The most important decision you would make for your child's music education, other than finding the right teacher, is to buy a real piano. My daughter's MYC teacher teaches with a portable keyboard; actually she's got six of them set up in the classroom. She lets the students have a keyboard at home if they don't have a piano. I personally would not allow my students to play on a keyboard cuz it's really wrong and you don't development finger strength, there is no resistance no wood no strings, so it's just plastic!
I have a friend who asked me to teach her daughter just under age 3. They don't have a piano yet and I can't just ask her to fork out $8000 plus for a piano for a three year old, so I told her to listen to the Suzuki Book 1 CD as the first assignment for the next year! 2 hours a day minimum... remember just like a child learns to talk by listening.
JAPANESE - KAWAI
I don't know a whole lot about Kawai's except that alot of asian families in Hong Kong have them because it's a good value, not too expensive and still reliable, especially the upright sizes. Great for a beginner especially if you like the sound and touch. I really like the Kawai grand pianos because of the sound engineering (pun) that goes into the design, manufacturing and the materials are modern (composite fibres not wood) I think. They are just starting to get into the market with the big schools and university music programs to compete with Yamaha. In Ottawa, the folks at Campbell Douglas on Merivale Road will offer many choices of Kawai and give a very informative overview of pianos. I've recommended many students to look at Kawai there.
JAPANESE - YAMAHA
I own a Yamaha upright CP113 model for my teaching studio and personal use. The serial number indicates that it was assembled in Japan and no longer available, which is interesting becase most Yamaha pianos purchased in Canada are manufactured in North America. Yamaha is always highly recommended and well recognized around the world. I bought my piano at the Yamaha piano store, Ottawa Pianos on Bank Street. I like their trade in option where I have 10 years to trade in my upright for any newer piano including a Grand Piano dollar for dollar what I paid! However alot of students whom I have refered to the store, were always offered to see the U1 model (only). They call this an Institution-level instrument, meaning that most university and college programs will have the U1 model in the teaching studio, practise rooms, and for the piano exams.
Therefore I'd say that U1 is actually the best upright piano a family could buy! How about in simple terms it's really really really good! That is one or two models up from what I have which is a CP113. The idea is the taller the piano the bigger and better the sound. DON'T go for a lower end base model Yamaha to save money, but you don't neccessarily have to go with the best one ever. My next door neighbor bought a U1 piano because they always buy the #1 thing (infant formula, shoes, car, private school) for their #1 son, but seriously not everyone can fit that in their house or budget.
As for grand pianos, only buy one bigger than 6 feet otherwise a U1 would be much better than any smaller grand piano or baby grand, simply because the soundboard would be smaller and shorter.
STEINWAY
Lauzon in Westboro sells Steinways (top in American made). Everyone dreams of owning a Steinway and I could safely say that alot of people who don't even play piano own Steinway in their mansion just for the look and status. If you go to any concert hall or big name school, the performers or students always play on a Steinway. I priced it out before and a Steinway grand piano costs as much as my dream car, a Dodge Viper... both of these are beyond my reach at this moment in my life.
PEARL RIVER
Steinway also has a partnership with Pearl River (made in China). Alot of students in Eastern Canada have Pearl River because they have a sponsorship with the Conservatory of Canada and their local events and workshops. In my mind it's like a Kia or a Hyundi whereas Steinway is like a Cadillac? Maybe there are some good technology partnerships there and that is my understanding of a basic price or lifestyle comparison. Just try it out and see if you like it. Pearl River will not appreciate in price like a Steinway or
Yamaha, but I strongly believe it would be muhch much better than a digital.
DIGITAL PIANO
Roland is the best player in the big market for a digital piano. They are the best in the world in that market and the Conservatory or Canada (I call them a competitor of the Royal Conservatory of Music) actually allows that top model of digital Roland to be used in the exam room. At Campbell Douglas, the folks probably showed you a letter from the president. I guess I'm just old fashioned so I find that hard to believe that a digital piano could be "just as good" as a real piano.
Think about this, when you really play piano, your fingertips should be hitting a key that activates a wooden hammer that strikes a group of metallic strings that vibrate together in harmonic frequencies with all the right overtones. When it is a digital piano all of this is simulated electronically.
I have a digital grand piano upstairs in my living room that allows me to play at night with headphones; not Roland but Suzuki (the manufacturer of motorcycles!) I have found that my wrists hurt if I try to play too hard and loud becaus I am expecting a sound I get from a real piano, and I can't get it so I push harder and it's probably bad for my fingers or wrists in some way.
A bit of history, I bought the Suzuki grand piano used from a family who was upgrading to a real grand piano because their daughter was 14 and having played piano up to the Grade 9 RCM level, the piano teacher indicated that her performance level had exceeded the capabilities of the digital piano. I am surprised she didn't say so sooner.
YAMAHA DIGITAL CLAVINOVA
I had previously owned a Yamaha Digital Clavinova base model and I found that one was much better, still it's probably not going to have the same energy response as real strings. You could probably be ok with that one for the first two years. I visited a family in the States, their kids are Suzuki piano students and they owned a Yamaha Digital Clavinova Grand Piano. At the Suzuki Institute I studied at, the children used 12 Yamaha Digital Clavinova for the group classes and the ensemble performance (though the visiting head teacher did not like it at all).
I usually recommend someone to buy a Yamaha Digital Clavinova if they only have $2,000 because this is the best thing that you could get for that budget. I used my Clavinova for a full two years playing at my Grade 10 and ARCT level before I got married, and eventually upgraded to the Yamaha upright piano I own now.
Hope this information is helpful to you. I am going to add a disclaimer that these are expressly my own personal opinion as a teacher and mother of three.
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