate instrument from piano, and if that's what you already have and want to learn to play, then you need to look for organ lessons. The differences between piano and organ are so vast that I  am currently taking organ lessons even though I am a lifelong pianist!

But that answer is so vague! Can't you just tell me what to buy?

First, talk to YOUR piano instructor. Your instructor might have different opinions or requirements than mine, and those are likely for very good reasons. If you are going to try learning on your own, though, or if you want to study with me, here is what I recommend.

Space and Budget

First, you need to know your own space and budget needs. 

If you have a very large budget and a huge room in which you'd love to have a beautiful grand piano, then the job is easy. Go to a local piano store and buy a new grand or baby grand piano. If you purchase a good quality instrument and maintain it properly, you should be able to pass it down through two or even three generations of your loved ones. The baby grand that my parents gave me when I was in my teens sounds just as beautiful as it did on the day it was delivered to my home several decades ago. It is a treasure.

Most folks don't have such luck, though, and if you fall into that category, then read on!

Acoustic Pianos

If you have a good sized budget and slightly less space, then a new upright model piano is a wonderful investment. If you  purchase  a new instrument from a reputable brand and store, care for it properly, and use it as a practice instrument for yourself or your own children, then you are likely to be able to give that instrument as a wonderful gift to your grandchildren many years from now.  If you or your child become a serious student, then you will certainly want a good quality acoustic piano at some point.

My favorite acoustic piano brands for piano students are Yamaha and Kawaii. No, I'm not affiliated with them, and yes, there are other good brands. There are also some brands which are not as good. In my experience, I'm not sure that I've ever seen a truly poor quality piano from those two brands. They're just reliable.

If you are very, very lucky, you might be able to find a well-maintained piano for sale or even to be given away online. Look for a piano where all the keys work. Has the piano ever been tuned? Has it been kept in a controlled climate (in other words, not stored in a shed subject to temperature fluctuations and extreme humidity)? Is the piano less than 30 years old? Does it sound mostly right when the keys are played? Do all the keys work? Does the right-side pedal make the sound sustain? If yes, then you might very well have found an instrument that will at least do well enough for beginning! If the instrument is one of the two brands mentioned above, then it's likely to be a treasure!

Digital Pianos 

I thought you said no keyboards!

A digital piano is a different instrument than a keyboard. While a digital piano is electric and will often have a variety of voices and extra features such as a metronome and audio outputs like a keyboard, it is much closer to the size and feeling of a "real" piano. 

With a digital piano, you want to make sure the keyboard of the instrument has 88 full-size and weighted keys, and that the piano comes with pedals, a stand, and a bench. I strongly recommend a cabinet stand over a portable or x-stand, and I prefer pedals mounted within the cabinet rather than a single pedal that plugs into the instrument but is loose to float on the floor. It is absolutely necessary, however, that you put the instrument on an appropriate stand as the student must learn posture and balance as they learn about the instrument.

You will find digital pianos at a variety of pricepoints online and in your local music store. To a large extent, instrument quality really does increase with pricepoint. However, a very good digital piano can often be found for less than the price of an acoustic piano of similar quality. Furthermore, digital pianos have a few other advantages: they are smaller and take up less space in the home, they require little to no maintenance, they can used with headphones. There are some drawbacks in the way the piano sounds and feels, and digital pianos often do not last for decades in the manner that an acoustic piano will, but, again, for the pricepoint of a quality digital piano, it is difficult if not impossible to find an acoustic piano of equal quality. Having said that, there is a very real difference in quality of these digital instruments. I'll have brand recommendations below.

Where do I find a digital piano?

Your local piano store will be a great resource. Not only will they have experts who have the latest information on their pianos, you will likely be able to try out a prospective instrument. However, you can also find digital pianos at online retailers. I highly recommend Yamaha, Korg, Casio, and Roland as brands with long histories of excellent quality. In fact, several members of my family own Yamaha digital pianos for their own personal use, and my studio piano is a Yamaha Arius. I am, in no way, affiliated with these brands. I just appreciate their quality and reliability!