Beginner in need of recommendation

[Doink]

To start off, I'm very new to this. I did take 2 years worth of keyboard lessons, but I was about 12 at the time and didn't really have much interest in it. Now I'm 22 and I want to play again.

This time 'round I just want to play for myself. I don't really care about synth, midi, workstations or any of that stuff I've read about on these forums(I did read a bit). My goal is simply to play when I'm not studying and eventually learn to play some songs. Ideally, I would have a piano to play on, but I don't. So I'm gonna go for a keyboard.

Some stuff to keep in mind:
The width of my hand from thumb to pinkie is about 20 cm or 7.9 inches. (I don't know whether that's big or small, but I hope you guys know)
I can spend roughly 300 $ but might stretch as far as 350 depending on your recommendations.
The keyboard must have as many keys(?) as a piano.
Must have a hole for a headset.

Any help at all would be most welcome.

Also, if there are any Norwegians here, any stores I might check out(online)? I think there are only 1 or 2 stores that sell instruments where I live.

 

[goz211]

I can spend roughly 300 $ but might stretch as far as 350 depending on your recommendations.
The keyboard must have as many keys(?) as a piano.
Must have a hole for a headset.

Have a look at the Yamaha NP-30 if you can live with 76 keys instead of 88.

 

[Burn4Him]

well a piano has 88 keys... unless you get super fancy but thats another story.

on your budget goz211 is right a np30 will suit you but it doesn't have 88 keys, which as a beginner should not be an issue.

however if you must have 88 keys then you should probably start looking used. maybe a Yamaha YPG535 or dare i say.... a casio.....

i wouldn't normally recommend a casio, ever, unless your a beginner and on a budget.

hope this is helpful!

 

[Burn4Him]

P.S.

Goz, your sure do like that np30

 

[goz211]

Yes - only I've been looking for something to recommend to students for ages. It's cheap, comes with a stand and built in speakers and it sounds/looks fine. Got the loan of one this week to try out - does the job. No dog barking or gunshot noises, no distracting rhythms or magic chord function. Yes - at that price it's the business.

 

[Burn4Him]

yeah it would be ideal in that situation! im not saying its not a great keyboard but i just remember seeing a few posts your replied to the in last couple days recommending that keyboard and since its not one of the more popular ones it stuck out to me. but the more i look at it the more i think it should be more popular.

 

[Doink]

Thanks a bunch for the help, guys. I wouldn't ask at a store because they'd just try and sell me the most expensive. I'll definitely have a look at the Yamaha NP-30. But might I ask why you "wouldn't normally recommend a casio, ever" ?

 

[Burn4Him]

well they don't sound very good or have a great feel, and they generally feel pretty cheap.

 

[Doink]

Before I decide on anything, my current goal is to one day be able to play the piece made by Yann Tiersen called Comptine d'un autre ete : L'apres midi

and

and some more I can't remember right now. The point is, with a 76 key piano, how much would I potentially miss out on that I wouldn't be able to play?

 

[Burn4Him]

NO WAY! thats actually one of my favorite piano pieces of all time! but you wont miss out anything. very very very few songs will require 88 keys

 

[Burn4Him]

Comptine d'un autre ete : L'apres midi that is...

try this!

 

[Doink]

Alright, then I'll look around for the Yamaha NP-30. And yeah, that piece is fantastic, but at the moment I am only able to play with my right hand. If I try with the left one at the same time I forget about the right. If you guys know a thread on this forum or perhaps somewhere else that gives a tutorial or such on how to train to play with both, I would be forever grateful. I can imagine it simply takes practice and I'd get used to it eventually, but I would like to know an efficient way to learn how to do it rather than just stumbling ahead on my own.

 

[Burn4Him]

i dont know if there is a specific way to train both hands separately but one way may be to play chords with the left hand while playing the regular right hand part. but overall i think it just takes practice, practice and more practice, then when your sick of practicing practice some more. then go to sleep and dream about practicing. then wake up and practice....... or something like that.

also something that i found really helps is visualization. if your read sheet music then look over the piece first and actually visualize what each had has to be doing to play the piece, that usually helps me.

 

[Doink]

Alright, then I'll do one of the exercises I've seen somewhere on the forum and see how it goes. Thanks again for all the help, it's much appreciated.