Getting a Piano:

Digital Vs. Acoustic

What kind of piano do you need for your music lessons? For most beginner and intermediate students we recommend getting a digital piano. Digital piano technology has improved very much in the past decade and many manufacturers produce instruments with a very convincing piano touch (weight of the keys), and very realistic sounds. Also digital pianos are easier to take care of compared to acoustic pianos. They are easier to move around (you don’t need to hire a piano moving company to bring it to your place), you can use headphones or lower the volume when practicing if you live in an apartment where sound level is an issue. And also they always stay in tune.

Acoustic pianos are necessary for advanced students and performers, but buying and taking care of acoustic pianos are more tricky because of the various structural and inner mechanical details that have to be maintained regularly, and tuning can be affected by big changes in humidity in Toronto’s weather. So don’t rush into buying an acoustic piano before consulting your teacher and a piano technician. If you are interested in buying an acoustic piano talk to our piano teachers at Sarv first.

For beginners’ practice at home, the entry level 88-Key digital pianos from Yamaha and Roland are very good, with realistic piano feel and touch (weighted keys), and good sounds and sustain pedals. Yamaha p-45 and Roland FP-10 are good models. We recommend not to get anything below this level. 

More advanced levels of digital pianos (such as Yamaha Arius) have more sound features, capabilities useful for on-stage performance, and generally have a better piano look, for example they have a lid for they keyboard, more stable stand, and more professional look. 

Generally music instrument dealers have these electric pianos available for purchase, financing, and rent, and often they offer good rent-to-own programs. Our students are generally happy with the service from the following dealers:

Long & McQuade Downtown: (416) 588-7886 | 925 Bloor St W (Bloor & Ossington)

Long & McQuade North York: (416) 663-8612 | 2777 Steeles Avenue W (Dufferin & Steeles) 

Yamaha Piano Gallery: (905) 731-7725 | 100 Steeles Ave W (Steeles & Yonge)

Also Costco has some good deals sometimes.