Have you been looking through our range of keyboards and digital pianos and wondering what is the difference between each of them? Should I buy digital or acoustic? What's the difference between a keyboard and digital piano? Why would I want light up keys? Why do some keyboards have 61 keys and digital pianos have 88? What keyboard is best for me as a beginner?

We realise that buying a keyboard for the first time with the choice available is quite a frustrating experience. Our keyboard buying guide will talk you through the basics and give you tips on what's best to buy to suit your needs. Plus, we give you a range of different pianos from £100 to £600, to suit everyone's budget.

The majority of our starter packs come included with a stand. All keyboards are made to be portable and for use with batteries, although please note that these aren't included unless stated! To make your keyboard purchase the perfect Christmas gift, why not take a look at our accessories and sheet music so yourself or the recipient can play along to more than the built in songs?

If you're a beginner, it's likely a keyboard will suit you more than a digital piano for several reasons:

• A keyboard has 61 keys rather than digital pianos which have 88. 61 keys are much easier for a beginner to use...
• Keyboard keys are also much lighter than a digital pianos. Touch Sensitive keys are what you should probably go for as a beginner, as the sounds respond to how hard you press the keys - making your playing much more expressive.

The advantages of digital

We wouldn't want to leave the grand acoustic piano out of the loop, and you're probably wondering why this hasn't been brought into the conversation yet? There are a multitude of non-technical and technical advantages to purchasing a digital keyboard/piano over an acoustic. Here are a few of the most important...

• smaller size
• a choice of sounds
• no maintenance
• never needs tuning
• volume control
• portability
• private practice (headphones)
• on-board recording

So before we give you a number of keyboards and digital pianos you may like, you may want to know a few of the basics. What's so good about weighted keys? Why is touch sensitivity so important?

Weighted keys
Weighted keys mimic the feel of an acoustic piano. Why is this important? Well as a student, you will develop the manual dexterity and muscle strength required in your hands to play more demanding compositions. Besides that, when you move on to an acoustic piano it will eliminate any difference in feel to you!

Touch sensitivity
A string on an acoustic piano will resonate louder the harder it is struck by the hammer. For a digital piano to sound realistic, this effect must be reproduced. Additionally, the sound from a single note will be unique when the string is hit at different velocities. When the digital piano is played, the appropriate sample is triggered according to the force of the key press.

Keyboards

Scroll down to see featured products specifications

Casio LK-12 Keylighting Keyboard - £116.99

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need... 8xAA Batteries
• 61 light-up keys
• 100 tones and 50 rhythms
• 100 songs to inpsire creative playing
• LCD Display

Yamaha PSRE-323 + Free stand - £145

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need... 6xAA Batteries
• 61 touch-sensitive keys
• 102 rhythms
• 482 sounds
• 4 chorus types
• Song lesson feature "Key to Success"
• Special 2-track Easy Recording Feature
• USB Connectivity

 

 

Yamaha EZ200 with Guide Lights - £161

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...a stand?
• Lighted Guide and Touch Response - with on/off buttons
• LCD Fingering guide which shows correct fingering in the display
• 375 instrumental voices
• 100 accompaniment styles
• 100 built-in songs for easy learning
• Reverb effect with 9 different reverb types

 

Yamaha PSRE423 + Free Stand - £216

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...batteries and a stand (but we give you a stand for free!)
• 61 touch sensitive keys
• 700 high-quality sounds
• 174 accompaniment styles with 2 variations
• 30 stored songs
• USB connection
• Real time sound controllers for synth-like control over voices
• Arpeggiator automatically animates the notes you play
• Flash memory for easy storage of downloaded songs and styles

Yamaha NP-30 Portable Grand Keyboard + Free Stand - £216

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need... batteries and a stand (but we give you a for free!)
• 76 touch sensitive keys
• 10 sounds
• 20 stored songs
• Sheet music integrated stand
• MIDI in/out connection
• Available in black and silver

 

Yamaha NP-V60 - £269

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...6xAA batteries and a stand
• 76 Graded Soft Touch Keys (like on an actual piano)
• 30 songs
• 160 rhythm accompaniment styles
• 5 track recording
• MIDI in/out connection

Digital Pianos

Yamaha P-95B Digital Piano + Free Stand - £475

• Age: 8 years+
• You might also need...batteries and a stand (but we give you one for free!)
• Beginners tutor book, CD, DVD, Pop Chart Hits songbook and headphones included
• Graded Hammer Standard Keyboard
• 88 note full size piano keyboard
• 64-voice polyphony
• 10 voices
• 1 track-recorder
• 10 voice-demos
• 50 preset-songs
• MIDI in/out

Casio PX-130 Digital Piano+ Free Tutorial Book - £444.99

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...batteries and a stand
• 88 keys
• 16 high-quality tones with Aif Tones
• 60 songs
• 8 digital effects
• 128-voice polyphony
• "Tri-sensor" scaled hammer-action keyboard
• Panel-lock function to protect from unintentional moves while playing
• 1 song recorder
• USB/MIDI in/out
• Available in Black and White

Casio AP-220 Keyboard Piano - £569.99

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...this keyboard piano comes with a stand already!
• 88 keys
• 1 track recorder
• 128-note polyphony
• Touch response
• 16 tones
• Digital effects
• 3 pedals
• 60 songs
• Lesson Function
• MIDI in/out

Yama DGX-640w Digital Piano - £589

• Age: 8 years +
• You might also need...this digital piano comes with a stand and sustain pedal already!
• 88-key Graded Hammer Standard keyboard
• Acoustic, super-expressive Live!, Cool! and Sweet! Voices and DSP included
• Easy Song Arranger feature and Performance Assistant Technology
• USB Connection
• Optional three pedals unit for expressive effects
• 6 track-recorder
• Yamaha Education Suite (Y.E.S) - teaching you how to play and perform

You might also need accessories...

If you're choosing a keyboard or digital piano that doesn't come with a stand, don't worry! We have a range of stands for you to choose from...

Adam Hall Keyboard Stand - £19.99

• Standard X-Keyboard frame
• Ideal for beginners
• Lightweight

 

Books & Sheet Music

We now stock a huge range of books and sheet music. Play along to your favourite soundtracks from movies such as Twilight and your favourite programmes such as Glee with our Sheet Music & Songbooks. You can also find tuition books and Music examination material for when you're ready to take your first exam!