Keyboard For Dummies
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A keyboard is a great gift for a child! When considering what keyboard to buy for a child, There are a few common scenarios to help guide your choice of purchase:

  • For a very young child, you likely just want to offer a fun, interactive experience. The keyboard should be smaller and portable so you can store it away when the kid isn’t using it and can take it on family trips. The world of portables is the right place to search. Lighted keys,
    interactive games, and a variety of sounds are all good features to have.

  • For getting a child started on piano lessons at an early age, a lower-cost digital piano or portable digital piano can be a good choice compared to a low-end acoustic piano.

  • For a child between the ages of 8 and 12, many of the full-sized portables and digital pianos are great options. Having a variety of sounds and onboard rhythms adds to the interest and fun factor.

  • For a teen who has been playing piano for a few years, getting a lower-end workstation or synth may be the way to go; it provides the sounds and features that let him play the popular music he enjoys and even consider jamming with his friends or starting a band. This age is when you have to account for the “coolness” factor; the look and brand appeal start to become important.

Another good choice for the fledgling hipster is a true synthesizer; some lower-priced models are very popular, and some even run on batteries so they’re easily portable. Synthesizers help promote the fun in exploring and playing keyboards, which is important for keeping kids from being pulled away from music by the many other time-soaking temptations of modern life.

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Jerry Kovarsky is a regular columnist for Keyboard magazine and longtime product management guru with Casio, Korg, and other companies who have been instrumental in bringing keyboard technology into people's homes and onto stages and studios around the world.

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