If you’re learning piano for the first time, one of the first decisions is what to actually play on.
Do you need a real acoustic piano? Is a digital piano just as good? Can you learn properly on a keyboard? And do you really need all 88 keys?
The good news is that you can learn perfectly well on any of them, provided you choose something reasonably suitable. In fact, for many beginners I’d probably recommend a good digital piano over an acoustic piano these days.
But there are advantages to each, and the most important thing is to choose an instrument that suits your life — because the best piano in the world isn’t much use if you hardly ever sit down and play it.
First, What’s the Difference?
There are really three main choices.
An acoustic piano is the traditional instrument — strings, hammers, pedals and a large wooden case. When you press a key, a real felt-covered hammer hits a real string.
A digital piano is designed primarily to imitate that experience. Most have 88 weighted keys, piano sounds, speakers and a sustain pedal, but the sound is produced electronically.
A portable keyboard usually has 61 or 76 lighter keys and tends to offer far more sounds, rhythms and accompaniment features. It may not feel as much like an acoustic piano, but it can be enormous fun to play.
There’s no automatically “correct” choice. It depends very much on what you want from the instrument.
Acoustic Piano: Still Something Special
There really is something wonderful about playing a good acoustic piano. You feel the vibration through the instrument, the sound fills the room naturally and there’s an enormous range of expression available under your fingers.
A good acoustic also has a mechanical connection between your fingers and the sound. Press a key gently and the hammer hits the string gently. Play more forcefully and everything responds accordingly. There’s no computer in between.
If you have the space, don’t need headphones and simply love the idea of owning a real piano, an acoustic can be a wonderful choice.
But there are practical disadvantages. They’re large, extremely heavy, need regular tuning and can’t be turned down. If you suddenly fancy practising at eleven o’clock at night, the rest of the household may have views on the matter.
Be Careful Buying a Cheap Second-Hand Piano
You can sometimes find acoustic pianos remarkably cheaply. People even give them away because moving one can cost more than the piano is worth.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve found a bargain.
An old piano may look beautiful on the outside while having worn hammers, sticking keys, loose tuning pins or other problems inside. It may also have been sitting untuned for years.
If you’re considering a second-hand acoustic piano and don’t know much about pianos, ask a piano tuner or technician to look at it before you buy it. A professional inspection could save you from acquiring a very attractive piece of furniture that happens to contain 88 disappointing keys.
Older overstrung pianos are generally preferable to very old straight-strung designs. In an overstrung piano, the bass strings cross diagonally over the other strings, allowing longer strings within a relatively compact case.
But condition matters far more than the label on the front or how impressive the cabinet looks.
Digital Pianos: Probably the Best Choice for Most Beginners
Digital pianos have become extremely good.
A decent modern digital piano gives you 88 weighted keys, a convincing piano sound, built-in speakers and a headphone socket. There’s no tuning, very little maintenance and you can usually move it without involving three removal men and a discussion about doorways.
For many adult learners, that’s an extremely sensible combination.
Headphones alone can be a huge advantage. You can practise whenever you like and, perhaps more importantly, you can practise badly whenever you like.
That’s important when you’re learning. You need to be able to play the same chord change twenty times, make mistakes and generally sound dreadful for a while without wondering whether everybody else in the house is listening.
A digital piano gives you that privacy.
Don’t Confuse a Digital Piano With a Portable Keyboard
This is where the terminology gets confusing.
A digital piano is usually trying to recreate the experience of an acoustic piano. A portable keyboard is often trying to do something rather different.
Keyboards such as Yamaha’s arranger models may have hundreds of sounds and built-in rhythm styles. You can choose drums, bass and accompaniment, play a chord and suddenly sound as though you’ve acquired a small backing band.
I’ve come to appreciate these features much more over the years.
For a beginner, playing a simple chord progression with a good drum and bass rhythm behind you can be great fun. It also encourages you to keep a steady beat, and anything that makes you want to sit at the keyboard for another ten minutes is worth considering.
So don’t dismiss the “bells and whistles”. You may not need 500 sounds, but some of those features can genuinely make learning more enjoyable.
Weighted Keys or Light Keys?
If your main ambition is to play piano, I’d choose weighted keys if your budget allows.
Weighted or hammer-action keys have resistance under the fingers and behave more like the keys of an acoustic piano. They make it easier to develop control over dynamics — playing quietly, loudly and everything in between.
Lighter keyboard actions aren’t necessarily bad. In fact, they can be lovely for organ, pop and arranger-style playing. But if you eventually want to move comfortably between your instrument and an acoustic piano, weighted keys are the better preparation.
Whatever you buy, I regard touch sensitivity as essential. Press a key gently and it should sound quieter; press it harder and it should sound louder.
If every note comes out at exactly the same volume regardless of how you play it, I’d look for something else.
Do You Really Need 88 Keys?
Not necessarily.
A full piano has 88 keys, and if you have the room and budget I’d certainly recommend 88. You’ll never have to think about upgrading simply because you’ve run out of notes.
But a 61-key touch-sensitive keyboard is perfectly adequate for getting started with Pianoforall. You can learn chords, rhythm styles, blues, improvisation and a great deal of popular music without needing the full range of a piano.
A 76-key keyboard is a very useful compromise if you want more range without the width of an 88-key instrument.
If you’re particularly interested in classical piano, however, I’d lean towards 88 weighted keys from the beginning if possible. As the music becomes more advanced, you’ll eventually want the full keyboard.
The Sustain Pedal Matters More Than You Might Think
Whatever digital instrument you choose, make sure it has a sustain pedal input.
A sustain pedal allows notes to continue ringing after you release the keys. It’s one of the things that makes piano playing sound flowing and expressive rather than clipped.
Many inexpensive keyboards come with a little square plastic pedal. It’ll work, but I much prefer a proper piano-style pedal. It feels more natural under the foot and doesn’t have quite the same enthusiasm for travelling across the floor while you’re playing.
You don’t necessarily need three pedals as a beginner. One good sustain pedal is far more important.
What About All Those Extra Sounds?
They’re fun, but don’t let them distract you from the basics.
If you’re choosing between one keyboard with 700 sounds and another with 20 sounds but much better keys and a better piano sound, I’d usually choose the better keyboard action.
You’ll probably spend 95% of your time using a handful of sounds anyway.
That said, I do enjoy having a few good electric pianos, organs, strings and bass sounds available. And, as I mentioned earlier, rhythm styles can be genuinely useful rather than simply a gimmick.
So think about the features you’re actually likely to use rather than comparing specification lists.
Where You Put the Piano Matters
This is something people rarely consider when buying an instrument, but I think it’s enormously important.
Where will it actually live?
If your beautiful new digital piano ends up in a spare bedroom upstairs, underneath a pile of washing, you’re relying on yourself making a deliberate decision to go and practise.
If it’s somewhere you naturally spend time, you’ll see it and sit down at it.
I have a keyboard in my kitchen for exactly this reason. I’ll sometimes play it while I’m waiting for food to cook or when friends are round. There’s no ceremony involved. It’s simply there.
If possible, make your instrument part of the room rather than something you have to unpack. Keep the music stand clear, leave your stool in position and have your lessons easily available on a tablet or laptop.
The easier it is to start playing, the more often you’ll play.
That matters far more than whether your piano has the latest sound engine.
Try Before You Buy If You Can
Specifications can tell you a lot, but they can’t tell you whether you like the feel of an instrument.
If you have a music shop nearby, go in and try a few. Don’t worry if you can’t play yet. Tell the salesperson you’re a complete beginner and ask them to demonstrate several instruments for you.
Then sit at them yourself. Play a few keys. Try them softly and loudly. Listen through the speakers and, if possible, through headphones.
You may immediately prefer one keyboard action to another.
That’s useful information. You’re going to spend hundreds or perhaps thousands of hours touching those keys, so liking the way they feel isn’t a trivial consideration.
So Which Would I Choose?
For most adult beginners today, I’d probably start with a good 88-key weighted digital piano if budget and space allow. You get something close to the feel of an acoustic piano without tuning, maintenance or volume problems, and headphones allow you to practise whenever you like.
If space or budget is limited, a 61 or 76-key touch-sensitive keyboard is absolutely fine to begin with. And if you love the idea of rhythms, different sounds and playing popular styles, you may actually have more fun with one.
I’d choose an acoustic piano if you have the room, can play without disturbing people and particularly value the sound and physical experience of a real instrument.
And if you’re fortunate enough to have room for both, that’s not excessive at all.
Well, that’s what I’d tell myself anyway.
To Sum Up
Don’t get too caught up in specifications. For a beginner, the essentials are fairly simple: full-size touch-sensitive keys, a decent piano sound and a sustain pedal. Weighted keys and 88 notes are preferable if you can afford them, particularly if you’re interested in classical piano, but they’re not essential for getting started.
Most importantly, choose an instrument you enjoy playing and put it somewhere that makes playing easy. A modest keyboard that gets played every day is far more useful than a magnificent piano sitting untouched in another room.
If you’d like specific models and current price ranges, I’ve put those in my more detailed Choosing a Keyboard or Digital Piano guide.
