Please help! Starting off keyboard equipment question

[HamdenRice]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance if you are able to help. I am not a musician and know very little about modern keyboard equipment.

But my son is turning into an amazing little musician. He is 15, and although we have struggled with most of his grades, he discovered jazz music a few years ago, with a great teacher in our community who teaches jazz ensemble with a group of boys. Nico progressed so quickly that he was accepted into a music program in one of the best high schools in our city. He plays much, much better after 3 years than I did after 12 years of private lessons. It is amazing to see a kid find his own talent.

Nico plays keyboard. I would like to say piano, but I cannot afford a piano right now. He is interested maybe down the road in producing, and asks a lot about the music business.

He has a pretty inexpensive electronic keyboard. For Christmas, I would like to get him a good electronic keyboard, perhaps that can bee hooked up to his computer (a recent Dell) for CD recording or sound manipulation. Also, because he has learned through jazz, rather than classical, his music reading is not so good. Are there keyboard-computer program systems that help learn or drill sight reading?

I'm not looking to break the bank, but to help the kid begin getting involved in the music-computer connection.

Any ideas?

[Ron Green]

1. I would suggest to get him something as "piano-like" as you can.

This would mean weighted keys, 88 keys if possible, and so on. I wouldn't be concerned about patches, gadgets and tricks, if the kid is really going to play jazz. Let him really learn to play piano, if you know what I mean. The other view would be: If he has access to a real piano on which to practice, then get him the one with geegaws that he can MIDI into the computer. But that's a whole different direction than becoming a player, which it sounds like he's doing. Remember, he can always learn the electronic stuff at any age. But if he's on fire for playing, get him some albums of Bill Evans and Earl Hines and Art Tatum. And get him to a piano.

[SlackJawedYokel]

2. Don't know where you live

But have you tried the Craigs List.org "for sale/wanted/free" listing?
My local List routinely has people giving away or selling piano's for cheap.

Good luck.

Cletus

[TrogL]

3. Get a 88-note midi controller

Make sure it's got weighted keys.

It needn't be new or anything, just as long as it's got proper midi out.

Then a computer or modules can be used for anything else.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Alesis QS8.1

You can probably get one used for under $500. I bought it because of the piano action.

Even though the Roland and Yamaha are both more expensive, i thought the Alesis had the most real feeling keyboard. The weighting is pretty natural and the "fake" escapement feels pretty authentic.

I thought the Yamaha was too stiff and the Roland too mushy. The only one i like better than the Alesis was the Kurzweil and that thing was more than twice the cost. It did have more synthesis power, but i already have lots of synths, so didn't need that.

The Alesis can be had NEW for only a little more than a grand, has over 1MB of piano memory, is easily movable, (although it does weigh over 60 pounds), and can take a lot of abuse. (Built like a tank!)

I'd recommend it to anybody looking for something that actually feels like a piano but either doesn't have the money or room for a real one.

One note: There is no speaker on most of these units. So, headphones are a must. However, there are some 88 key weighted action standalone home digital pianos that are well under a grand as well. Roland, Yamaha, and Casio all make decent ones. But, until one gets into the higher price ranges, the keyboard doesn't feel as "real" as the Alesis or Kurzweil.

Hope that helps.
The Professor

[livinginphotographs]

5. I second that.

Weighted keys are the most important, I think, for piano (not just keyboard) players, and an 88-key Alesis will get the most for your money.

If you wanted to spend $2000+, a Kurzweil would be the way to go. You might even be able to get a decent digital piano for $600-$1000. My Casio (I can't remember exactly, but I think it's an MDP-88 or something) is a few years old, cost me $1200, and was worth every penny. The action is as close to a real piano as you're going to get with a lower-end digital, and despite the fact that the reverb sucks, and I wish it had a bit more sustain, it's still a major part of my set-up.