Wanna get a keyboard

[Red-nekrocker]

Hey guys, my main instrument is guitar (go figure) but I'd like to get a keyboard, just to learn a little bit about it, and increase my skill in reading standard notation (besides, piano is just plain cool), I don't want anything really awesome, just something that works, preferably under $100. I've been saving some pocket change to get one of these and currently have $40 (I'm saving my left over one dollar bills). I'm keeping my eyes out on craigslist, as I'm thinking I'll get something used.

Any advice for someone getting into this field of music?

Thanks!

[kylito11]

great that you wanna move into the keys!

Unforetunately, I don't really think you are going to get anything other than total crap for less than 100, even if its used. There are a few cheap Yamaha's and Casio's you could look up, but I'd recommend saving some more money if you want to get something half decent

[shredd]

Originally Posted by kylito11

great that you wanna move into the keys!

Unforetunately, I don't really think you are going to get anything other than total crap for less than 100, even if its used. There are a few cheap Yamaha's and Casio's you could look up, but I'd recommend saving some more money if you want to get something half decent

+1 on all counts. At the very least, save up maybe 2-300 scoots and get a used synth. I don't think anything of decent quality in a piano is going to be available in that range, and you'll end up wishing you hadn't wasted the bux.
and don't forget that if you DO go the synth route, many many synths do piano very badly. test it out first. Some synths do a nice Rhodes sound, or organ, but few do a really nice natural sounding piano.
I have a Roland Juno-D that, among a zillion sounds, does KILLER pianos, but it retails about 6 bills. By now you could probably get a used one in good, non-spanked-out condition for $350-400?

[Red-nekrocker]

Allright. I'm up to $50 in ones. I get like $10 a week that I am saving for it, very consistently so far. I'm also saving for a car and college, so I can't just go and buy one, but I'll just be patient and keep saving then.

When I get to about $250ish I'll post again.

Thanks guys!!

[Red-nekrocker]

I finally just said forget it, because I'm not gonna be able to spend that much cash on a keyboard until I get outta' college So I bought a Casio LK-35 for $50 off Craigslist with a stand, power adaptor, and headphones. I just want to learn how to play.

So my question is, how should I start, are there some good online lessons I can look up?

Thanks!

[coolguitar]

If you can get hold of, "John Thompson" begginer piano, they are great for starting out.

Even betterm, as you are a guitar player, try working out some chords on the keyboard and play some songs, this is a good way of finding your way around the keys and becoming more confident with the instrument.

[Maggie]

I've wanted to learn piano since I was about 8. Still haven't yet, I'm on to guitar, and I've just quit clarinet lessons, and plan on selling my clarinet. Anyway, I've found a keyboard for $120, and there is another for $140, but I don't really want a synth, I want an actual keyboard piano sound.

[lufc71]

As has been said, pianos at that budget are useless. But with a cheapo keyboard, at least you'll learn the basics; scales, chords, fingerings etc. I'd recommend starting with a bit of theory (it's much easier to understand on the keys):-

If you look at the black keys, you'll see they alternate in groups of 2 and 3 (except maybe at the ends where they might have been cut off in the middle of a group ). The first white note to the left of the group of 2 is a C. If you now hit all the white keys in order starting on this note and going to the right up to the next C, you'll have played a major scale (CDEFGABC). Now place you right thumb on the first C, middle finger on the E and pinky on the G; thats a C major chord. If you now move that shape to the right one note at a time and play the chords you will have harmonised the major scale i.e. C, Dm,Em,F,G,Am,Bdim. Easy huh?

Good luck.

[Scali]

Originally Posted by Maggie

I've wanted to learn piano since I was about 8. Still haven't yet, I'm on to guitar, and I've just quit clarinet lessons, and plan on selling my clarinet. Anyway, I've found a keyboard for $120, and there is another for $140, but I don't really want a synth, I want an actual keyboard piano sound.

Synth and keyboard are very close these days.
In the old days, synths would use analog circuitry, with lots of knobs and dials to modify the sounds. Great for typical 'synth' sounds, but horrible if you wanted to create an accurate rendition of a piano.
These days, pretty much everything is digital (even when it looks analog). The difference between synths, keyboards and stage/digital piano's is mainly in their intended use.

Keyboards are mainly aimed at a one-man-band situation.
They generally have built-in speakers, and have automatic accompaniment functionality (drums, bass, chords etc). They have a reasonable amount of preset sounds on board, but limited tweakability of these sounds.

Stage/digital piano's are meant to represent actual piano's, so they generally have very few, if any, other sounds than piano sounds on board. They have speakers built in (usually more high-end than on keyboards, to fully capture the richness and range of a real piano), and generally little or no accompaniment functionality. High-end digital piano's allow you to tweak the sounds, but in a 'piano-like' way, like adjusting the position of the lid, or adjusting the resonance of the strings
etc.
The more expensive models also have a 'weighted' keyboard, which means that there's a small mechanism in the keys, similar to a real piano (where a small hammer falls and hits the strings). This makes it feel like a real piano, which many players prefer over the often 'rubbery' feel of electronic keyboards.

Synths are aimed mainly at 'synthesizing' sounds. So they have a wide range of sounds and lots of tweakability... samples, filters, multi-effects, etc.
Generally they can do pretty much anything that keyboards and digital piano's can do, and a lot more.
They generally do not have speakers built in. They also generally do not have auto-accompaniment built in, or at least not up to the level of a keyboard. They do however tend to have other types of 'accompaniment', such as an automatic arpeggiator. The 'workstation' type of synthesizer will also have a sequencer on board, so you can record your own accompaniment or import it via midi/floppy/USB/etc, and then play it back.
The more high end synthesizers also come with weighted keys.
So a high-end synth can play and sound as well as a digital piano, it can just do a whole lot more.

[Maggie]

Really good advice! I'll be going to look at keyboards and synths within the next week, as soon as the roads are a little safer!

[Kingpatzer]

Look for a used piano in your area. We picked one up off of craig's list for the cost of the piano mover and getting it tuned.

With people having to move due to the housing issues, there's actually quite a few good deals on pianos out there, but yes, you will have to have it moved and tuned.

[stratman50th]

Originally Posted by Kingpatzer

Look for a used piano in your area. We picked one up off of craig's list for the cost of the piano mover and getting it tuned.

With people having to move due to the housing issues, there's actually quite a few good deals on pianos out there, but yes, you will have to have it moved and tuned.

Good idea if you are sure you're going to stick with it. Bad idea if you don't know. Unbeknownst to me, my wife accepted my mother-in-law's piano. She even paid for it to be moved to our house. Nobody in our home plays piano. My wife took it because my daughter "might" learn to play some day. My daughter has absolutely no interest in learning the piano, and now we have a couch sized piece of furniture to vacuum around and dust. It does make a nice picture shelf though. What I would suggest, and it's what I told my wife, get a keyboard that you can put in a case and stick in the closet till the mood strikes you. Takes up less room.
Anybody want to buy a piano?

[Maggie]

Well, if you didn't live in maryland, and I had more room, I'd buy it. I'm already looking into used keyboards. Just by word of mouth, people "might" sell it. People are so iffy with instruments. Why keep it if you really don't want to learn how to play it? I'm looking into synths too, but it took me 3 months to buy a guitar, so I suspect it'll be the same with piano. I've wanted to take up piano for about 5 years, so I think I can wait a little longer.

[Maggie]

ugh, sorry, double post.

[Waldener]

I have a yamaha keyboard that my brother bought for about $200 a couple years ago. It's pretty nice, though I have limited piano skills. You might check into those.