Weighted keys -- are they better for beginners? - 10/23/20 09:54 PM
Hello -- I took piano classes from a local junior college along with a bunch of adult students (50+). I was one of the few adults that stuck with it for 3 years and really enjoy playing the piano! However, in my last year I started playing more complicated pieces (beginner/intermediate) and while learning my easy version of Chopin's Opus 10 #3, I developed pain in both my pinky figures (tendonitis?). Also, since I knew nothing about playing the piano, I suspect that my teacher really did not pay much attention to my technique since I could feel that I played with a good deal of tension -- something she said I would "grow out of" as my confidence increased. Since graduating out of the junior college classes, I took a one-day workshop given by a well known piano institute specializing in the Thauman method and the teacher told me to stop playing on my $300 CASIO CPD-130 digital keyboard and get a "real" piano. He said that in his experience, playing on non-weighted plastic keys breeds poor technique because my hand has to overcome "bad keyboard action." Due to the pandemic, I have spent this last year working on reducing tension on my own based on the Thauman method (focusing on hand weight and arm/hand rotation instead of finger brute force). I have been successful in that the pain has decrease -- but it is still there, especially if I play too long. Anyway, before considering the expense of a "real" piano, I want to know if the workshop teacher is correct about my entry-level digital keyboard (which sounds great, BTW) OR should I consider a better digital piano with weighted keys? Thank you!