Choosing the right keyboard can be challenging especially for beginners who have limited information about the different specifications that they should consider while shopping for a piano. Yamaha keyboards have been in the market for quite some time and continue to offer piano lovers a wide range of products that can be very suitable for both beginners. So, what is the best Yamaha keyboard for beginners?
Top 8 Best Yamaha Keyboard for Beginners On the Market
How to Choose the Best Yamaha Keyboard for Beginners
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The Number of Keys
Yamaha keyboards designed for beginners come with a variation on the number of keys, which ranges from 25 small MIDI to 88 keys. For beginners interested in advancing their skills to professional piano players, buying a keyboard with 88 keys will offer them the same experience as an acoustic piano.
When getting started you might not need all the 88 keys and can opt for a keyboard with 61 or 76 keys, which might be a more affordable option depending on how much you plan to spend on the piano. Although you will be able to note the difference when you use a keyboard with 88 keys, the absence of the missing keys will not have a great impact on a song.
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Weighted, Semi-Weighted, and Non-Weighted Keyboards
Weighted keyboards and semi-weighted keyboards will offer you an experience that is similar or close to acoustic pianos. Keyboards that have a hammer action have an added acoustic piano feel.
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Velocity and Touch Sensitivity
This is the ability of the keyboards to sense the speed and force that the keys are pressed by the piano player. You should select a piano that is touch and velocity-sensitive to enhance the quality of the sound produced by the piano.
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Polyphony
You should select a piano with an extensive polyphony capability to ensure that you can note the different sounds generated while pressing different keys and how they combine with each other to produce different tunes.
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Connectivity
It’s great to check whether the keyboard offers different connectivity options such as a headphone jack and an external speaker jack.
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Speakers
Most keyboards will have in-built speakers. To ensure that your keyboard will offer you the best sound quality, you should check the types of speakers it has. You should also check whether it comes with in-built speakers. Some technical models may need to connect with external speakers to promote the quality of sound produced.
- Check to see The Best Sounding Digital Piano On the Market
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Input / Output
When buying a keyboard you will want to consider the input and output section of the keyboard. If you wish to use a digital keyboard, selecting one that has an audio input/output might save you from the additional cost of having to purchase a separate interface.
Top 7 Best Yamaha Keyboard for Beginners Reviews
Aside from the price and size of the piano, other factors such as whether the keys are weighted, the quality of voice, portability, educational features like tutorials and lessons, are important considerations that beginners might need to consider when shopping for a piano.
So, let’s look at the top 7 best Yamaha keyboard for beginners, and then you can decide which one you should go for.
1. Best Overall- Yamaha PSR EW-300 Keyboard
Brilliant features
- 76 touch-sensitive dynamic keys
- 574 instrument voices and 165 accompanying styles
- 150 different arpeggio types
- USB to host connectivity
- Portable and compact
- Free Downloadable Song Book
- Recording function for up to five songs with two tracks
Watch out for
- Non-weighted keys
The PSR EW-300 can be considered as the best cost-effective Yamaha keyboard for beginners. It has 76 touch-sensitive keys, 574 sounds, and a maximum polyphony of 48 voices. This piano also offers 165 different styles that allow beginners to understand how to pain different piano sounds and instruments together.
Impressively, the free downloadable songbook is great for beginners to get started. Additionally, Yamaha PSR EW-300 has a reverb chorus y Master EQ, which refers to the equalizer that enables you to adjust the different parameters of the mix sounds coming from the in-built speaker. It has 150 types of arpeggios and a recording function.
The metronome function can help you to learn rhythms while playing the songs. It has a USB to Host connectivity, a sustain pedal, an output for your headphones. The PSR EW-300 also has a 2 × 2.5 W loud vocal system. It is portable, as it weighs 6.2 kgs. Plus, it can work with batteries and includes a power supply and a music sheet holder to ease your practice sessions.
2. Best Budget- Yamaha E-263 Keyboard for beginners
Brilliant features
- 61 full-size keys
- Nine-step lesson function for beginners
- Recording function
- One-touch setting
- A total of 400 instrument voices (384-panel voices and 16 drum effects)
- Portable and compact design
Watch out for
- No power cord included, you should buy one separately
- Keys are not weighted
The Yamaha E-263 is a budget-friendly keyboard that features 61 non-weighted keys, 384 sounds, and 16 drum kits, 130 different styles, and 120 preset songs.
Unlike most budget-friendly, the Yamaha E-263 features full key sizes for unrestrictive playing and to ensure that the learner gets accustomed to an acoustic piano. The Yamaha E-263 features a nine-step lesson function, which is part of the Yamaha education suite and a recording function.
It also comes with a duo mode that will allow you to divide the keyboard and have two keyboards with similar sounds for learning purposes. It is compact and portable and weighs slightly over 8 pounds. Plus, the Yamaha E-263 has a headphone jack, sustain pedal jack and an AUX-IN stereo mini-jack.
3. Best for Learning- Yamaha EZ-220 Lighted Key Keyboard
Brilliant features
- Yamaha education suite interactive learning system that improves learning experiences
- Can be perfectly integrated with the iPad and other apps
- 100 built-in songs plus 1 demo song for easy learning
- Huge variety of instruments and presents
- USB MIDI to host connectivity
Watch out for
- Non-weighted keys
- You cannot record music without the app
The Yamaha EZ-220 keyboard has 61-keys, which are touch-sensitive and comes with 32-voice polyphony that will ease your learning experience. The Yamaha EZ-220 has 392 high-quality instrument voices and comes with 100 accompaniment styles. It has 100 present songs that will ease your learning experience.
Additionally, the keyboard comes with a fingering guide and a Yamaha page-turner app for your iPad. It has a USB MIDI to host connectivity that will allow you to connect it to a music-editing program such as MIDI tracks. If you purchase the bundle it comes with a sustain pedal, that serves to maintain the note. It is a portable keyboard as it only weighs approximately 4kgs.
4. Best Touch Sensitive- Yamaha NP-12 Beginner Keyboard
Brilliant features
- 61 touch-sensitive keys
- Lightweight and portable
- A clean and simple layout
- High-quality sound with two speakers and 64-note polyphony
- It seamlessly integrates with other music apps and DAWs
- Operates with AC adaptor as well as 6 AA batteries
Watch out for
- It only has a few sound options
The Yamaha NP-12 keyboard comes with 61 full-size keys. The NP-12 has quite good sound quality. It has the AWM stereo sampling, which is a tone generation technology. It also features two speakers, which measure 12 × 6 cm (2.5W + 2.5W) and weighs approximately 9 pounds. Additionally, the Yamaha NP-12 keyboard has a maximum of 64-note polyphony, ten piano voices, which include 2 piano, 2 electric pianos, 2 organs, strings, vibraphones, and 2 harpsichord voices.
The keyboard comes with a layering mode that allows you to layer two different voices at the same time. It offers you the ability to record your performances, which can be quite beneficial for beginners. It comes with 10 voice demo songs, 10 piano present songs, and a track recording. In addition, it offers different connectivity options such as DC IN, headphones jack, USB to Host.
5. Best for Practice – Yamaha P-71 Digital Piano for Beginners
Brilliant features
- 88 fully-weighted hammer-action keys
- Equipped with AWM sound engine and two speakers
- Easy to operate without bells and whistles
- Great for beginners to practice
- Portable and compact
Watch out for
- Its sustain pedal is not of good quality
Yamaha P71 is the best-weighed keyboard. It has 88 touch-sensitive keys, which are fully weighted. It is equipped with high-quality pianist essentials such as a clean board, which does not have endless buttons that can confuse you. Additionally, it comes with an advanced wave memory (AWM) sound engine, which gives you the same experience as an acoustic piano.
The digital piano is loaded with 10 instrument voices, which will allow you to play songs and experiment with different instrument sounds. It offers USB connectivity that can be connected to any smart device. It also has a sustain jack and a headphone jack to promote your learning experiences. The built-in metronome is great for practicing rhythms. Additionally, the Yamaha P-71 keyboard as in-build speakers and an amplifier. It has a music rest to ensure you can view your music notes easily while playing the keyboard. Plus, its accessories include an AC adaptor.
6. Best Portable- Yamaha YPT 260 61-Key Keyboard
Brilliant features
- Yamaha Education Suite for learning
- 112 onboard songs for guiding you to learn
- Versatile due to the wide range of voices and rhythms
- USB Connectivity
- 400 High-quality voices
- Record and playback function
Watch out for
- It has a limited octave range
This 61-key portable keyboard is the most portable Yamaha keyboard. It features a wide variety of sounds and functions and is designed to assist beginners to learn how to play the piano within a short time. Its keys are velocity-sensitive for you to play with dynamics.
Yamaha YPT-260 is equipped with 400 voices including organs, piano, orchestra sounds, and drum kits. It has more than 100 rhythms that learners can use for practice. It also features interactive lessons and tutorials available to learners through an app that is compatible with most Yamaha keyboards.
While learning you can also split the keyboard in the middle to create identical ranges, which can be used side by side by you and your teacher. Other additional features that might impress you include its high-quality voices, a built-in speaker, USB connectivity, that will allow you to connect your phone or other compatible devices and enjoy backup sounds from the devices.
7. Best Sounding- Yamaha P125 Beginner Digital Piano
Brilliant features
- 88-fully weighted keys
- High-quality and rich stereo sound
- Built-in recording function (two-track recorder)
- 24 instrument voices
- A free smart piano app for beginners
- Portable and compact
Watch out for
- Does not offer Bluetooth connectivity
The Yamaha P125 is an 88-key full-weighted keyboard that is a hammer-action digital piano with quality sounds. Its sound is generated by the technology of a pure CF sound engine. The sound quality is further enhanced by the 192-note polyphony.
This keyboard offers you three touch sensitivity levels and an off option (fixed, soft, medium, and hard). It also has 24 instrument sounds, which include 4 grand pianos, 4 electric pianos 2 clavichords, 4 organs, 2 vibraphones, 4 strings, and 4 basses. The Yamaha P125 keyboard comes with 20 rhythms, 21 demo songs, and 50 piano songs that you can select from while practicing.
It comes in three modes, which include duo, dual, and split. The Yamaha P125 keyboard also comes with a lesson mode, which makes it easy for beginners to learn different melodies. It has a built-in metronome, speakers, and an amplifier. Plus, it weighs 26 pounds, making it very portable.
Final Thoughts
When you are choosing the best Yamaha keyboard for beginners, you should keep in mind these important considerations to ensure that the keyboard you select is both functional and of good quality. While purchasing a piano for a beginner, ensure you get the most value for your money by assessing each piano available carefully and determining, which features are most important for your intended purpose.
Additionally, consider the accessories that come with the piano such as an AC adaptor cable, headphones, and sustain pedals. You should also consider the portability of the piano and its size. You can find many high-quality Yamaha pianos at affordable prices.
