Children have an inherent ability to be creative and explore, especially when it comes to music and musical instruments. So if your child or children are interested in playing the piano, you’re going to want to give them a digital keyboard piano that helps them harness their creativity, enables them to focus and practice, and gets them ready for a lifetime of music-making.
We made it easy for you by choosing the best keyboard for today’s kids to help them learn, practice, and love music with these impressive digital keyboards.
Quick glance at the best keyboard piano for kids:
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The Alesis Recital Pro makes for a great beginner keyboard for kids. First of all, it is easy to use. You just turn it on and play. There are only 12 built-in voices and two onboard 20-watt speakers, so your budding pianist can get right to the music without having to manage complicated keyboard setup. If they need more voicingsw, you can easily hook up the keyboard to a computer via USB and use it as a MIDI controller, which gives you virtually unlimited options.
The hammer-action keys give a realistic feel to help your pianist develop the hand strength and dexterity needed for musical expression. And, of course, the headphone jack is a must for your child to practice in peace. This keyboard is a popular pick for busy families that night not have the space or budget for an acoustic piano.
The Graded Hammer Standard is what sets this keyboard apart for beginner pianists. A Graded Hammer Standard mimics the key feeling of an acoustic piano by making the lower notes harder to play while the upper notes are easier to play. Graded Hammer Standard will prepare your student for an actual acoustic piano and is a nice benefit for such an economical keyboard.
This keyboard is also easy to navigate with simple, one-button features and just ten onboard sounds to prevent distractions for practice time. Of course, there’s USB connectivity included as well as a headphone jack for peaceful practicing.
Although this is probably the least expensive of Yamaha’s line of digital pianos, the Graded Hammer Standard and sampled piano tones make it worth the investment.
It should be noted that the Yamaha P71 is identical to the P45 model.
Check out our full buying guide and reviews of the best Yamaha digital pianos
Easy to use, even for younger beginners
The Graded Hammer Standard makes it easier for pianists transitioning back and forth between acoustic and digital pianos
64 note polyphony cuts the number of tones you can play at a time short
You’ll want to replace the pedal switch with an actual sustain pedal
Kawaii has put a lot of effort into creating a lightweight keyboard with an authentic piano feel. It uses both springless technology and sturdy construction to make a kid-friendly keyboard with smooth up and down strokes to improve musical expression and technique.
On-board Bluetooth gives your tech-savvy pianist the ability to connect wirelessly to all kinds of devices in order to access sheet music, tools, and piano lessons.
The Kawaii ES110 is a great beginner keyboard because it has built-in piano lessons from Alfred’s, so the student can listen to the lesson and play along with Alfred’s first-year piano books.
The Rockiam Keyboard Superkit is a well-rounded, fun package for the modern keyboardist. While the keys do have velocity sensors for musical expression, they are only semi-weighted so that you won’t get the full acoustic piano feeling. However, if modern music is what you’re after, this keyboard will work just fine. It has a small footprint and includes everything you need, including a sturdy keyboard stand and a comfy bench.
The Simply Piano app by JoyTunes provides basic piano instruction so you can get to playing as soon as the keyboard is out of the box. Of course, you’ll need a phone or table to install the app on if you choose to use it.
For the student who wants to do it all, the Casio LKS250 Educational pack pretty much has it all except for a full-size keyboard. This Casio is an excellent keyboard for young teens who need a little extra motivation to get practicing. It has lots of sounds, rhythms, and tracks to create, mix, and play around with to get those musical juices flowing. In addition, they can create their own songs and sing them (provided you supply the microphone).
USB ports also offer connectivity to their favorite devices, so you can hook up Garage Band, use the keyboard as a midi controller, or use learning apps for piano/keyboard lessons. This bundle also includes the Chordanan play app to get your child well on their way to learning more modern keyboard playing.
The Casio is a great keyboard for kids who are visual learners or who are too young to read. The lighted keys tell them which key to press so they can make real music before they have learned to read music, which can be motivating and just plain fun.
The FisherPrice Teaching Keys Keyboard is a toy keyboard intended for the littlest of musicians. We included this keyboard in our roundup because it is never too early to foster a love of piano music, and FisherPrice makes this a lot of fun for tiny hands.
Don’t expect this keyboard to be intended for serious piano lessons. However, we think it’s a great tool to get your toddlers making music and having fun.
You may be wondering, what makes these keyboards so great for kids? We looked at a number of factors that make these some of the best learning toys for kids. We did not include budget in our criteria because all of these keyboards are reasonably – and similarly- priced. They’re all reasonably budget-friendly, so we looked at a few other key components.
Probably one of the most important aspects of choosing a keyboard for kids is how easy it is for them to use without a lot of parental assistance. Kids today are pretty technologically savvy. However, the easier it is to turn on and start playing, the more likely a child is to turn it on and enjoy playing. So no matter how many bells and whistles you want your child to be able to use, make sure you can just turn it on and start making music, too.
If you have a very young beginner, starting with just 66 keys is ok. If your child is a toddler and not ready for formal piano lessons, that’s ok, too. Any number of keys is just fine for them to explore sounds and play with music. A smaller keyboard means they can easily tote it around, too, so they can play anywhere around the house, in the car, or even at Grandma’s.
However, if you want a keyboard that will grow with them over time, you’ll want to consider investing in something with 88 full-sized keys. This way, you won’t need to rush into buying a larger keyboard when they have outgrown their beginner piano lessons. Instead, they’ll already have a keyboard that can accommodate more serious music.
Toy keyboards don’t have weighted keys. The keys will be more like an on-off switch with a toy keyboard, which is fine for a toddler to play on. When you press the key down, it makes noise. When you let go of the key, it turns off. The keys won’t really have much spring or weight to them at all. This type of key action makes them very lightweight and easy to carry. They are also easy for a child with tiny hands to play with.
Then again, if you want a keyboard that will last many years, you’ll want to invest in a keyboard with weighted keys or spring action keys. A keyboard with spring action keys, sometimes called synth action, will still be lightweight. However, this type of keyboard will create some resistance when the note is played so that your budding musician can work on developing their sense of musical expression. Musical expression development is vital for a child headed into formal piano or keyboard lessons.
However, if your child is interested in formal lessons, you will probably want to look for a keyboard with weighted keys. Weighted keyboards are heavier and harder to move around. However, they will help your child develop the hand strength and musical expression needed for a future in music.
If you are choosing a keyboard for a child, you may want to consider on board teaching tools, especially if your child doesn’t have immediate access to piano lessons. Many major keyboard manufacturers now include the use of a free app with the purchase of their keyboards. These apps include basic piano and note reading lessons. Other keyboards may have light-up keys, so your child knows which note to play next. These kinds of simple lessons can help a child being to explore music on their own, giving them a quick sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in making music and get them ready to start formal lessons. Here’s how to know when they’re ready to start.
Fun Stuff
If you buy a keyboard for a young toddler, you’ll want to choose one with bright colors, fun sounds, and integrated activities to capture their attention. For an older child, ‘fun stuff’ might include a variety of musical sounds to explore, features such as splitting the keyboard into two different sounds, as well as built-in rhythm and accompaniment. These types of fun stylings can make playing exciting because they can use very rudimentary skills to create a full-sounding piece of music.
Not every keyboard will be able to grow with your child’s abilities. If you select a keyboard created just for toddlers, your child or children probably won’t get much music out of it when they’re 8 or 10 if it lasts that long. If you are looking for a longer-term investment, you’ll want to choose a keyboard that can accommodate the needs of a more advanced student, such as a full 88 key keyboard with weighted keys.
Durability is one thing to consider with kids. You want a keyboard that will last but that can also stand up to a little tough love. Perhaps even more important is stability when it comes to a keyboard stand. Although most digital keyboards aren’t that heavy, they could injure a child if they were to fall. A stable keyboard stand with straps will go a long way towards keeping your little ones safer.
It was a tough call to decide on a single, best keyboard for kids because kids are all different and unique! They each have their own strengths and interests. But, to be honest, for the more classically-minded musical student, we really lean towards the Yamaha P45 or P71. These keyboards give you an outstanding balance of acoustic piano feel, acoustic piano sound, ease of use, and price. It’s a great way to test the waters for your student before investing in a full-sized acoustic piano.
However, kids are pulled in a million different directions today. They are technologically savvy, love to imitate their fav pop stars, and want a little instant musical gratification. For this reason, our best keyboard pick for most kids is the Rock jam Keyboard Superkit.
We love this keyboard because it has everything you need to get started, all in one box. It’s great for that kid who wants to learn piano on their own time or wants to dabble in music before committing to lessons. It’s also great for the busy kid who needs a little incentive to work on their formal piano lesson practice because it gives them many voicings and rhythms options. And it’s great for the young learner just starting piano lessons, too.
We really love the durability but also the fun stuff; that ability to make dance tracks and remixes alongside that microphone input. To put it simply, it’s a great way to get your kid excited about making music and fostering their creativity. And that’s what it’s all about.
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