Hi Normans, 

Could you advise on the cheapest option for my 6 year old who just started piano lessons and whose teacher asked us to purchase weighted keyboard to practice at home.

Many thanks

Ilaria

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Hi Ilaria,

Thanks for your email.

There are numerous keyboards that I can recommend for a 6 year old who has just started to play, and we have a wide range to choose from. We stock many 61 and 76 note keyboards, with various features, that are very popular amongst parents who want to purchase a beginner level keyboard, without breaking the bank.

An example of this would be our Axus AXP25, which is our lowest priced keyboard to feature touch sensitivity, meaning that the keyboard will respond differently when pressed lightly, compared to when the keys are pressed heavily. Many keyboards we sell to beginners are sold based on this feature alone. Please see the following link:

https://www.normans.co.uk/product/axus-digital-axp25-touch-sensitive-portable-keyboard

While this is not 'weighted', you may decide that this is actually all your child requires at this stage, as the touch sensitivity feature will help your child learn to play the keyboard expressively by applying varying amounts of pressure.

These sorts of features exist due to manufacturers' ongoing attempts to make keyboards sound and act more *piano-like* - in other words, more like a real, acoustic piano.

Acoustic piano keys have significantly more weight behind them. If your child is learning on an acoustic piano at school, they are developing both strength and muscle memory in their fingers. If at home they must practice on a keyboard without weighted keys, this will feel different, and the child may struggle again when they go to play the heavier piano at school. This is the reason that the teacher has suggested a weighted keyboard for your child.

It is fairly important that your child gets used to the feeling of playing heavier keys, and for them to get used to how much pressure to apply with their fingers when playing. Also, someone who has learned to play on heavier keys will have no problem playing a 'lighter' keyboard if they needed to, however the opposite is not usually the case.

Many parents of very young piano students choose a basic touch-sensitive keyboard, with the intention of upgrading once the child has progressed in their learning. However if you want a keyboard with weighted keys from the beginning, then you will be entering into the realm of digital pianos. These are designed to sound and act as close to an acoustic piano as possible.

There is quite a price jump between portable keyboards and digital pianos, but I have put together some links to the lower priced digital pianos for you.

1. Axus Digital Piano. Full size keyboard with "hammer-action" keys. Please see:

http://www.normans.co.uk/p-4770-axus-digital-axs2-digital-piano.aspx

2. Casio CDP-130BK Digital Piano. Full size keyboard with weighted keyboard action. Please see:

https://www.normans.co.uk/product/casio-cdp-130-portable-digital-piano-in-black

3. Yamaha P45B Digital Piano. Full size keyboard with weighted keyboard action. Please see:

https://www.normans.co.uk/product/yamaha-p45-compact-p-series-digital-piano-in-black

As you can see, all of the above digital pianos feature weighted keys of some kind or another. These would all be great choices for your child, and being full size (88 keys), they will still be suitable for when your child advances through the grades.