Do I need to have a piano at home to learn to play?

For beginners a keyboard is fine as long as;

1) It has "weighted" keys as opposed to spring loaded keys

2) It has full size keys

3) It has built in speakers with a decent sound

4) It either comes with a pedal or has a jack to plug in a pedal

5) It has a good sturdy music stand

6) It has a stand or legs so that you don't have to put it on your bed or on a table

7) It lives in a quiet place in your house away from the TV and other distractions

Used upright pianos take up little room and are relatively inexpensive. Many people will give you their old upright piano for free if you agree to pay for moving expenses. It might cost you less than a keyboard.

You certainly can learn and practice on a keyboard, but it will more or less sound and feel different from a piano---how different depends on the keyboard that you get. Do note that a keyboard doesn't have the foot pedals that a piano has, and there are some piano skills that you won't be able to learn and perform on a keyboard (such as the difference between f, ff and fff). But as long as you're not planning to use it to seriously study classical piano (you'd need a proper piano for that), a keyboard will be okay.

Some tips before you buy:

- One thing you absolutely must look for in a keyboard is that its size and spacing of keys are the same as those on a real piano. (Some keyboards have smaller keys and spacing, and once you've grown accustomed to a non-conventional size/spacing, you're bound to make mistakes when you play a standard size keyboard.)

- Your keyboard may not need to have as many keys as a real piano, but it shouldn't have too few keys, or you won't be able to play songs with very high or very low notes.

- Make sure it's sturdy when you play it, as some keyboards are set on shaky stands.

- Make sure it's in tune, as unlike a real piano, it can't be tuned---so what you hear is what you get.

When you do go shopping for a keyboard, go with someone who can play the piano fairly well, because he/she will know what to look for in a good keyboard.

- Go to YouTube and visit websites for demos to listen to different keyboards to get an idea of what you want.

You need a piano to learn how to play the piano. Keyboards that claim that they have weighted keys and high quality sound and big keys are just scams for people to waste their money. No keyboard is going to be as good quality sound, as good weighted keys, and has the same pedal functions and controlling of the left and right hands and loudness and softness of the left and right hands as a regular average quality even upright piano. You need to get the feel of a real piano and practicing playing on a real piano in order to learn the proper techniques to advance at the REAL piano in the future. That's just like asking if you can play basketball without a basketball. Should I get a kiddies basketball? Of course not. You need a piano to play the piano and learn it and practice it properly, and nothing else.

I'm pretty bad at the piano myself, but as a voice major I have to study it in college. In class I use a keyboard, but when I practice I use a real piano. One thing that's different about a keyboard vs. a real piano is that a keyboard's pedals may not be very sensitive, or it may not have pedals at all. Also, I find that I have to press harder on the keys when I play a real piano. I'm sure you could learn to play the piano at home, especially if you're just doing it for fun and not trying to become a legendary concert pianist or something like that. :P It's cool that you're trying to salvage your grandmother's piano. I hope you have fun!

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Although its a lot easier to practise playing on a keyboard then an actual piano, as the keys are less harder to press down on, but its more or less the same. Also, its more portable and cheaper to use a keyboard.

Goodluck!

You need a parachute to skydive... why would you think that you can learn piano without a piano?

Not particularly but it would help . Keyboards are cheap nowadays so instead of a full on piano you can get one to help :)

It helps alot for practise and all that but a keyboard will work fine