Hejran Seidova

Editor’s comment/ Many piano teachers are dead against digital pianos – especially for young beginners – as this article sets out to explain the reasons why digital pianos are not ideal to learn on.

Many people don’t know the difference between an acoustic piano and a digital piano. I will give you the right advice on which type of piano is best to learn on, especially from a young age.

The best time to start playing piano is when you are very young. The ideal age is 5.

An acoustic piano is the best type of piano to learn on for young beginners. This is because from their very first days you will get used to hearing the real, original sounds of the piano. Your finger muscles will also get used to the weights of the piano keys from an early age and will strengthen them up for later in life.

Digital pianos tend to have a lighter key touch than acoustic pianos and practicing too much on a digital will leave your fingers weak and you will find it difficult to adjust to the touch of an acoustic piano.

I don’t advise learning classical music on a digital piano — It won’t be the same ‘beauty’ or ‘feeling’ — It will be the electric (digital) feeling and not the natural original sounds of an acoustic piano.

 

Piano exams

Most – if not all – examination centres have acoustic pianos. So if your child has been practicing on a digital piano at home and he/she is confronted with an acoustic piano, they will find it a real struggle to play the exam centre’s piano. Your child will probably not score as high in the exam as he or she should and will end up being disappointed with the result.

 

Who buys digital pianos?

Musicians that want to compose their own music or practice with their band. They need all these buttons and background sounds. They can connect to their computers. But not for young beginners who will more likely be distracted by these extra features on the piano.

If you have no choice because an acoustic piano will not fit in your house or your child’s bedroom, then the best choice is to go for the ‘most plain’ digital piano that hasn’t got lots of buttons, features (gimmicks I call them!) and has weighted keys with a progressive piano action.

A progressive piano action mimics the weight of the real piano. The bass notes have a heavy touch and they get progressively lighter as you go up the keyboard. This really is a ‘must-have’.

 

Example

If you are used to driving an automatic car then you will find it very difficult to drive a manual one. But, if you always drive a manual car, then switching to an automatic is much easier. This is the same thing for acoustic and digital pianos. If you learn on an acoustic piano then it is dead easy to play a digital piano. If you learn on a digital piano, or especially a keyboard then you will find it very difficult to adjust to playing an acoustic piano – mainly because of the feel and weight of the piano keys.

 

Advantages of an acoustic piano

•           The acoustic piano has got a VERY long life (if you look after it of course)

•           The only maintenance required is tuning once or twice per year

•           You can sell it anytime, it never goes out of fashion

•           The piano’s value (if looked after) can be more than you paid for it over time

•           Acoustic pianos have real, natural sounds

 

Disadvantages of a digital piano

•           If something goes wrong it can cost over £100 to fix.

•           New models come out every 2-3 years, technology advances and no one wants to buy an old model

•           Digital pianos continue to depreciate over time and will be worth less the more time goes on

•           Electric sounds are unpleasant and can put you off practicing

If you are starting to give a music education to your child, think very carefully about which piano you buy for them to practice on at home. If you make the wrong choice, you may regret it in the future.

 

About the Author

My name is Hejran Stogden. I’m founder of the ALL Talents Music School in Enfield and Author of Hejran’s Piano Method. I’ve been teaching piano for over 35 years and have set up music schools in Enfield, Finchley, Walthamstow, Stoke Newington, and Worcester. You can find information here: www.alltalents.co.uk and www.hejran.com.

[Do you want to use this article on your website? ukpianos.co.uk gives you permission to copy this article and use it, providing you include this author’s biog box.]

I have been asked many times whether it is ok to have piano lessons online or if you should spend more money and get a proper piano tutor to visit your home or even pay to attend a music school. I think you should always look at the advantages and disadvantages and decide what is best for you. The aim of this article is to take you through the various teaching methods and guide you to making a decision that is right for you.

 

Online piano lessons

There are many websites offering online piano lessons. The trouble is that you don’t really know if the advice you are being given is good or the not. Some websites claim to offer free piano lessons, but when you try to find these free piano lessons, you realize that they are only offering very basic information and you will need to pay to get to the real stuff.

There are some fantastic e-books online that teach you how to play the piano step by step. I won’t mention the names of these e-books as I might be accused of advertising for them or for myself ;-). You can sign up for my newsletter if you want more advice on this – see the ‘About the Author Box below’.

TIP/ Usually the best resources are on the sponsored link section on Google search, this is normally located right at the top of their search engine and also to the right hand side.

The best value for money online course I have seen so far is the Rocket Piano. Read more about it here

 

Summary

Online piano lessons are ok if you just want to learn the basics without the commitment of a regular piano teacher. Once you have mastered the online piano lessons then you will definitely need to get yourself a qualified piano teacher or sign up for piano lessons in your local music school if you want to progress any further.

 

Lessons with a piano teacher

Providing you can find a qualified piano teacher that has a lot of experience and you can justify the expense of this when you are starting out (they don’t come cheap!), then this is a good way to start learning.

There are some disadvantages of having one-on-one lessons with a private piano tutor. Children tend to find individual piano lessons too serious and boring and there are no other children in the lesson to compare progress with.

You can either travel to the teacher’s home or the teacher will travel to you. Having piano lessons in your home is probably the worst thing you can do. Check out the advantages and disadvantages below.

 

Piano lessons in your home

Advantages

Time saving.

 

Disadvantages

Lots of distractions.
Weak concentration.

 

Lessons in piano teacher’s home

Advantages

You get to have your lesson on a good quality piano.
There are no distractions at your piano teacher’s home.

 

Disadvantages

You have to travel to the piano teacher’s home (traveling time, transport and parking costs).

 

Summary

Private piano lessons are good, but expensive. Make sure that you can afford to pay for these lessons because you will need to make a regular commitment once a week.

 

Piano lessons in a music school

Having piano lessons in a music school has many advantages over online piano lessons and private teaching.

Most music schools have qualified piano teachers. Some music schools also offer group teaching which is much cheaper than private lessons. Learning to play piano in groups is also more fun because the other students in the class are usually at a similar level of learning.

From my experience, I find that children and adults learning piano in a group often progress faster in the early stages than if they had a private piano teacher. I believe that this progress is due to either the competitiveness of trying to keep up with others by practicing more during the week or the less serious atmosphere that makes learning more fun than individual piano lessons.

Music schools have a proven teaching system in place. This teaching system is controlled by the principal teacher and head of music. Music schools are normally geared towards students taking examinations, and because of this, piano lessons are structured and well organized.

 

Summary

Having your piano lessons in a music school is the best way to start out and will more likely encourage you to continue learning for a long time. Music school fees are normally less than half the cost of a private piano lesson.

Learn to play piano in our Enfield, Chingford, Finchley, Barnet and Kentish Town piano schools here

 

About the Author

My name is Hejran Stogden. I’m founder of the ALL Talents Music School in Enfield and Author of Hejran’s Piano Method. I’ve been teaching piano for over 35 years and have set up music schools in Enfield, Finchley, Walthamstow, Stoke Newington, and Worcester. You can find information here: www.alltalents.co.uk and www.hejran.com.

[Do you want to use this article on your website? ukpianos.co.uk gives you permission to copy this article and use it, providing you include this author’s biog box.]