How to Choose Your First Piano

BY Jenica October 20, 2022

Walking into a music store to purchase your first piano can be quite daunting. The price tags vary from hundred-dollar keyboards to a ten-thousand-dollar grand piano. They may play the same notes, but there are several components to keep in mind when making your first purchase. The three main characteristics for keyboards will include sound, touch, and tone. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

KEYBOARDS

How Many Octaves do I need?

If you’re looking for portability and easy maintenance, keyboards may be the best option for you. They come in various octave sizes, but the most common full-size piano comes in seven octaves. Occasionally, a five-octave keyboard may be the perfect starter keyboard if you’re just learning the basics and don’t have a lot of room to store it. 

Keyboard Sensitivity

Keyboards also come in weighted and unweighted keys. If you’re looking for a traditional acoustic piano feeling, weighted keys will provide you with the correct sensitivity and different levels of control. Unweighted keys focus more on your playing technique, but may sound quite choppy, especially for a beginner. Weighted keyboards come with a bigger price tag but is recommended if you’re just starting out.

Sound

This may in fact be one of the most important considerations when purchasing a keyboard. The best quality keyboards will be producing sounds comparable to a true piano. Make sure to test out several options to find which one works best for you.

ACOUSTIC PIANO

Key Sensitivity

Like the keyboard, different pianos provide different sounds based off touch sensitivity. If keys are too light, beginners will struggle when trying to maintain control. If the keys are too heavy, muscle damage can occur.

Lifespan

Acoustic pianos hold a much longer lifespan than any digital piano or keyboard. If you plan to invest on something that holds up indefinitely, an acoustic piano will work best for you. If you plan on purchasing a second-hand piano, make sure to look into its health before purchase. Used pianos can quickly become a money pit if you end up having to pay into restoration, tuning, part replacements, etc. 

If you’re just starting out with the basics, start smaller until you’ve truly invested in the art, but don’t skimp out on the important things that will hinder your growth! If you’ve already invested in your knowledge of music and area ready to take a bigger step, perhaps you can invest into something that can passed down for years to come.  

Find Your Perfect Melody with Progressive Leasing

Progressive Leasing offers simple, flexible purchase options from thousands of partner retailer across the country. Whether it’s your first piano or an upgrade, we can help! Find a store near you and discover your new favorite instrument by visiting our website at ProgLeasing.com.