Instruments for Kids

WE HAVE COLLECTED A FEW OF OUR RECOMMENDED INSTRUMENTS FOR KIDS

This list is updated regularly and we try to find the most practical, yet quality choices for instruments. These are not toys.
Note: Please consider purchasing using the links on this page as some of the links may provide us with a small referral fee which supports our school.

Also note, we have created a local resources page for local music stores and piano tuners.

Piano

While a quality acoustic piano is a wonderful instrument and can never be matched by an electric/digital one, the maintenance and cost of a high quality upright or baby grand or grand is usually more than most parents of beginning students want to spend. I’ll address acoustic pianos in the future. For now, here’s some recommended electronic keyboards.

Here’s a video that explains what to look for in a Digital Piano

Play Video

WE HAVE COLLECTED A FEW OF OUR RECOMMENDED INSTRUMENTS FOR KIDS

Portable Electric Keyboards Below $200

These are not full sized keyboards and may be appropriate for the earliest beginners if you’re not sure the child will continue beyond a few lessons. Still they are playable and can be inspiring and fun thereby creating more interest.

Yamaha Piaggero NP11 61-Key Lightweight Compact Portable Keyboard

This is very good for the money and size. It even runs on batteries and can become a travel keyboard if you step up to a full size digital piano later. The quality of sounds is quite good and I’ve had several students purchase this one and all have been very pleased. About $160.

Casio CTK-2300 61-Key Premium Portable Keyboard Package with Headphones, Stand and Power Supply

Casio is another well known maker of digital keyboards and the quality is quite high for the price. Again, this is a smaller keyboard than a full size piano but can be useful to gauge your child’s interest before committing to a real acoustic piano or a full sized 88 key digital piano. About $130 including stand, headphones.

DIGITAL PIANOS – 88 Keys

When you know you are going to be playing real piano pieces I recommend you move to a full size 88 key digital piano or an acoustic piano. Here are a few of my recommended digital pianos and notes about them. The stage pianos are more portable but can also be paired with a matching stand which makes it attractive enough for the family room.

The big names in digital pianos are Yamaha, Casio, Kawai, and Roland. These names are the ones you come across in most piano forums with Yamaha and Casio being the front runners.

A note about Polyphony, You’ll come across this term polyphony which basically means how many notes the piano can handle in it’s digital memory before running out. Most modern digital pianos are at least 64 notes which is pretty good. The better ones have 128 and then 256 and even higher. This becomes a factor if you are playing pedaled notes which keep ringing. If you are using a low polyphony keyboard, you’ll start to notice how some of your notes will drop away as you add more. Not exactly realistic, but it’s how they save on costs for the lower end models.

Lowest Price Digital Pianos With 88 Weighted Keys

Alesis Recital Pro 88

This is my FAVORITE RECOMMENDED CHOICE
Alesis is a company that has always been known for quality and affordability.

- This bundle is about $375 and includes everything you need to get started.
- 88 full-sized, weighted keys with built-in speakers

Make sure you order the stand and bench – the pedal can wait until later

Yamaha P45

Yamaha P45 88-Key Digital Piano
– about $450

A recommended first digital piano that’s affordable, yet good quality

This is a great first choice as it is not only great quality, has a weighted key feel, but also portable enough to move around the house or bring on a family trip.

AWM (Advanced Wave Memory) sampling technology
Simple one-button operation
Compact and lightweight
Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) weighted piano action
Dual mode for layering two voices

Casio PX150 BK 88-Key Touch Sensitive Privia Digital Piano with Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action

Just under $500 – great value!

Keyboard: 88 keys, weighted scaled hammer action
Sound Source: AiR (Acoustic & intelligent Resonator)
Polyphony (maximum): 128
Tones: 18 Built-in tones, Duet Mode, Layer, Split, Octave Shift
Simulator: Hammer Response, Damper Resonance, String Resonance, Lid Simulator

Here are my recommended Digital Pianos Below $1000

Yamaha P115

about $600

88-note, GHE (Graded Hammer Effect) weighted-action keyboard
128-note polyphony
Dynamic Stereo Sampling – 4 separate layers of stereo samples
Key-Off Sample plus Sustain Sample for acoustic piano realism
Emulates the soft/half pedaling and damper effects of an acoustic

This one is the little brother of the P155 and yet adds some other features like a drum machine. The touch action is a little less realistic than the P155 too.

PureCF-sampled piano: Sampled from Yamaha’s own acclaimed CFIII concert grand, no digital piano at this price point delivers recordings from such a high-end instrument.
Pianist styles: This built-In duet partner plays along with you in one of ten different playing styles.
Built-In drum patterns: Basic drum patterns put the “fun” back into practicing and is a practical alternative to a metronome. Or turn your solo act into a two piece band where the drummer is always on time.
88-note, weighted GHS action: Heavier touch in the low end and lighter in the highs, just like an acoustic piano
128-note polyphony: Even when using dual Voice and split mode with a drum pattern, 128-note polyphony ensures every note gets heard.

Casio PX780 Privia 88-Key Digital Home Piano, Black

about $1000 – This is a similar Casio to the Yamaha P155. I preferred the touch feeling on the Yamaha, but the Casio is very similar in value and sound quality. Also 128 note polyphony.

88 Note Scaled Hammer-Action Keyboard
AiR Sound Source
Ebony and Ivory Feel Keys
Hammer Response and String Resonance Simulation

Digital Furniture Pianos – Ones that Look Great In Your Living Room – and Sound Great Too!

As I always tell my student parents, please put your instrument in a central part of the living area so that it becomes a magnet to your child. They will naturally want to practice and show off what they learned as you are there to hear them! The worst thing is to put it in a hidden corner and then command your child to go practice by themselves! That’s like banishment to the Practice Dungeon!

So with that in mind, why not invest in a piano that adds to the style of your living room? Something that looks iike furniture, but has the added ability to turn down the volume, never need tuning and even use headphones for early or late practicing.

Most of the digital pianos can be purchased with a matching stand to make it fit more in with your furniture. Here’s a few that are more built out which also gives them room for bigger more realistic sounding speakers.

Yamaha ARIUS YDP-181 Electronic Piano with Bench ;Rosewood

about $1700

88-key GH(Graded Hammer) weighted action keyboard
Dynamic Stereo Sampling AWM piano with 128-note polyphony
2-track, 3-song recorder
USB TO DEVICE port
LED Display

Casio AP420 Celviano Digital Piano with Bench

about $1100

New Linear Morphing AiF sound source with 16 tones
New 3-sensor hammer action
Keyboard with matted “Ivory Touch” surface
New 2 x 20 watt speaker system
USB terminal, SD memory card slot, Line

Roland F-140

around $1200

around $1200
SuperNATURAL Piano delivers the rich, authentic tone of a real acoustic grand
PHA-4 Standard Keyboard features high-resolution sensing that maximizes the vast tonal potential of the SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine
Sophisticated onboard rhythm feature with intelligent accompaniment; 72 different rhythm styles, including 6 pianist styles
Explore a world of instruments beyond the acoustic piano with 305 additional tones that include electric pianos, strings, organs, guitars, brass, synthesizers, and many others
Connect your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth technology to turn sheet music pages wirelessly

Other Options for Digital Pianos

Yamaha makes a line called Clavinova which are only sold in showrooms by piano dealers. These are the same dealers who also sell acoustic pianos. These are quite amazing and will cost usually over $2000. I recommend you try them out if you are serious about a beautiful sounding and looking instrument.

Kawai usually sells only through showrooms as well but are beautiful quality. Try them out!

What About Toy Pianos?

Someone recently asked me about the toy pianos made by Schoenhut. While these are beautiful (and costly!) and have a distinctive bell-like tone, I do not recommend these for learning the piano. I would love one of these just to have the special effect for use in say a toy commercial soundtrack or to add quirkiness to a pop recording. For learning piano, I think it’s use is limited and may become tiresome after a few months. For the same price, you can get a digital keyboard or digital piano above.

UKULELE

Yamaha P115

Because of it’s small size , only 4 nylon strings and it’s affordability, I think Ukulele is an excellent first choice for a beginner looking to play an instrument. This is the one I have – $50 at Amazon and is beautiful. It’s a soprano size, which is the most common and the smallest. Kala KA-15S Mahogany Soprano Ukulele

STRUMSTICK

This is an interesting beginners instrument designed by a guy named Bob McNally. It’s a kind of mountain dulcimer that sounds like a banjo and has 3 strings tuned to a chord, so it always sounds good. The quality of the build is excellent and it always stays in tune! I suggest getting the smaller sized one in the key of G. $150 at Amazon: McNally G-29 Standard Strumstick

GUITAR FOR KIDS

For older beginning guitar students, I recommend either a nylon string classical guitar in a smaller size or an electric guitar in half size. The electric guitar is actually easier to play as the strings are usually closer to the fretboard. The quality of beginner instruments has risen remarkably in the last decade and I am very impressed with all of these instruments.

Recommended Nylon String Classical Small Size guitars

The nylon strings are easier to press than acoustic steel strings.

Yamaha CGS 102 – great quality for the price.
Hohner HC03 – I had a similar Hohner many, many years ago when I was a boy. I think my mother bought in college and I loved it.

Recommended Small Size Steel String Acoustic Guitars

If you’re child is 7 or older and looking for the brightness of the steel strings used in much pop, rock and country, there is only one choice that I would recommend: Taylor Guitars Baby Taylor, BT2, Mahogany, Natural – I compared this to several other guitars in the same size including Martin’s and there was no comparison. This guitar is just awesome. I have one and I’ve recommended it to all my guitar students. It’s about $300 and comes in different finishes including a flowery Taylor Swift model, popular with the girls.

Ed Sheeran uses a small sized Martin which is also a great instrument. One of my students had this it was rock solid, never seemed to go out of tune!

DULCIMER

This is a fantastic beginning string instrument for kids. The one I’m recommending is created specifically for classrooms as it has a cardboard body that will last 20 years with some basic care.

This is a very affordable instrument at around $50 and you can even paint in crazy colors or put stickers on it. The tuners really do stay in tune. Purchase at Backyard Music.