This review isn't exclusively about pianos for children, it applies to getting a keyboard for any beginner, young or old ...but I'm assuming most of you who've found this will be looking for a piano for kids who want to take piano lessons seriously. This is how we ended up with the Yamaha PSR-E303 portable electronic keyboard
In late 2006, our child came home from school, and said that he'd really like to take piano lessons. Of course, we were delighted. Then came the realisation that if he was going to practice between lessons, we'd need a piano of some sort at home. And pianos take up space which we don't have, and cost money which we could do without spending. Even if we did have several hundred pounds to spare, what if he decided it wasn't for him after a few weeks?
Fortunately, we got by for that initial period by borrowing a small electronic keyboard. But as quickly as we realised that our son was in this for the long haul, we also realised that the cheap keyboard we had wasn't enough. It was time to get a proper one. So we asked teachers, consulted the internet, and went to music shops, and here is the consensus.
There seems to be three options. A real piano: nice if you have the space, the finance and the patience to keep it maintained. But I notice that even the two excellent piano players we count amongst our friends both have electronic digital pianos at home. Very nice for the advanced player, with foot pedals and classy looks, but again, they take up a lot of space and they're not cheap.
Which leaves us with the portable electronic keyboard. Everyone advised us that this is the way to go for beginners, and indeed it is. We've been hugely impressed with what we bought. Here are the details.
There are several manufacturers, but when we asked for recommendations, one name came up every time: Yamaha. That made things easier! Our only concern was that all Yamaha electronic keyboards seem very complex, with dozens of different instrument sounds, automatic accompaniments, rhythm sections and the like, even on the entry-level models. Curiously, if you want "just" a piano sound, you have to move up into the electronic digital piano market, at three or four times the cost.
But don't worry. The many other functions of an electronic keyboard are quite fun, and anyway, if you choose the right model, there's a big button marked PIANO which cancels all the other settings and resets the instrument into piano mode. Job done.
Here's the keyboard which we chose, fresh out of the box. It's the Yamaha PSR-E303
The main things they offer which are important are: 61 keys - enough for the full range of beginners' exercises; full-size keys just like on the piano on which the children will be having proper lessons; touch sensitivity so you can play keys loudly or softly, as with a real piano; polyphonic operation, allowing you to play multiple keys at the same time; and built-in speakers. Most of these sound obvious, but they're not all available on many low-cost keyboards, which in that respect, are little more than toys. The Yamaha range covers all these requirements.
How does it sound? In a word, beautiful. I've read widely that Yamaha's electronic "grand piano sound" is the state of the art, and they seem to have brought this to a small portable keyboard. Professional reviews I've read say that whilst the hundreds of other sounds on the keyboard are adequate, the "grand piano sound" just sparkles. What's more, it seems that Yamaha keyboards, even at the low end, are widely used by gigging musicians, which means they have a reputation for ruggedness. So even if your keyboard, like ours, is never likely to leave the domestic environment, it should stand up to anything the kids can throw at it.
Which model should you get? As I said, as long as you can find it for under £150, the Yamaha PSR-E303 meets all of the criteria above.
Where should I buy one? This really is the sort of product you can comfortably buy online without any worries. Personally, when I buy online I prefer to buy from well-known names, so below is a link to the Yamaha PSR-E303 keyboard details page at Amazon UK, which will almost certainly be offering free delivery. If you don't have a suitable table at child height, you may want to order a stand too. CR