Why Should I buy A Yamaha Clavinova?

There are a bundle of digital pianos available from a number of manufacturers from as low as $1000. So what should you buy, and how much should you spend? Why should you spend up to $3000 when you can get something for $1000?

Let us consider your existing outlay for lessons. You are probably sending your child to music lessons, at least during school terms. That’s 4 terms of 10 weeks, a total of 40 lessons. This is a minimum figure as you will probably also send him/her to lessons outside of school terms as well to keep up the continuity, but we will work on the smallest factor.

Assuming you pay about $25 per lesson (can be as high as $30), then over $40 weeks, you will outlay $1000 just for lessons. Your child will need to practice consistently to achieve results, and will require an instrument that will allow them to develop an excellent technique. They will need an instrument that encourages them to play, and sounds pleasing to the ear.

Let us digress for a moment.

If you enjoy cooking, then it is a sure bet that you have a good set of cooking utensils, that dissipate the heat correctly, don’t encourage the food to stick to them, and are easy to clean. Cheaper utensils are a pain to work with and deter you from wanting to cook. Likewise a guy who enjoys tinkering in his shed, would almost certainly use good quality tools – cheaper tools make the good results harder to obtain and the experience less enjoyable. He is more likely to wind up watching TV instead.

It’s no different for a child learning to play an instrument. The better the instrument feels, sounds, and helps the student to play comfortably, the more likely the child is going to enjoy their playing experience.

If an instrument costs $1000, it is obviously compromised. It may have the approval of the necessary examination authority, but is that enough?

Yamaha have a number of products available, and feature 4 different keyboards in those models. They use their 2 cheapest keyboards in the lower priced models, their acclaimed GH3 action in Clavinovas priced from $2495, and a proper wooden piano keyboard in their top models.

So why should you select Yamaha’s mid range models over cheaper pianos?

First and foremost, unlike most of its competition, Yamaha has been an acoustic piano manufacturer since 1900. It’s main competitors are either computer or synthesizer manufacturers. It has a history of producing some of the worlds finest and most respected pianos, and therefore has a standard and reputation to maintain. Yamaha therefore have endeavoured successfully to recreate the feel of their acoustic upright and grand pianos in their Clavinova range. And the actions in their cheaper pianos are not to be sneezed at either.

The sound of the Clavinova is another area, that Yamaha is determined will not be surpassed by other manufacturers.

All digital pianos offer a number of features to try and entice you buy their products, and from a brochure, may appear to give better “bang for the buck”. However, if you refer back to the earlier comments re the outlay required to have your child taught, and consider what you are trying to achieve, and it becomes apparent that regardless of all the features offered (usually with a compromise in quality), you are buying a product as an alternative to the acoustic piano, and the features that it offers. In other words, keyboard feel and sound quality.

When are you coming in to inspect the range of Yamaha Clavinovas?