Piano Guidance
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Should I buy my kid a piano?

The short answer is yes. If you want your child to develop a love of music and to make good progress they need the right equipment. The experience of playing 88 weighted keys is important for young players to allow them to develop the correct technique and get a feel for playing the instrument.

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30th September 2018

Children are known for being somewhat fickle in their tastes – and, as all parents know only too well, their interests can change at the drop of a hat.

This leaves a big question when it comes to learning the piano – at what point is it wise to invest in a piano?

When setting out on a musical learning journey no-one, child, parent or teacher, knows how it will go in the long run but clearly without having an instrument to practice on new students are going to struggle to progress and will end up frustrated. But then most families cannot afford to pay for a new piano then have their child refuse to attend a second lesson.

Is having a piano at home necessary when learning piano?

The short answer is yes. If you want your child to develop a love of music and to make good progress they need the right equipment. The experience of playing 88 weighted keys is important for young players to allow them to develop the correct technique and get a feel for playing the instrument. As they progress through the grades young pianists will need to use pedals and a wider range of keys so being used to playing on a piano at home will make this transition easier. Debate abounds over the pros and cons of digital and acoustic pianos with purists – and quite a lot of teachers – insisting that an acoustic instrument provides the best learning foundation. However digital pianos have been developed to mimic this quality closely and offer the experience of playing 88 weighted keys with the convenience of sound control, being low maintenance and taking up less space. Either a good quality digital piano or acoustic piano would make a great instrument to set your child on their learning journey.

At what point should I buy a piano?

In an ideal world students of the piano will have a piano in the home before they begin formal lessons. This will allow them to get used to the touch and sound – and be ready for practice from day one. Buying a piano is an investment – and that is how it should be viewed. Buying the right piano will help to develop a love of music in your child that will hopefully last a lifetime. If you do not already own a piano maybe let your child begin lessons and ensure that they are willing to continue before taking the step of buying a piano for the home.

Another great option is to hire a piano for those early months.

While keyboards can provide a cheap interim solution this will not help your child in the long run as the experience of playing weighted keys is an essential part of the learning process.

Support a lifelong love of music

As your child progresses through the grades the demands will increase making use of the full 88 keys and pedals. If you want your child to succeed at playing the piano – and develop a lifelong love of the instrument – invest in a piano as soon as possible. To find out what pianos are ideally suited to beginners get in touch with Broughton Pianos today.

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Definition of pianist : a person who plays the piano especially : a skilled or professional performer on the piano.

Recent Examples on the Web

In three images that form a part of the new chapter, Cole photographs a young pianist hunched over sheets of music, in the act of writing a new composition. — M. Z. Adnan, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2022 The show starts with just Adele, dressed Friday in a simple if glamorous black gown, and a pianist on a small slice of stage; eventually, several scrims slide away and they’re joined by a full band with three backing vocalists. — Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2022 At age nine, her father’s studies brought her to Missouri for two years, where a love of classical piano (and her mother’s dreams that her daughter would one day become a concert pianist) led to state-level competitions. — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 18 Nov. 2022 In the film, produced by Munk Studio, a young pianist comes back home for the summer. — Marta Balaga, Variety, 17 Nov. 2022 One important thing for me besides the overall musical interpretation is the kind of tone a pianist makes. — Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2022 The creative bent comes from his mother, a blond-bobbed concert pianist who exists in state somewhere between daffy flightiness and undeniable frustration. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2022 His mother was a gregarious concert pianist and painter who later owned a kosher restaurant on Pico Boulevard in West L.A. called The Milky Way. — Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2022 Its protagonist, Roland Baines, is an unfulfilled but not unhappy man who once seemed destined to become a concert pianist but ends up playing standards at a London cocktail lounge. — Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 19 Oct. 2022

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