CHOOSING AN ELECTRIC KEYBOARD.
Buying an electric keyboard can be a little confusing as, unlike other established musical instruments, they keep changing! This is an attempt to help you decide on a suitable instrument for your child.
The most widely available makes are Yamaha and Casio. There are other perfectly reputable makes such as Roland and Technics but these are generally more expensive. My own keyboard is a Roland but it would not be the easiest keyboard for a young child to manage. Concertmate, Realistic, Hohners and Bontempi make suitable instruments for beginners but spares and servicing are less readily available (although very rarely needed).
As a minimum 49 keys (or 4 octaves) are necessary. All keyboards of that size made by Yamaha and Casio will have facilities to enable both simplified chord-playing and the use of "fingered chords". Most keyboard examinations require the use of "fingered chords".
FIRST KEYBOARDS for beginners
With a young beginner a 49 note (or 4 octave) keyboard is large enough, and easier to carry to school for lessons! There is little to be gained in buying a larger keyboard unless you go to one of the models recommended below for older children - the models in between are bigger to carry but offer no extra features of value. Despite the makers' claims keys which light up do not make it easier to learn to play and the facility to plug in a microphone for karaoke singing has no great educational benefit!
If a child progresses well and wants to take examinations they ideally need a keyboard with "touch response" and the ability to store their registration settings so that they can change settings easily in the middle of a piece. If you want to avoid the expense of buying a keyboard with these facilities, which are not needed in the early stages, the best bet is to buy a second hand instrument. Look for something like a Yamaha PSR 125 or its very similar looking predecessor the Yamaha PSR 74. You should not need to pay more than about £30 to £35 for an instrument in good condition. A brand new Casio CTK 230 keyboard can be bought for £60.
4 octave models - the Yamaha PSR 125
and the Casio CTK230 
KEYBOARDS for older pupils and examination candidates
With a child of secondary school age the 61 note (or 5 octave) models with "touch response" are worth considering - this means they can be played more loudly or softly by using harder or softer pressure, in a similar manner to a piano. This is more musically satisfying. Expressive capabilities are improved if you have the facility to use two voices together. Yamaha call this "dual voice" - Casio refer to it as "layering". I do not recommend the Yamaha PSRE313 or the Casio CTK3000 as for exam use it is highly desirable to have programmable pads which make it easy to change voice settings in the middle of a piece.
These keyboards all come with "MIDI" - a way of connecting the keyboard to a computer. "General Midi" is a standardised set of voice numbers and this makes for easier use with most software. Special software is needed to make use of MIDI (see the following section).
The Yamaha PSR E413 with "dual voice", programmable pads, a pitchbend wheel, USB connection for MIDI link to a computer and a built-in sequencer at £179 - this is virtually identical to the E403 so if you can find this discounted as an old model it is a bargain!
The other alternative is the Casio CTK 5000 with "layering", programmable pads and a built-in sequencer at £169. The Casio CTK4000 at £139 also has registration memories but does not have the pitchbend.
All keyboard prices quoted are from the Starland Catalogue (www.starland.co.uk). Compare their prices with your local music shop and try bargaining!
LINKING TO A COMPUTER
Most full-sized keyboards now have "MIDI". This is a facility which allows connection to a suitable computer (Multi-media PC's ). With the use of "sequencing" software the keyboard can be used to record or print music via the computer. For a child considering GCSE Music this can be a useful tool. Using a computer does away with the need for the additional functions - disk drives and sophisticated recording facilities - found on more expensive keyboards. Cakewalk FL Studio 7 costs £59 and includes a facility to record audio as well. This requires a good audio card and a fairly fast processor. Steinberg Sequel Ed at £39 combines midi sequencing with audio multi-track recording.
It is important to distinguish between "sequencers" and score writing programs. Although some sequencers allow you to print your music you have far greater control of lay-out with a dedicated program. Entering dynamics, slurs and lyrics is much simpler with a specialist program. The entry level is Coda's Print Music at £78. Alternatively there is a more limited but very cheap version ($9.95) called Finale Notepad which can be downloaded from www.codamusic.com. At £115 there is a Student Edition of the Sibelius programme which is used in many schools. At the upper end of the price scale are Finale PC at £299 (a superb score writer which I personally use to publish my compositions) and the full professional Sibelius at £485.
Prices quoted are from the Starland Catalogue (www.starland.co.uk).
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This page was last updated on 16th Octber 2008