Updated 1/2/2019
1,460-word post, approx. 3-4 min. read
Congratulations! You’ve finally decided to take the first step in learning how to play music. When learning to play the piano, you don’t have to feel pressured to buy a grand piano or an upright piano. There are plenty of alternatives that can serve the same purpose without you having to spend too much.
One of these options is getting yourself a keyboard. I’ve gathered some of the best keyboard pianos that beginners can use to practice playing music. This will hopefully help you out in deciding which one to get.
But before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I have some cool information to share; It’s about some really good benefits of learning to play keyboards. I hope to reaffirm your decision about starting to play a musical instrument and encourage you to keep going. It may be challenging and sometimes frustrating, especially in the beginning. But soon enough, you’ll enjoy playing music by heart.
Great Benefits of Playing Music
There have been plenty of studies that show how learning to play keyboards or any musical instrument can be beneficial for you regardless of your age. From little children to adults, anyone who wants to learn how to play can enjoy the benefits that come with it. Let’s start with the first one.
Improved Focus
When you start learning to play keyboards, you need to be focused. Even if you’re a person who is easily distracted, if you really want to learn something, you’ll need to concentrate and on what you need to do. The more you practice playing, the better you get at it and the better your focus will be as well. This is something that you will notice in other aspects of your life. You’ll be more focused on your homework, studying, or doing tasks at work.
Enhanced Coordination
Other than keeping your focus, as a fledgling musician, you should also learn how to coordinate your fingers, hands, and body. When you have mastered this enough, your hands and fingers will be more nimble. Playing sports or doing other activities like cooking will be much easier. You might just discover a new hobby or sport along the way, and that’s a good thing. You get to learn another skill.
More Self-Confidence
When you know how to play a musical instrument and play it well, you get to be proud of something about yourself. This improves your self-confidence. If you’re a shy person or if you have a child who needs a confidence boost, playing keyboards and other musical instruments can help in improving attitude, positivity, and how one looks at himself or herself.
Easier Time Memorizing
If you haven’t started playing music yet, then you should know this first: it’s going to be challenging and at times you’ll feel frustrated with yourself. You may want to skip all the basics and start playing really good music already but you have to start with the simplest pieces. We all want to be that kind of musician who seems to just play from the heart. But it’s going to take a lot of practice and hard work. When you learn how to play keyboards, you need to memorize notes, scales, and chords. The more you play and practice, the better your brain gets at memorizing these details. You’ll have a better memory of other things, too. This is really beneficial if you’re a student who also wants to improve your study habits and earn better grades.
Better Listening Skills
Our listening ability has been determined by our physiology and genetics. Some people are just born to hear better compared with others. If you already have an ear for music, it will be much easier to learn how to play. But if you think your listening skills are average, don’t worry. As you play more and more, you’ll be more sensitive to sound and this helps in improving your listening skills.
Acceptance of Criticisms
Just as with any kind of learning, you will be corrected by your instructor or teacher time and again. I hope you understand that this is not to discourage or embarrass you. You are being shown where you got it wrong so you can correct it and improve. That’s the nature of learning. You’ll commit plenty of mistakes as a beginner and there will be a lot of criticisms along the way. You’ll learn to be more accepting of this. And this attitude of humility and acceptance is something you can apply to every aspect of your life.
Confidence in Performing
Maybe you wanted to learn how to play keyboards so you can play music for yourself. That’s a good thing. But you’ll also find it enjoyable to play music for others. Self-expression through music is wonderful. You’ll find that one day, you’ll have enough self-confidence to play in front of a crowd.
These are just some of the benefits of learning how to play a musical instrument like a keyboard or a piano. Now, are you more convinced that you’ve made the right decision? Maybe you’re in that phase where the lessons are becoming more and more difficult. Don’t think obsessively about perfecting the craft yet. You’ll get there. Just play, practice and repeat. The most important part of playing music is that you enjoy yourself and you have fun.
The Best Keyboard Pianos that Beginners Can Practice On
Are you ready to get your first keyboard? Let’s get right into the best keyboards beginners can practice on. I’ll share with you four models that you can choose from. These are the Yamaha Piaggero NP12 and NP32, the Casio LK165, and the Huntington KB-61.
Yamaha Piagerro NP12
This model is among the best Yamaha keyboards that beginners should definitely check out. It’s designed to be easily portable so you can take it to any place where you need to play or practice. You will get awesome features with this model but it will also be light enough to transport. Since it’s meant to be portable, the manufacturer has taken a few keys out; it only has 61 keys. If you feel that’s enough for you, then this would be a great choice!
Yamaha Piaggero NP 32
I want to include another best Yamaha keyboard that beginners can use because I think the 61-key NP12 may not meet your needs as a musician. The NP 32 has 76 keys and it has the Advanced Wave Memory sound engine. This is a top feature that is usually found in digital pianos. The Yamaha Piagerro NP32 has 10 voices. That means you get 64 polyphony notes with this model. But with each of the 10 voices, it also has a 10 demo song preset already. You’ll love this feature because you get to practice and learn how each of the instruments will sound.
Casio LK 265
Another good keyboard for a beginner is the Casio LK 265. The features are similar to the Yamaha keyboards above. But you’ll love the fact that the keys of the LK 265 light up. It may sound ridiculous at first why I’d think this is a great feature. But you’ll realize that learning how to play keyboards is about memorizing where you place your fingers. It’s a very visual way of learning and this feature helps make the process easier. This model can play pieces of music and light up the keys so that you can follow and play. It has 150 rhythms and 400 tones. There are 61 full-sized keys that are touch-sensitive so you can be sure that they respond naturally on how you play them. So if you’re a visual learner, I highly recommend the Casio LK 265.
Final Thoughts
I’ve done my best to narrow down the options so you won’t be overwhelmed with so many choices out there. Whatever model you choose, what you have to keep in mind is to put your heart into your music. Practice and have fun. You’ll have a harder time learning anything if you treat it like a chore. Learning how to play a musical instrument should be enjoyable. It will show in the music that you create.
Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on the Best Keyboard Pianos for Beginners.
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