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The problem with William Sidis is that although he is considered to be the most intelligent person to have ever lived, he completely lacked social grace and never learned the societal skills necessary to interact with people. His parents were both professors and from day one never babied him and rigidly enforced education and learning beyond what would be normal for a child his age. I dont think that alone accounted for his brilliance, surely there were some genetic reasons as well. By the time he was to be enrolled in school he was so precocious he didnt get along with anyone, he looked down on those around him and nothing was good enough for him. After having some really bad experiences because of this his parents sequestered him away and although he never gave details of what they did to him, after a year or so he re-emerged back to society a changed person. No longer arrogant he was sullen and never really enjoyed working to his full potential.

I guess the issue with gifted children is that its hard to teach them humility without them having to learn it the hard way. Being intelligent is one thing, but being kind goes a lot farther in this world and is more of an admirable quality.

Not being a parent myself I can only guess how tough it is dealing with these kind of issues.

I'm all for digital pianos. They've
enabled me to become the pianist I could
never be on an acoustic piano. But
I have below average talent.

For adult beginners/restarters I univerally
recommend a digital over and acoustic.
For children it's not so clear cut. If
the child is one of the millions of
plunkers with average talent, then there's
no problem with a digital. However, with
a genuine prodigy--and this appears
to be the case with your daughter (this
thing about wanting only an acoustic
is a sure sign of it in my view)--I would
say get the acoustic.

You can get good acoustic uprights
for free in many places in the US.
People with little talent give up
on playing and just want the thing out of the
house. All you do is pay for the moving.

all this aside, Louis Armstrong didnt start out with the very best coronet he could find....it was a handme down given to him to play as a job selling coal in the streets from a wheelbarrow.

Just as many have told me in my numerous questions about digital pianos "its not just the instrument, but what you do with it".

sit me on the best Steinway and I would suck compared to your daughter on my 99 dollar yamaha synth.

Sheesh, what a mean, not to mention ungrateful, parent!

I have a different perspective to offer. She is only going to be at home for another 2-3 years. Perhaps you can rent an acoustic piano for that time. Or buy one with the intent of selling it once she leaves home. The loss in value when you sell it will be the equivalent of rent.

Renting is a good option.

One thing to consider is that not all digitals, nor are all acoustics, created equal. A great digital is much better than a cheap or worn-out acoustic.

For example, I have a beautiful acoustic at home, and use a Roland Rd700sx for gigging. The Roland is superior to any entry-level new acoustic console, and many used pianos other than top-level grands in good condition.

Put quality head phones on, and the Roland sounds like the top-level zillion-dollar concert grands from which it is sampled, and it has action that is very close to...what? which acoustic? they are all different!

In any case, it plays nicely.

Unfortunately, I have no clue as to what you should buy...that is your family's business.

Boy! I opened up a can of worms didn't I? Physics Teacher, I think you are a wise one . But, having said that, other things were pointed out that made me pause and think too.I'm going to read this post again after the kids are gone and I don't have so many prying eyes (I have 3 smart alecks all of whom qualify for MENSA! and all girls....who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?)
Thanks for the input and keep it up. Diversity is a good thing. BTW, the original question was never answered. Is there anything online to support digitals vs acoustics or vice versa?

One thing that caught my eye is LIVING IN FLORIDA WITHOUT CENTRAL AIR. The resulting humidity may rust a piano, however, there is nothing wrong with getting a good used spinet for $600-$800. A Baldwin Acrosonic or 1970's wurlitzer spinet would work.

I also make no claims about myself personally, and I am still far from being able to play well enough to make a career in music, however I was always far beyond other children at school, and up untill the age of 16 had recieved two reports from my middle and upper schools saying that I was the 'star pupil' in music, along with a school prize at 15 for my talent, and my teachers were the ones to ask me why I wasnt getting piano lessons and giving me as much support as they could. My parents on the other hand viewed the keyboard as nothing more then a toy and didnt support my decision to want to go into music as they thought I would never have a career in it. The only thing that has held me back in music has been a complete lack of parental support for my interests. I feel greatly undeveloped, and I definately have always had musical ability, but never the proper training to develop my skills, at least I am having to do that now instead of having had the chance at an earlier age.

I believe that any child that shows an interest in music should be encouraged to play an instrument from the age of 5, along with being provided with classical music to listen to, and be taken to watch a few music concerts. I also dislike how classical music is no longer a part of modern lifestyle and how few children actually get introduced to it because everyone would rather be drinking in a pub instead.

I thought my earlier reply answered your question?

Perhaps you missed it?

Triple mean!

That wasn't your initial question. Your initial question was: "What sources or persons quoted online, etc., are there that I can use to convince her that a digital is adequate for her needs? I don't want to install an acoustic in my house that I will be stuck with till I die and have to pay for numerous tunings as I live in FL with no central air."

In other words, you're trying to find some "authoritative source" that says she doesn't need an acoustic in the hopes of swaying her to a decision that you've already made for her. And you're wondering why she's protesting?

EDIT: I see Hugh Sung has come up again. To spin his endorsement of Pianoteq into an endorsement of your decision to get your daughter a digital piano would be disingenuous. Hugh Sung is actually a member on this forum, and you can contact him via his website. I'd be interesting to hear what he has to say.

Here's one. How authoritative he is I will leave up to you.

Follow Your Bliss: Learn to Play Piano in 2009: What Instrument Should I Choose?

Hi Bear - someone alerted me to this topic, and i'm flattered to have been quoted by BazC (although i will need to clarify that a bit). First, a couple of observations, then if you'll allow a few recommendations:

1. It sounds like your daughter is sensitive enough to recognize that most digital pianos are vastly inferior to acoustic pianos - most people believe it or not don't realize what the differences are, which can be as follows:

2. She may not be able to articulate why, but she's recognizing that most digital pianos only have about 3 or 4 different digital sound levels per note. That's like trying to paint a masterpiece with 3 or 4 crayons!! You're missing all the acoustic/analog equivalents of infinite ranges of touch, coloring, attack, post-attack shading, damper pedal effects, una corda effects, cross string harmonic effects, and several other factors that can affect how an acoustic piano produces sound. For several years, i also hated digital pianos, but i just never understood exactly why - on the surface they sounded "ok", but they felt too "artificial" and "limited". It wasn't until i did some serious research did i start to understand some of those limiting factors that i just outlined above.

My recommendations:

1. Talent needs encouragement and support. Your daughter sounds remarkably talented, given her amazing range of instrumental abilities! (I really envy those that can play more than one instrument!!) I might start by recognizing her talents and telling her directly ("Honey, that's amazing that you're able to tell the difference between digital and acoustic pianos!" or, "I've heard that Sibelius is a great program for professional composers - that's terrific that you've taken to it so well!") If she continues, she has the potential to become a great conductor, composer, artistic director, music festival/conservatory/production administrator, instrumental retailer/consultant, the list really goes on and on, given her wide range of musical interests and capabilities!

2. I would openly discuss your concerns about an acoustic instrument with her - you had mentioned the "hassles" of tuning and the thought of being "stuck" with an instrument. Have you considered that tuning sessions could potentially introduce your daughter to the inner workings of pianos and a deeper understanding of the components that make them work? If tuning costs are an issue, perhaps she could pay for them herself by taking on a part-time job, giving her some terrific lessons on responsibility and budgeting? And if the cost of the piano itself is an issue, you might want to consider a new crop of affordable, high quality instruments like the Cunningham Piano (not sure if they deliver to Central Florida, but it would be well worth asking!!)

3. On the digital piano front, i need to clarify that i only use my Roland RD-700SX and Casio Privia 110 as keyboard controllers - their built-in sounds suffer from the same limitations that i outlined above. To fully complement any digital keyboard, you really need to get an amazing virtual piano program called Pianoteq - unlike digital pianos which play back 3 or 4 pre-recorded sound samples per key, Pianoteq actually creates the sound in realtime, factoring in the full MIDI velocity scale (0-127) and applying string/hammer physics, allowing for a much fuller range of expressive touch and damper pedal control than i've ever seen in any other synthesized piano. Pianoteq runs on a computer, connected to a digital piano via MIDI, and its polyphony will be limited by your computer's processor speed. I'd be really curious to hear about your daughter's reaction to the Pianoteq program.

If at all possible, i would actually recommend you reconsider getting your daughter an acoustic piano if you're serious about supporting her musical development. I'd ALSO recommend getting her a digital keyboard together with Pianoteq. The acoustic piano will give your daughter the aural and technical training that is simply unparalleled on the highest level. The digital piano setup, on the other hand, would give your daughter valuable insights into digital technologies that are critical in today's music markets, as well as the flexibility to perform in spaces that might not have a readily available acoustic piano. The best of both worlds, i suppose

I do hope this long-winded post helps to show that there are more options than simply getting or not getting a digital piano. Most of all, i hope your daughter gets the encouragement she needs to realize her full potential and imagination to think outside of the box and see all the amazing possibilities around her!

Very good of you to take the time to offer your advice Hugh!

great post!....which begs the next logical extension:

How soon before we can see a digital stage piano with graded keys with pianoteq as the core sound producer?

Don't neglect this small but not minor point. While some forum members will play most of their lives in the comfort of their practice room, we're talking about a potential career.

This student needs to be gigging now not later. Sooner or later she will need a stage piano and it might as well be the first step. She can easily make enough money to buy an acoustic later.

I suggest something like the Yamaha P-60, P-120 series or rocket's Roland.

I completely disagree. This may be an issue of degrees here, but we have run across plenty of bad acoustics that the kids were completely turned off by. Perhaps if the kids are very young and know nothing better, but from any other perspective, other than mechanical, a bad acoustic I think can actually be entirely negative. It doesn't take very long for kids to start getting very frustrated with a perpetually out of tune piano with a lousy action where keys stick and some don't work.

OOC, where do you base your statement about digitals being "dead" and kids preferring an acoustic in terrible shape to a decent digital? Is it personal experience? Was there some study done?