UK Piano Page Piano Forum

Hi - as a novice in every sense of the word I am looking for guidance and suggestions as to which Digital Keyboard/Piano to purchase.

Having never played any musical instrument and now at pensionable age I wish to start to try to learn and play the piano. I would like the 'learning process' to be made easy ~ as easy and enjoyable as possible - akin to driving a car in automatic instead of one with gears etc !! I wish to make the piano a hobby but to what I extent I become 'hooked' depends on how easy or difficult I find the challenge. I am retired and have much free time at my disposal.

I also wish to encourage my young grand children to learn to play and having a keyboard/piano will I believe help and motivate them.

It would appear that the Yamaha with the lighted keys appears to offer the ease and convenience for which I am searching.

I am looking at either the CVP403 or CVP405. I have a natural interest in computers and have the latest Apple iMac -24" - so would be interested to connect to the internet to download songs and use Music finder etc - hence have ruled out the CVP 401.

That said I am uncertain whether I would be starting with a far too complicated model and if it would be better to begin at the other end of the scale with the EZ200?

It appears that the Yamaha Digital Pianos have no need for any maintenance and by all accounts offer reliability, which again is what I am looking for.

I am uncertain where to begin and would welcome and appreciate comments, suggestions and guidance.

Learning to play the Piano in your retirement is a great thing to do - although not sure as a Piano Teacher I could in all honesty say that the learning process will be as easy as driving an automatic car!! If this were the case, without all the blood sweat and tears, and very little effort and dedication, there would be a lot of very skilled and accomplished pianists around! That said - the learning experience can be fun and extremely rewarding. Just a few comments that might help.

1. Get some lessons booked with a teacher (take a look on the Teachers Forum Page on this site - have just posted a thread about this very subject today).
2. Make sure you buy a keyboard with weighted keys - your Teacher is most likely to have a piano, and you will notice a considerable difference when you play in your lessons.
3. Aim for steady progress - don't try and run before you can walk - and don't get despondent - it suddenly all clicks into place, but does take a bit of time!
4. Getting your grandchildren interested is a great idea!
Good Luck!