Piano Versus Keyboard
When choosing a piano or a keyboard, you will need to consider many variables. A casual search using your browser will reveal many retail outlets and many brand names. With so much information available, and so many products to choose from, you will need to keep your musical objectives in mind. In the end, it all boils down to two main questions:
What will best serve my musical goals?
What can I realistically afford?
For most students, the answer is to purchase a digital keyboard. Pianos can be quite a financial investment, or even a financial burden. Plus, they are not portable and they don't offer a wide range of sounds. The old blues and rock players used pianos because the keyboard hadn't been invented. However, by the 1960s, early electric keyboards became popular for the very same reasons listed earlier: mobility and sound selection.
Today, keyboard technology offers many new alternatives. In the 1960s, no one could have imagined how good the digital (sampled) organ and piano sounds could become, or how easy it could be to hook your keyboard up to your computer to create stunning home recordings. With a simple MIDI hookup and the appropriate computer software, you can now record music in your apartment or create lengthy musical scores without the use of pen and ink.
Should I own both a piano and a keyboard?
There is no need to own both. If you're a beginner, don't spend your money on an expensive piano unless you truly have the money to spare. Instead, buy a keyboard with fully weighted or semi-weighted keys. Also purchase a practice amplifier, a quarter-inch instrument cable, and an adjustable keyboard bench (or drum throne).
Nonetheless, the acoustic piano still has a worthy and distinguished place in our society, and students with slightly more means and space still enjoy tickling on the ole ivories. In fact, upright and spinet pianos remain popular with families who like to gather round and sing songs together. Often, these pianos are handed down from generation to generation, and they help to keep nuclear and extended families connected.
It would be unwise to quote specific prices in this book since prices fluctuate constantly. As implied earlier, pianos are generally more expensive than keyboards. If you plan on purchasing a keyboard, you may be able to get something of quality for under a thousand dollars. A keen researcher might also find a decent upright piano in this same price bracket, but this is increasingly rare.
Top piano brands like Steinway & Sons, Yamaha, Baldwin, Kawai, or Bosendorfer can get very expensive for middle-class incomes. Grand and baby grand pianos from these companies can range from $25,000 to $200,000! There are cheaper, second-rate piano companies, but their pianos often have a shorter lifespan.
