If you’ve been thinking of learning how to play the piano, or you need to get a keyboard for a beginner, you need to find a cheap keyboard.
Table of Contents
- Where to Buy Your Cheap Piano Keyboard
- What Factors Make a Keyboard Piano More Expensive?
- What are Some Tips for Finding the Best Budget Keyboard for my Needs?
Where to Buy Your Cheap Piano Keyboard
- Amazon Warehouse, a little known Amazon site where Amazon sells high quality returned items – I have used it myself and love it!
- Amazon, their main site has some amazing deals on low cost keyboards
- Flea Markets, may seem like a long shot, but many have electronics stalls, and you can find a flea market near you with Flea Market Zone
- Walmart, like Amazon, has a huge selection, many sales, and you can potentially go see the keyboard in person before you buy
- Guitar Center has hundreds of used piano keyboards for sale, with financing and extended warranties available
- ebay has a huge assortment of piano keyboards available, in every price range
- Facebook Marketplace may have a piano keyboard for sale in your neighborhood
What Factors Make a Keyboard Piano More Expensive?
The price of a keyboard is affected by numerous factors, such as the brand and the features the instrument offers. Let’s take a closer look at the specifications you need to consider when buying a keyboard piano:
The Keys
Although a full-sized keyboard has 88 keys, a keyboard with 61 keys will also suffice if you’re starting out. And yes, the number of keys on your keyboard will affect its price.
If you’re planning on learning the type of music that requires more complex keys, you’ll need to expand your budget a bit. For instance, you can’t try and learn classical music on a 61-key keyboard – for that you’ll need the keyboard with 88 keys.
The Material
Basic plastic keyboards start at around USD 100. Keyboards made with high-grade plastic will be costlier and those made of metal will be even more expensive. You need to consider how frequently you’ll be using your keyboard piano: are you in a rock band that plays at the local bar every night, or are you taking piano lessons once a week? A basic keyboard might be sufficient to help you kick-start your musical journey, but you’ll need something more durable if you plan on playing frequently.
The Presence of Additional Features
Not all keyboards are built the same. Some offer features such as touch response, where the pressure exerted on the key determines the type of sound it makes. The more features your keyboard has, the more expensive it is likely to be.
Other such features include weighted keys, which add some resistance to the keys to help you develop your own technique of playing. Keyboards without this feature are likely to be cheaper.
Bundles
If you’re buying your keyboard piano online, chances are you will find product bundles at discounted rates. Accessories such as piano stools, stands or a metronome can be purchased in a package with your piano, which will obviously cost a bit more than just buying the piano on its own.
What are Some Tips for Finding the Best Budget Keyboard for my Needs?
The first thing you need to consider is whether you want a standard or digital keyboard. The digital one will imitate the sounds of a real keyboard, but if you want to be a true pianist, you’ll need to learn how to play on the standard keyboard eventually.
Start by allotting a budget to yourself for your piano. If you’re on a tight budget, a secondhand keyboard is a better option (despite the obvious risk of hidden damage in the instrument) since you’ll have more room to look for a keyboard with more features. If you’re playing notes with higher octaves, you’ll need the keyboard with 88 keys, and having additional features such as touch response can be quite useful.
While buying a brand new keyboard with these features might be out of your budget, going on a thrift store/ flea market hunt, or even alerting your friends on social media can help you find a used instrument that fits your musical needs.
