But I Don't Have Room for a Piano.....

Investing in a piano can be very expensive, not to mention the space that you need. However, one way around this is to buy a keyboard. Mrs. Metzler has many students that practice on a keyboard at home. A keyboard is much less expensive than a piano and stores easily.

A few notes on buying a keyboard:

1. Try to get a portable keyboard that can be brought to your lesson with you. Mrs. Metzler will then compare the keyboard with her piano to help the student transfer what is learned on the piano to the keyboard.

2. Keep it simple. Lots of "bells and whistles" can be impressive but they usually are more of a distraction to beginning students.

3. A piano has 88 keys. Keyboards come in different sizes -- 76 keys, 61 keys, and 49 keys. When starting out, a student does not need all 88 keys. A 76-key model will take a student well into the intermediate stage. 61-keys are adequate for a beginner and will last, most likely, for several years of lessons. 49-keys isn't ideal. The missing notes will be noticed within about a year of lessons; however, 49-keys is better than none!

4. Make sure the keyboard has speakers built in -- some models you have to buy speakers to plug in.

5. If possible, look for a model with "Touch Sensitivity", which allows the student to produce a louder note by pressing the key harder, mimicking a piano. Most keyboards do not have this, unfortunately, so don't drive yourself crazy insisting on it!