Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum How to help student who only has (cheap) 61-key keyboard?

What are some ways you can help a student learn piano if they only have access to one of those portable little keyboards? Any special exercises that might help accustom their fingers to a different/harder action? Or just grin and bear it and cross your fingers that their situation will change and they will continue to enjoy playing this keyboard, and at some point (hopefully sooner rather than later!) they will be able to buy or access a "real" piano, and when they do, they won't hate the change so much that they stop playing?

(Please note: I'm really not interested in hearing snooty remarks that don't remotely answer my question like, "Well, I've never had this problem b/c I only teach students who demonstrate they are committed to learning piano by obtaining a better piano." Save your energy if that's all you have to offer! For this particular student, I WANT to teach her, and she WANTS to take lessons, but due to both space and money isn't open to getting a different one, so that would be crazy of me to say "I won't teach you til you get a better piano" or something. I just want to do the best I can with limited resources!)

One idea I had might be for her to go to a church or school and see if she can spend a little time each week practicing on a real piano. But I already know her school only has a similar portable keyboard, and I doubt they are church-going. As a church musician myself, unfortunately I don't see myself being very accommodating if I were approached by a complete stranger who asked me to basically go out of my way so they could use our piano regularly...

Oh, and to make the situation worse, I go to her house for lessons, so she never even gets to have lessons on my real piano!

Have you thought about teaching her everything except piano technique? You can spend all of the lesson time making sure she can read notes fluently, by letter names and by intervals. You can work on her fingering. Rhythm, too. You can spend the majority of the lesson on rhythm, keeping a steady beat. And maybe hand and sitting posture. Also teach her theory and musicianship. Train her ear and work on pitch/interval/chord aural recognition, and eventually lead to dictation. Or you can have her work on composition to incorporate the theory and rhythm.

All the other "piano" stuff like pedaling, tone production, legato/staccato touch, dynamics, etc. might have to be put on hold. But for the meanwhile, there is a lot you can do.

I'm thinking school (community college, a different K-12 school than the one she attends, a private after school music teaching institution, ...) or piano store. Are there any in her neighbourhood?

I was without a piano at home for a few months at the beginning of this year, and then again for a few weeks in May. I had the option of practicing once or twice a week on the actual piano I take lessons on, but that's because I go to a public music school where I can occasionally get thirty minutes alone with the piano between two scheduled classes -- if I plan for it well in advance. I don't know if something like that would be possible for this girl.

For the other days of the week, I had to get creative. I would practice on other people's pianos, in a nearby pub, and at various piano stores. At first I pretended to actually be interested in buying a piano. But despite my being very careful about not showing up at the same store more than twice a week, and not staying *too* long, of course one of the store owners figured me out rather quickly, and asked me point-blank what my deal was.

So I told him. That I did, in fact, already have my own piano at home, but couldn't use it right now. And that, since I was still taking lessons, I kind of needed to practice on a regular basis. On the spot, he gave me permission to come into the store and play one of the digitals whenever I wanted to.

Of course, I'm talking about a few months here, not years on end. I'm also physically disabled (wheelchair user), and while I cringe at the idea that other people's pity has ever gotten me anything in life that wouldn't otherwise have come my way, I must admit that sometimes, it helps to have a compelling story. I'm guessing that if you're willing to travel to this girl's home to teach her on a cheap 61-key electronic keyboard, there must also be some kind of 'marketable' story there.

Even if there isn't, though, I think your best bet is to locate a place -- any place -- in this girl's general vicinity that has a decent piano in a relatively private spot, explain her situation to the people there, and ask if they'd be willing to let her play it a few times a week. It might be a church. It might be a school or a store. It might be something else entirely.

yes, thanks! this is basically what I have been doing, but I am mostly worried what will happen when/if she transitions to a "real" piano. (I've heard about big frustrations b/c the "feel" is so different - it feels like an entirely different instrument.)

Saranoya- good suggestions. She's relatively young, (10, I think?) so ability to *get* places is going to be limited by her parents and transportation. And I'm not sure they see the importance in the difference of a piano ("It's got black and white keys? Great!") enough to make extra efforts like that. Sigh. I should talk to them again.

Is she a beginner? It shouldn't be too big of an issue to start. Eventually, she will probably be frustrated by the limitation of her instrument, and you never know, things may change when that happens. By all means, teach her what you can. Encourage her to practice at a relative's or friend's house whenever possible (if she knows anyone with a piano).

Unfortunately, there is little you can do to prepare them for the difference when playing an instrument with full-size weighted keys. You can still teach her armweight, curved fingers (not tensed or collapsed), relaxed wrist, etc. It just may seem like a whole lot of work for nothing, so be sure to explain to her that she will need this more when playing an acoustic or real digital piano (and not a keyboard).


On a side note:


What is with the defensiveness, if I may ask? It's reminiscent of a recent new poster who assumed he knew what we were going to say and basically didn't want a discussion about it. It came across as "just answer my question, *%&%$!" You post here regularly, so I am assuming you don't mean it in that way. Perhaps a better way to put this is to leave off the first part and simply state:


To me, that makes it perfectly clear that her getting another instrument is not possible at this time, and you want to teach her. 'Nuff said.

However, I don't see any problem with discussions coming up about things related to the OT, as long as the OT has been addressed. Often in those discussions a lot of good information can be gleaned.


This is good, because you get to see where she is actually practicing and can make suggestions. Perhaps she keep her keyboard in the closet and takes it out to lay. Perhaps it's set up in the living room in front of the TV. Perhaps it's set up on the floor and she sits cross-legged when she plays. All of these things are hard to know when you have them come to you, and things that quite easily can happen with a small keyboard rather than an acoustic piano (although some of this happens with those too!).

Often we are asked to work with less-than-ideal situations. To think that learning can happen in only one manner is to rob someone of the enjoyment they can have at any level. Certainly educate her and her parents on the benefits of these ideals, but mentioning it once every year or so is probably sufficient.

Basically. She's been taking for about 6 months and is starting Faber 2B.


No, I don't mean to sound defensive. And as you've observed, I'm not a brand-new poster, and I HAVE seen people say similar things to the exact things I mentioned I would consider unhelpful and would rather not hear. Obviously people are free to say whatever they want if they think it's helpful (or even if it's not...) but I just figured I might as well try to keep the thread focused if at all possible from the very beginning. I genuinely meant it to be helpful to people to remind them that their advice to, for example, not work with this student, would be completely wasted and unappreciated.

I agree with AZN. If you are determined to retain the student, you can't teach real technique. So just teach music for now, and then see if she ever decides to get an instrument.

By the way, are Faber and Piano Adventures the same thing? I've been confused about this several times on this forum, and I know they're both method books, but I don't use method books, so I don't know much about them.

When my daughter started lessons we only had a 61 key unweighted but touch sensitive keyboard.

She did make considerable progress.

We upgraded to a decent though older digital fairly quickly. With my employer requiring frequent moves in a foreign country we did not consider an acoustic at the time.

Her progress definitely accelerated on the better equipment, which was better than the teacher's spinet.

Yes, Piano Adventures is written by Nancy and Randall Faber. You might also sometimes hear it called Faber and Faber.

Would this thing help?
Casio Promotion

Considering that girl just might not able to get a good piano.

Sorry I couldn't resist.

What is "real technique"?

Piano technique. It doesn't work on a keyboard, because a keyboard is not a piano, and therefore you can't learn piano technique. What you will learn is a "keyboard technique" that will be extremely difficult if not impossible to transfer to a real piano.

And you see nothing that can be taught that will carry over to the piano? And is this blanket statement applicable to all keyboards?

I agree that there many things that can't be taught, and I truly despise the 61 key unweighted things.

Still, there are SOME aspects of technique that carry back and forth from one keyboard to another.

There's a big spectrum between "nothing" and "everything." Of course some things carry over; my point was that there are important aspects that do not.

And I think the point is, this is a kid who would otherwise not get to enjoy piano on any level. The fact that she's taking lessons and wants to learn is all she needs right now, and perhaps in time her situation will change and she can upgrade.

It happens quite often, just like if someone who is tone deaf comes to me and wants to learn to sing. I don't refuse them, but I let them know it will be harder for them. You do the best with what you have.

That I agree with.

I think those are two very different things. For your "tone deaf" example, you are talking about someone who lacks ability.

But with the cheap keyboard it may be about someone who has extraordinary ability and is held up by an inferior instrument.

I do understand how you guys feel about the poor instruments, but I am better able to deal with keyboards with their limits than with pianos that don't work - and there are a LOT of them. And not all can be "fixed" by a good technician - not if the instrument is a very poor one to begin with.

For me I link the whole idea of being crippled by an instrument to my days of teaching brass. You can even have an instruments that sounds great, but it if is out of tune, it doesn't just play out of tune - it ruins you because the effort to "bend" pitches to where they should be destroys the embouchure.

In my view, they both have inferior instruments. You make the best with what you have. The pianist, however has the advantage in that they can upgrade.

Is this like what happens when a pianist tries to play a harpsichord?

No, it's like what happens when a harpsichordist tries to play a piano. Piano technique transfers to all keyboard instruments, including the organ (not the pedal aspect of course). Organ/harpsichord/keyboard technique does not transfer to the piano.