Newbie...

[WeejianLe]

Hi, Am 16 this year le.. now den i starting to learn some piano basis and hope soon after that would try out key board... but i have no instrument at home to practise. do u guy know where can i get cheap but okok standard keyboard or piano ?? should the key be weighted??
And wat a synt and controller u guy toking abt??

Thk

 

[soft]

welcome welcome

where are you learning your piano? is it a short course or are you taking graded exams?

for keyboards, can get from $300 - $1000

for piano, can get from $1000 - $2500

depends on your budget and your commitment.

 

[WeejianLe]

Re;

OH , Am having a private tutor.. Ya .. Maybe would be into Examination de... U think a keyboard would be better?? But they say the touch is different.. But i seen before weighted key keyboard?? will that be around 300 too??

 

[soft]

if you taking exams, buy a real piano.

 

[keybdt2000]

abrsm now considers digital pianist for examinations.

 

[WeejianLe]

Difference

Wat the different between a Digatil pianist, a pianist and a keyboardist??
Hah
Sorry am new

Thk

 

[Cheez]

keybdt2000, where did you get that info and what did you mean by it? Are you saying they are allowing people to use digital pianos for exams? I don't know how that's possible.

 

[piano_ex]

it's a different exam ... if i'm not wrong ...

the one that you will need and will be taking anyway is a Piano Graded Exam ..
and that one is STRICTLY piano ....

the other one is i think the pop exam? .. or sumthin like that? .. i'm not that sure as well ... but they have exam for pop ..... not sure whether it's ABRSM though ...

 

[Cheez]

There's a ABRSM jazz piano exam. Don't know of any pop piano exam.

I checked their website - no mention of any digital piano being used in exam, or any pop piano. I don't think ABRSM will allow that - that will cause serious criticisms to the Board.

 

[soft]

LCM has electronic keyboard (digital piano) graded syllabus.

let's wait for the threadstarter to come back with more info.

 

[Cheez]

Indeed! LCM does have a digital keyboard exam. It appears to be a hybrid of ABRSM classical and jazz - and technically easier than both ABRSM classical and jazz (and also look like a lower standard to the ABRSM equivalent).

They have the standard scales but added pentatonic and blues. They didn't seem to have any jazz scales included. The ABRSM jazz exam has a lot more scales in their exams including all the jazz/blues/pentatonic scales.

3 lists. List A is arrangements of classical pieces. List B and C are either pop or broadway or classical arrangements of which the student is allowed to improvise. But they stated that the student is able to get "full marks" if they stick to the original arrangement with proficiency, which makes it sound that if they deviate, they are likely to get less marks. List B and C are also allowed to have midi sequences but the sequences are not allowed to make the playing easier or substitute for the keyboard part - only as a supplement to add colour. And the sequencing will not be examined or taken in consideration for marking. The exam is focussed on the technical skills of the player.

There is also a viva voce which the student needs to discuss what he/she has changed in the pieces and why. And as usual, they have aural exams. Also a chord sequence/accompany test.

It appears that the level is lower than ABRSM. Not sure how recognised it is. But nevertheless, it is an interesting exam.

http://mercury.tvu.ac.uk/lcmexams/Subjects.htm

 

[persentio]

May I recommend you buy an M-Audio Prokeys 88. It costs less than 1K, has a few onboard sounds aside from Piano which you can play around with (With Layering and Split functions), has 88 weighted, hammer-action keys, and comes with a Sustain pedal.

However some bad pointers about it to take note:

NO ON BOARD SPEAKERS (You need to buy an amp or Headphones to plug in to hear the sounds) and note that it uses 1/4" jacks.

NO KEYBOARD STAND.

PIANO SOUND IS CRAP. (Actually most keyboards have crap piano sounds) But the other sounds are rather good though.

I suggest you go down to Sinamex (or any other retailer which sells it) to try out the keyboard for yourself before you decide.

 

[Cheez]

Weejianle, if you intend to take exams, then you cannot run away from a real piano. But if you just got started, you may not want to commit too much money into it yet. How far are you into piano now? If you are dead serious, then get a second-hand piano. You can tell the difference between the touch of a real piano from even the best weighted keyboards. It's more than just the weight and touch of the keys - it's the reverberation of the sound in the piano body itself in a real piano. Even my son can tell the difference immediately.

For $300, it's going to be hard to get anything - real acoustic piano or weighted keyboard. If you are not willing to commit yet, my suggestion is to go to piano studios to practice (rent it by 30 minutes block for beginners, if possible) - and if it is not located too far away from your home.

 

[WeejianLe]

Thk

Aha, Thk, i think i get a real one
Do u think i should buy a 2nd hand which would cost around 2 to 3k or a first hand yamhama Piano which is around that price too.

Do u have any recomemdation of piano or 2nd hand?
Thk

 

[pf]

newbie keyboard

Hi, as I posted elsewhere earlier....if you got the budget, go for a Clavinova.

Hi, I just started learning pop piano. Having the same problem as you...always start practicing ard 10pm at nite.

Just bought a CVP301....lower end Yamaha Clavinova. It's great. Only cost slight above your budget below S$3.5. But I think the life of it will beat other digital pianos of lower budget coz the sound is better, the keys are wonderful and its got all the bells and whistles of a keyboard.

I tried the Clavinova and other digital pianos at my music school but found the touch of a Clavinova harder but more like the real piano.

It's fantastic and having loads of fun with it! Especially when I can feel the vibrations beneath my fingers....ahhhh....beautiful!


It's great to use for practicing jazz as well....heard got Contempo use cvps to teach jazz as well....my teacher does too....

 

[Cheez]

If a person wants to go for exams eventually, then a real piano is necessary. No Clavinova can beat the real piano feel. And in exams, they don't use Clavinovas.

For second hand pianos, Kawai is not too bad for the price. My Kawai has been with me for more than 30 years. Now my son is using it.

 

[pf]

But in the ABRSM jazz exams, they don't restrict the type of pianos or keyboards used....I don't supposed WeejianLe is going for the classical exams

 

[soft]

WeejianLe, which exam are you considering?

better to confirm first, else we give you the wrong info.

 

[Cheez]

I cannot find any info on the ABRSM website indicating that they accept keyboards in their jazz piano exams. I may be wrong. If so, please show us the link.

I guess there's a reason why it is a jazz piano exam, not jazz keyboard. ABRSM is usually quite strict in this. So far, the only one I know that allows for keyboards other than piano is LCM. But as I said, I may be wrong... :wink:

Even if they allowed for digital keyboards, jazz requires such technical proficiency that I would still recommend an acoustic piano to get the finger techniques right - just like classical piano.

That means, as long as it is a piano exam (doesn't matter whether jazz or classical), getting an acoustic piano will be very important for your fingers.

 

[pf]

Hi Cheez,

the link is here. http://www.abrsm.org/resources/jazzSyllabus/jazzPianoRegulations.pdf

It's right at the bottom of the page.

Yeah, you are right about the piano part. Must be a piano. But can be an electronic one.