All About Choosing and Buying Pianos
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Hi MaryDaisu,
Just curious, how much does the newly bought piano cost?
Good that you have decided on something. At least, they play whenever they have the mood and probably can help to sustain their interest. Like my son's case, he refused to take up piano initially. However, after watching the younger sis practised on it, I caught him trying alone. Well, it's a no-return journey for him too, now the BIG committment is shared by 2 kids
Have fun. Even if you can't play, cannot read the notes, do not know if they are playing correctly or not.....just be around to support while they practise. The kids will be more motivated. After a while, you probably can vaguely detect when the wrong notes are played.
Cheers. -
jce:
Talking about leisure - the issue here is buying a keyboard as a means to trying out whether the child is interested or not before investing in a proper piano. If one is going to plunge into exams right from the start, no need to consider keyboard at all
Leisure keyboards comes with all side buttons like different voice/ style selection, rhythm conrtol. these will get the child's attention. so there are advantages and disadvantages too. they try to play with thoes buttons but not practice the piano. -
I was going to get my son to learn piano at 4 yr old, but my dad said it is not good for his fingers cos the keys will be too hard for his developing fingers. I think it makes sense, so I have decided to start him on keyboard instead as the keys are softer.
Most keyboards are 61 keys. I also don't think the number of keys matter, so long as they are standard size keys. Keyboards is definitely a cheaper way to see if the kids are interested enough to invest in a proper piano and it is just as good as a piano for learning the techniques.
Yamaha does 88 key keyboard but there is a cheaper 76 key keyboard http://mypianokeyboard.com/yamaha-ypg235-the-ultimate-piano-keyboard-around/ which I think is good enough and not that ex. -
Learning a piano is really worthwhile but if you do not already own a piano then you will need to get one. It could be second hand or new. If you are buying second hand and do not know very much about them, then think about paying a piano technician to come with you. It could save a lot of money in the long run as even a beginner needs a reasonable instrument to learn on.
Even deciding to buy a new piano it could still be worth getting advice as they can be very expensive. Ask the dealer if you can get credit to upgrade a starter piano to a better instrument later on. Check on the warranty that they offer, and ask if they will give you a refund if the piano does not sound right acoustically when you get it home. -
hi all,
just a preparation question, im gonan enrol my 3.5 yo girl to yamaha (4 yo class) in oct. i was informed my fren(her son in yamaha too) to get keyboard first ? then she said to buy a piano after like 6 months later ? Is this recommended ? -
My friend would like to buy a 2nd hand piano for her kid. She is looking at Yamaha U3. It cost $4k+. Is it worth it? How to check whether the piano is in good condition?
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Village Girl:
My friend would like to buy a 2nd hand piano for her kid. She is looking at Yamaha U3. It cost $4k+. Is it worth it? How to check whether the piano is in good condition?
When my eldest went through JMC at Yamaha, we only bought a Casio keyboard for him. It was enough for him to practise on and graduate with that. After graduating from JMC, he decided that his interest lay in sports, so we kept the keyboard in storage for 5 years, until now, when my daughter took up piano lesson.
My daughter is now 5, and she's taking piano lessons from a music school. I decided that the JMC, while interesting and fun, isn't very good if a child prefers just focussing on the instrument and moving faster or slower than the class. I find that with piano lesson and moving away from Yamaha's solfege focus, she's actually reading the notations faster than if she has to sing solfege (do re mi). She's also learning to play with two hands at an earlier point than with JMC.
I would probably be upgrading the keyboard to a real piano by the end of the year if she continues to show interest and progress. That said, I'm quite satisfied with her practise on the keyboard. -
hi anyone knows where to buy a hoffmann or zimmerman piano?
thanks! -
I also bought Hailun 125, to my own surprise, coz from the beginning I was quite adamant that I won’t buy china piano.
However after accidently went into a piano shop that sells Hailun, I’m quite impressed with the sound (though I can’t play, but can hear mah.. )
First visit there, I was full of doubts. Told my husband to sleep over it first. At home, we did some internet research and found that generally the reviews are not bad. The rest is history, as they said. Hailun has been at my home for almost a year now. I found their after sales service ok when the auto-closing cover hinge broke last year.
According to the seller herself, the keys are a little harder than Yamaha. But I don’t mind as long as my daughter doesn’t complain and imho, it will train her fingers too.
When I bought, the seller gave me a supposedly “referral” discount, which according to her is usually given to someone who was referred by existing customer. Besides that, I also haggle for more free tuning I also requested to see and inspect the piano when it was delivered to the workshop before they send it to my place.
So far so good I’d say, considering the price. And also they will buy back the piano and give 50% of the original price minus $300 (if I’m not mistaken), if we decide to sell it before 5 years. I thought if my dd has talent & interest and want to pursue further, I’d sell and change to a better (pricey) brand in 5 years time, off course only if we have the moolah by then. If not, just stick with this one. -
Cristofori use to carry Hoffman, not sure whether they still do.