A keyboard for lessons, lightweight, please help me decide.

[alans]

Hi Toril

Just been reading your interesting post about lessons/PSR 51,I remember when I first got my Technics KN2000 keyboard many years ago,somewhile after I bought  a Yamaha PSR 410 and the voices/styles were so much better on the Technics,much more expensive of course.At first I learnt the usual chords in C,F and G keys and as I bought new music books,mostly 101 Hits for Buskers,all of which I still have and use,I noticed that many of the songs were written in keys I did not know ie.Ab,Bb,Eb and D to name a few.
I decided that I needed to learn these new chords and to play in these strange looking key signatures,and that is what I did.I can fully recommend learning other keys than the usual C, F and G ,tunes seem to take on a new flavour using these new keys and chord textures. Please let us have an update to this post about how you are getting on learning new key signatures,and also using your PSR 51

Best wishes

Alan

[Toril S]

Hello friends! Lockdown prevented me from taking lessons. BUT I START ON THIRSDAY!! The F51 went back to the store. I will keep you posted on how this goes. Stay tuned😀

[mikf]

You will be the star pupil!!
Mike

[Toril S]

Thanks Mike, but I think I will be a nightmare for the piano teacher. 😀

[Toril S]

Hello friends
I promised to let you know how the piano lesson went. My teacher is a very nice lady. She doesn't know autocomp/arranger keyboards, but when I demonstrated for her how I play she cried COOL! The piano I used is a Casio PXS3000. It is extremely slim and compact, and has 200 styles and 700 voices. Not a Genos, but more than good enough for us to use during lessons.
And Mike: You were right, I have to practice those scales, but I really don't mind

[mikf]

Toril
And not just the scales, even more important for an arranger player are those arpeggios - especially with the left hand. Because they train your subconscious to know where all the notes of a chord are in every key so you play them without thinking. And those advanced chords are mostly nothing more than the appropriate note from the scale added to a basic chord. So practicing scales makes those notes also intuitive.
If everyone was to spend 10 minutes each day playing a major and minor arpeggio starting in C then C# then D and so on, with both hands, and the same with scales, their playing would improve radically. Because when they see a C#6 they don't need to think, they just know what the notes are, in fact their fingers will know where the notes are and just play, the way a good typist knows where the letter keys are without thinking. And its not just about the notes, better control of your non dominant hand, overall dexterity, touch and timing will also improve dramatically because even a scale or arpeggio sounds bad if the volume of every note is different or its timing is off. 
Of course this is why they have been teaching piano this way for two hundred years. Only when the mechanics become completely intuitive can you put all your attention to what you are playing, how it sounds, what's coming next, how you can maybe improve it a bit.
You are to be congratulated for the courage to take these steps.
Mike


   

[Toril S]

Thanks for the good advice Mike! There is a steep learning curve and much work ahead, but I like a challenge. Will prevent me from being bored and grumpy😀

[Toril S]

Well, I am getting serious about this and bought myself a digital piano! It is the Casio PXS3000, the smallest DP in the world! I have an acoustic Yamaha piano, but I live in an apartment house, and don't want to drive the neighbours crazy, and I just needed an excuse to do this. The piano has some arranger functions too. I am practicing, and realize I am in for some hard work here.
I have played with the wrong fingering in 53 years, so imagine me painstakingly struggling to do it the right way. But it is fun too, at least for now. Please pray that I don't throw the piano out the window It can't fly!

[mikf]

Toril
You are quite a keyboard collector. That is a pretty good keyboard, like a portable CVP.
Mike

[Toril S]

Thanks Jeff and Mike. Yes Mike, the Casio is pretty decent, and more than sufficient for my needs. Never too late to learn. Wish that I started when I was young, but nothing to be done about that😀

[travlin-easy]

I would suggest taking the lessons online, while sitting at your S-950 - that's what I did to learn to play chords that were a bit complex. In reality, I really never needed most of those that I learned, mainly because I relied heavily on my vocal abilities.

Good luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary

[Toril S]

Thanks Gary. Had my second lesson today😀