Is the Nord Piano ok for a beginner to practice on ?

[ageofpoo]

I wish I asked this before buying my Nord Piano.. I am still able return it for a refund, however can somebody offer some advice.

I am a beginner at playing the piano and I recently came across a posting on pianoworld.com in regards to the Nord Piano stating:
unless you practice on a real piano you not only will have hard time to extend your techniques but also you will loose your self esteem on real pianos
and
The Nords are for gigging, and/or for playing if you like the sounds - I do. But for serious practice I mostly choose my acoustic piano.

Can any owners of the Nord Piano here confirm that this is true ? Should I return my NP and buy a real upright piano ?


thanks!

[Mr_-G-]

Since nobody here knows about your circumstances, I can only think of more questions:
What is that you are trying to achieve with your piano learning? (i.e. what is your goal?)
What does your piano instructor think?

[ageofpoo]

I do not have an instructor yet.. and this is my very first piano.
My goal would be to eventually play at this level... or close to... if possible



I live in a condo and I really like the the fact I can practice anytime with headphones on; however I found out that some upright pianos have a 'silent' open which also allows headphones to be used.

[Merlimau]

I’m as well a beginner at piano playing. I have a Stage 2 with a slightly different keybed. I practice at home on the stage 2. At the piano teacher I play on an older Bechstein grand piano. It’s not the big difference in playing. What I like on the stage 2 is that I can practice very good forte and piano as well as with the sustain pedal which all I can reproduce very well at the teacher Bechstein.

So for me is the stage the “perfect” practice and playing piano.

Merlimau

[iaorana]

Hi Ageofpoo,

Your pianoworld forum poster person may have some teeny tiny little itty bitty degree of validity to that viewpoint, but IMHO only in the very smallest way. It is a gross exaggeration to suggest that your future piano playing career will be irretrievably crippled by using a Nord Piano to practice. And if your self esteem is so fragile as to be destroyed by such a thing....

Frankly, that viewpoint is ridiculous. The Fatar action in the Nord Piano as a high quality action and while perhaps not perfect, we are not living in a perfect world. One could go out shopping for used parlor pianos and easily come across many with actions which are old and tired and wornout and not the equal of the Nord Piano.

Relax your brain and play without undue egard for opinions of others, most especially when these "others" are more or less anonymous posters on public internet forums. Note: that includes me!

Pablo

[dynanord]

The NP2 is still a piano, it depends on YOU how far you can go !
You will not learn the wrong technique or something like that, just because the action feels so lightly.
Take a good teacher and dont´t worry about the keyboard. If you don´t like it after a while - sell it for another one.
Pianoplaying is a brainthing but the mind will always try to fool you.

[sudkcoce]

Yes, it's good for practicing. It's actually much better than most cheap upright pianos.

[ageofpoo]

Ok thank you so much everyone for your replies!!
I am going to keep it! I really like being able to practice at any hour of the day and not annoy the neighbours. It is also the best sounding digital piano I have heard.
With regards to the action if it really does turn out to be really detrimental, in 1-2 years I can buy a second 'real' piano to practice on during day and keep the Nord for quiet time playing.

Thanks again to everyone!

[costaseglezos]

Don't sell your nord. It's a very nice instrument.

Try to raise money to buy yourself even a cheap or used acoustic piano.
It's true that practicing on a real instrument is the best thing for a pianist.

This is my opinion.

[DJKeys]

Many of the times, a fine digital piano like the Nord will actually have a more even action and better sound than many inexpensive acoustic pianos. A really nice acoustic piano is wonderful, but they are often a lot more expensive than the Nord Piano.

The main thing when taking up any instrument is having it reward you when you do something right. When I used to work for a Yamaha dealer, we rented pianos that were so bad that I don't see how any beginner would be the least bit inspired to practice on it, because the tone and action were so poor. Plus, the ability to make different sounds is also an incentive to play more in many cases.

-dj