As I am on a really tight budget and have such a small space I went with this keyboard, the Yamaha YPT-220 and I'm glad that I did.
#SOUND X SMI 1458 HOW TO#
I just learned how to play the guitar and I really wanted to tackle another musical instrument, so I thought of the piano. At the very least, get a "for dummies" book or something to get yourself started reading music. I would not rely on it as your sole instruction resource. I highly recommend this as a starter keyboard. Those are for sale individually if you want one. It would have been even better to have a package that also included the sustain pedal, but that omission hasn't at all been a problem at this early stage. You'll want to seek that level of instruction elsewhere. The digital readout during the lesson will show you the proper key(s) to press on a key diagram, which finger(s) to use on a hand diagram, and does in fact have the note(s) shown on a staff, but the staff is teeny tiny and not very useful for learning to translate a note to a piano key. It doesn't do much for helping you to actually read music in my opinion, but that would be a lot to ask. Once you hit the right key, the song will move on with you. An interesting feature is, when you get stuck in a song, the accompaniment will stop and wait on you, and a voice will speak the number of the finger you should be using ("One" = thumb, etc). This keyboard does have some built in "instruction" functions that are kind of fun and have a very patient way of helping you along, but they are more geared toward the total newbie, in that they help you familiarize yourself with using all fingers on your hands and playing in time with accompaniment.
The irony is, I would think people who need that stuff would probably also get a fancier keyboard, but who knows. I've also not experimented with the USB, MP3 or MIDI I/O functions, as mine didn't seem to come with any connectors for those. It has quite a number of alternative tones, which I seldom use other than when just goofing around, and a large number of rhythm tracks and some other digital effects that I've not needed either, but they're on there & they work.
#SOUND X SMI 1458 UPGRADE#
You could surely learn on a lesser keyboard that doesn't have the touch response, but it wouldn't sound very good, and you'd want to upgrade pretty quickly. An experienced friend recommended that I opt for a touch-sensitive keyboard, and it has indeed been the right way to go. For a complete beginner like me, this package (keyboard + stand + headphones + AC adapter) has been ideal.