Completely Random OT

[DMMS]

First and foremost, for something like a digital piano, you should steer clear of eBay.  It is a complex and sensitive piece of kit.  Faults will start to occur after about 2 years at which point it is far better to be able to take the item back to the shop from which it came rather than having to then find a repairer.

I know a fair bit about pianos but have never heard of Cranes.  I suspect that the piano itself will be produced by an anonymous company in Japan, Taiwan etc and then simply re-branded by a local company.  Nothing particularly wrong with that but you should be aware that it was probably made in ChangJiang rather than locally.

Whether you go for a keyboard or a digital piano will greatly depend on its intended use.  If your wife wants to learn to play the piano "properly" then she will need the full sized keyboard (normally 88 notes) and fully-weighted action that a digital piano will offer.  If it is more for a bit of fun, then a keyboard would do the trick at a fraction of the cost.  It should be noted that digital pianos come with all the singing and dancing functions - drum machine, accompaniment etc - that keyboards have.  

If you think a digital piano is the way to go, then I would suggest sticking with the main brands - Yamaha, Roland and Kawai, probably in that order.  As a slight aside, if space is a major issue, you also get stage pianos which are not quite so "furniture-like", simply sit on a x-stand and can be pushed under the bed (or wherever) when not in use.  Most, though, need external amplification whereas a "normal" digital piano will have built-in speakers.  I have one of these which are absolutely amazing.  I also have one of these but generally end up playing the digital one.

As for teachers, again you need to consider that which you are intending to achieve.  There is a formalised grade structure from 1 to 8 which can be followed.  Most teachers will stick to this.  Alternatively, some teachers will take a different route and teach more for fun rather than certificates.  When I started to learn the piano many years ago, it bored me rigid.  So with teaching my children I started them off with things like the Star Wars theme - basically any tunes with which they could associate to get the interest and enjoyment first.  Two of them love it and have moved on to grades whilst the other is still thinking about it.

Playing an instrument is a wonderful skill to have but it is always worth focusing on the enjoyment side rather than having to learn to pass exams!

[Crazy Eddie]

Cheers guys,

I love the look of the Roland but I feel that is a bit much initially.

What I'm hoping for is something around the £500 to begin with and then if she gets good and feels like an upgrade we could do that at a later date.

I think the digital piano is the way forward, the stage piano would make me feel like I had bought a really expensive keyboard even though it could even be better.

Ok so it sounds like the Cranes is maybe a bit cheap and an unknown but the spec seemed to tick the right boxes 88 notes, hammer like weighted etc.

The other one I've looked at today is this: Yamaha

Sorry about the store but I looked at it in a local music store and they don't have a website  

It seemed to me (the untrained muppet that can play about 6 sonds on a Guitar) like a nice sounding, well made example. Although apparently this uses a Keyboard chip which is why cheaper than normal.

Between the 2 which would you go for or would you recommend me to bite the bullet and folk out double!!  

I will be looking at more modern teaching methods then as I don't know if grading is the way to go more fun as she has done all the grading etc when she played the cornet or clarinet or whatever the thing was

Really appreciate your input guys (well V8, Wayne and DMMS anyway     )

Cheers

Eddie

[*Emma*]

QUOTE

Playing an instrument is a wonderful skill to have but it is always worth focusing on the enjoyment side rather than having to learn to pass exams!

Too b****y true!  If I'd had the chance to learn something that I would have ENJOYED playing, I'd not have given up at 14.  Soon as I'd passed one exam, it was out with the next grade's music.  I never got the chance to choose something that I wanted to play.

[Pilot Pete]

Playing an instrument is a wonderful skill to have but it is always worth focusing on the enjoyment side rather than having to learn to pass exams!

Too b****y true!  If I'd had the chance to learn something that I would have ENJOYED playing, I'd not have given up at 14.  Soon as I'd passed one exam, it was out with the next grade's music.  I never got the chance to choose something that I wanted to play.

I agree, I remember being taught the keyboard when I was younger, I couldn't get into it and gave up.

Recently bought a guitar and absolutely love just learning the odd tune when I want. I am considering lessons however, but more for advanced techniques really.

[DMMS]

The Yamaha looks a good buy for beginners.  I've had one of their Clavinova range pianos in the past which was very well made.  It doesn't have the extra bits - drums, accompaniments etc - but looks a good place to start.  On the basis that I have not touched a Cranes piano before, I would go for the Yamaha.

QUOTE

Too b****y true!  If I'd had the chance to learn something that I would have ENJOYED playing, I'd not have given up at 14.  Soon as I'd passed one exam, it was out with the next grade's music.  I never got the chance to choose something that I wanted to play.

I hated the piano when I started and was withdrawn from grade 1 because there was a risk that I may ruin my teacher's 100% pass rate!  I moved on to pipe organs - admittedly not the most normal of instruments - but, because I had such a laugh making an enormous amount of noise, I practised whenever I could and made it to grade 8.

[fatbaldbloke]

There's a decision to be made.  At one extreme you have the classical type piano.  If you think your wife is up for the challenge, and is prepared to take the time it takes to learn to play the piano properly, and then to reap the satisfaction of making music in the future, this is where you should lean.  And in my opinion you won't get a better deal than  Yamaha clavinova.  Full size keyboard, a few variation effects, properly weighted keys, actually approved to be used in Royal College of Music piano exams.  We've had one for approaching 10 years now, not one single problem.  My daughter has learnt to play the piano on it and is now off to uni to study music.  Plus, you can plug in earphones and cut out the loudspeakers so you can make the bum notes in private.

At the other extreme, do you want her to be able to play in a day or two.  If so a fully programmable keyboard is the answer.  In my opinion there comes a point where you may as well play the CD player, it's about as complicated, and about as personally satisfying.

The reality is probably somewhere betwen the two, and only you can determine where.  At one extreme, hard work, years of practice, but a lasting and satisfying life skill; at the other end music in 5 minutes, bored after 10, but a novelty with which to impress your friends in the meantime.

[waynem]

I learned the piano when I was a nipper, and I don't reckon I would have the staying power now.Ahh, those lost Saturday afternoons doing my theory homework when I should have been outside playing footy...

Its only now that I thank my Mum for making me stick with it. Probably the most rewarding thing I have done.

It can be a bit of a slog, and if you follow the grades will take years. I only got to grade 6 (grade 5 theory), but broke my arm and then my piano teacher moved house. Never got back to taking exams, but still played for fun.

I always learned on a real piano, but when I was in my local Dawsons last year I had a go on a digital piano. Was so impressed we bought one the next week.

The important things for learning a piano properly is to have a full size weighted keyboard. Even then, the "feel" varies between brands. I tried a Yamaha and liked the sound, but the Roland won on "feel".

It is nigh on impossible to hear the difference between an acoustic and digital piano, as the digital pianos use  fancy mutisamples of real piano to construct the sound. I haven't found a nuance of a real piano that the digital one doesn't match.I won't bore you with other features on digital pianos, as thats not the issue, but I guess a large part of it is you get what you pay for.

When starting out, starting cheap is good advice incase you find your enthusiasm and maybe talent desert you. You can always upgrade later if the missus gets bitten by the bug.

Wayne M

[kipford]

An alternative may be to attend a Yamaha keyboard school. My son did this and found it much more interesting than formal piano lessons. He is now 20 and still plays his keyboard and our piano. A quick look on the net shows two or three Yamaha affilated schools in you area. They normal do discount trial lessons.

[oldman]

Overstrung and German

[simmi]

I bought my wife one 15 years ago, paid a £1000.00 second hand , it's all hand painted inside,   it t's a lovley bit of furniture a big German one. BUT!!!!   we tried to sell it last year and the highest we got offered was £50 so I would go for a smaller one with all the gadets. We have a blind man call every 2 years to tune it for us , he's brill.

Neil