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When you’re starting out your piano-playing journey, finding something to practice on at home is so important.
Your teacher will most likely recommend certain models, but here are my suggestions for the best piano for grade 1 learners.
Yamaha Piaggero NP-12 & NP-32.
If I had a pound for every time someone has asked me: “What can we get our child without spending too much money because we don’t know if they’ll stick at it?” then I’d be sunbathing in the Maldives right now, sipping a pina colada.
I totally get it; On the one hand, you want to have the best possible piano to give your child the best possible chance of pursuing and improving, but all the same, it’s very early days and you don’t want to invest too much money this early on.
This is where I think the Yamaha NP12 & the Yamaha NP32 would absolutely do the trick for those at Grade 1 level.
It’s lightweight & portable, meaning it’s very easy to transport should you need to, or if space is a premium then you can easily stick this in a cupboard without any hassle.
The keys are what’s called ‘spring action’ which gives the suggestion of a weighted piano without being too heavy for a beginner.
It’s good to start off on something like this so that when the time comes to transition to a real acoustic piano, the gap feels somewhat bridged & a little less scary!
The Yamaha NP12 has 61 keys while the NP32 has 76 keys. At such an early stage, either would do the trick but in my opinion having more keys is always better… even when you’re only just starting out, you never know when you might need them.
Though, if space is something to consider then it’s worth noting the NP12 saves a few centimeters in length.
The Yamaha PSR-E Series is a fantastic budget option for those just starting out and finding themselves at the Grade 1 stage of their development.
Where the E Series thrives is its amount of features… it has hundreds of rhythms (drum beats) and voices to keep you entertained for hours. It’s a great way of incentivising practice and keeping things exciting and fun (which can be hard, especially with young children).
Experimenting with different instrument voices (say saxophone or cello) can be really satisfying and can open your musical eyes to a much wider scope of styles/genres.
On the other hand, for some this may become a distraction and so it’s worth considering this before deciding.
You’ll have noticed, that I’m being quite selective about the models I’m suggesting for Grade 1 players in this blog, as I don’t want to start talking about digital pianos worth thousands and thousands of £££ because, rightly so, the majority of parents/players at this stage won’t want to be spending that much!
So, following on from that brings me to the highest price point of my suggestions for those just starting out in the form of the brilliant Yamaha P45.
It’s a full-size (88-note) keyboard with weighted keys. You will feel a huge difference between this and the NP series I mentioned previously.
Ultimately, it sounds & feels closer to a real piano, and so if you’re learning on a real piano (whether it be at school or with your piano teachers) you’ll feel significantly less of a difference between the P45 and the real thing!
It’s larger and slightly heavier than the NP & E Series range and so if space/transporting is a factor, it’s worth considering this.
Though you can get yourself a lovely gigbag to carry the P45 around in…
I hope this information has been helpful to you!
As always, if you need to ask us anything just give us a call or send us an email. We’re here to help!
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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.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
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*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
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.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
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For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
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It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
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.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
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