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Weighted keys, are they worth it or necessary when you are starting to learn the piano?
In my opinion, as a piano teacher, they are essential.
Why is this?
Well, imagine you have been asked to run a marathon, you know it takes time and it takes training.
You will need to train the different muscles in your body and you’ll also need appropriate kit.
If you were running in the fells (ok, so there aren’t many around Banbury!) you’d need trail shoes, if you were running on roads, your shoes would be different again.
If you over pronounce or under pronounce you’d need shoes appropriate for your gait. You’d not dream of running any of that in flip flops!
So having the right ‘kit’ with weighted keys will train your fingers and strengthen the muscles.
It is really important when you first start out that you have a nice, rounded hand shape.
Sometimes I use a soft, squashy, juggling type ball for young children to help them feel and maintain the shape.
If you have a lack of resistance from unweighted keys, you might be inclined to rest your wrist on the piano or play with a flattened finger, neither of which will help as you pick up speed and fluidity. The added benefit of a ‘boxed’ key will also encourage you to keep your wrists up. Lots of keyboards have keys that become flattened at the ends.
To check your wrists are in the right place, grab a lightweight coaster and place it on your wrist and hand as you play. Can you keep it on there in the same place?
Some keyboards do have a half-weighted feel or a ‘soft’, ‘medium’ or ‘hard’ touch alteration facility, but you will need to remember to set that every time as they often reset to soft or medium when you turn off the keyboard.
Keyboards and Pianos that have the weighted keys are:
All the Yamaha Arius YDP series, CLP, CSP and CVP Clavinova pianos
Portable pianos – Yamaha P121, P125-A, P515, P-S500 and DGX650
Korg stage and portable pianos – 88-PA 5X, C1 Air, G1b Air, XE20SP, SP280, LP380, B2 Beginner piano and D1 stage piano and probably a few others I’ve missed.
So ultimately, weighted keys for anyone looking to learn piano properly are vital in my opinion.
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These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
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Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
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Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
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For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
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