u/Icy_Statement_2410

I’ve searched older posts, but haven’t seen a great answer to my question. I’m brand new to the piano world— never played, but would really like to learn. I also have 4 young children, and would like to eventually get them playing the piano as well. So I’m looking for a great digital piano option for our family.

I’d love to keep cost as low as possible. That said, technically I can afford up to $7,500. Ideally I’d keep it under $5,000, and gosh, if I can do it for $2,000 that would be great. So I’m looking for the point of diminishing return. I don’t want to be paying for features I don’t really need, want, or won’t notice. Aka I’m not looking to play the trombone (sounds) from my piano.

I’ve researched the 3 major brands: Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai. Initially I thought I’d buy something in the $2-3000 range from Yamaha, but the piano dealers around here have done a great job talking up more expensive models. I can’t tell if it’s just because they’re looking to make a decent commission, or if I really need a CLP875/LX6/CA701. So, I come to you to ask: what should I actually buy??

I guess, summing this all up, I’m looking for a digital piano that will give my family the best chance of success with learning to play (closest to an acoustic so if we love it we can eventually transition to a non-digital) while balancing that with the fact that if none of us actually take to the instrument, we haven’t wasted a ton of money on a very nice decoration.

Thank you so much!

I encountered this recently as I attended a class by a devotee who does seminars in secular environments such as schools, workplaces, with corporate executives, etc. They stated that when they are introducing chanting mantras such as the Maha Mantra, Gaura Nitai, they "very strongly state that it is non-religious" but rather the mantras are universal principles for everyone (which is true but does not make it non-religious). Nothing could be further from the truth, as 'religious' is defined as "relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity" and this is the goal of chanting and bhakti as a whole. I personally strongly disagree with misleading people in order to get them to chant (especially in a purely secular environment such as some workplaces), as that can lead to issues such as the person not wanting to practice elements of another religion (which may be in contradiction to their own religious beliefs), or any religion, and they may be pushed away because of being mislead.

I am not sure if I should address this or simply ignore it. Has anyone experienced this type of preaching and if so how was it handled? Thank you Hare Krishna 🙏

I am curious if anybody has encountered this. I attended a seminar by a devotee who also does seminars in the corporate world. They said that when introducing nondevotees to elements of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, such as chanting Hare Krishna/ Gaura Nitai, praying/ surrendering to Krishna, that they strongly state it is non-religious, nonsectarian, and non-denominational.

I cannot find anything supporting this and to the contrary I find many instances of the opposite, that Bhakti-Yoga/ loving devotion to God is the essence of all religion, surrendering to Krishna as stated in bg 18.66 is the real religion, that Krishna reestablishes religion again and again, etc. Religion is defined as a system of beliefs and practices which connect humans to the divine. It is a religion/ denomination, and that religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

If anyone has experienced this preaching, can you offer more context such as where it may have arisen from, what if anything should a response to that preaching be like? Thank you Hare Krishna 🙏

I'm an adult self taught pianist for a couple of years and I have a degree in music theory. I've tried two piano teachers so far for about 5 lessons each, and neither of them have taught me anything. I'm not sure if this is normal or if I should fire the 2nd one and try a 3rd one.

I go to the lesson, I perform the stuff he told me to practice, then we either continue practicing that or we start practicing the next thing, which is currently a bunch of scales and chords. I know what scales and chords are, I know how to practice them, and I know how to finger them or how to look up fingerings. No other lesson is imparted. When I ask for critique on technique or articulation or anything personalized, I'm told it's "good" and we can "worry more about that later". Sometimes he tries to explain about the chord theory basics like what the circle of 5ths is or what an inversion is, until I remind him I have a music theory degree and already know that, so we just go back to practicing.

So basically I'm paying these people a dollar per minute to tell me to do the next page in a workbook and then watch me do it. This is not worth money. What I want to know is if this is a typical starting plan that will likely improve later, or if both of these teachers are just bad.