These are 2 top questions that I get when students start piano lessons. Practicing at home is as important for progression in your musical journey as attending the lessons themselves. If you are going to invest in lessons, it will go a long way if you reinforce the learned concepts regularly, especially practicing right after the lesson.
Look for an 88 key keyboard with weighted keys and hammer action. A great beginner keyboard is the STRICH from Amazon or the Casio CSF-10, which is a Costco exclusive package deal with the bench and pedal. You can also ask for it used at L & McQuade, or new, if they carry it. This ZHRUNS digital piano is also up there for beginner keyboards. It has . its own “stand” and pedals (all 3 pedals too) as it’s a digital piano, not just a keyboard, making it one of the best value based on quality and price. It doesn’t come with a bench, but you can get one new for under $50, like this Save On Many bench, or this extremely comfortable RockJam cushioned bench.
Most keyboards come with at least a few extra bells and whistles (different sounds, modes, MIDI, etc, but unless you’re looking to record, they’re not essential to our purposes for piano lessons). Check that it the keyboard you choose comes with at least 1 pedal (the damper pedal). If not, I’d recommend buying one in addition to the keyboard. If they’ve been playing some songs with pedal, they’ll really miss it if they don’t have one!
Costco has some decent (new) digital pianos, and their usual Costco return policy means that if anything breaks down, they’ll take it back / exchange it for you. Places to shop for a used keyboard include Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and Craigslist. I’d choose Long & McQuade (or a music store) over FB Marketplace and Kijiji because it’s more of the wild west that way - and because of their warranty on used instruments. They will let you know that Amazon sells knock-offs. In fact, Amazon will never send you a knock-off of what they tell you the brand is (reviews would be all over that). The Amazon brands may be those that you might not have heard of, but function just as well for what we need it for (beginner / intermediate piano). So while it may not be a Yamaha Clavinova or a Roland (and corresponding price tag), it can still work wonderfully. Just look for the features mentioned above.
Once you find your basic keyboard, you should be set up for quite a few years! :) If you have any further questions, as always, feel free to reach out to me!
If you’d like to see how to set up for online lessons, read —> this blog post!
~Kimberly
Owner
North Peace Piano