Which keyboard to buy for learning to read music

How many keys the music needs

A piano has 88 keys, from A0 to C8. Smaller keyboards cut keys off both ends, and the 157 pieces in the library reach from C1 to G7. What surprises most people is that the bass runs out first: of the 48 pieces a 61-key keyboard can't play as written, 44 go below its lowest key, C2, and 10 above its highest.

The music widens as you go. This is how far each size takes you through the library's levels:

Every level 2 piece fits on 49 keys. From level 3, 61 keys start to leave pieces out. The note drills in the reading guides reach from A1, on the ledger lines below the bass clef, to E6: 76 and 88 keys play every note in them; on 49 or 61 keys the few notes beyond the keyboard's ends are out of reach.

How the keys feel

• Full-size keys are as wide as a piano's. Mini keys, on small controllers, are narrower, so the distances your hand learns don't match a piano, and reading means finding keys without looking down.
• Weighted (hammer action) keys are heavier, like a piano's, and usually heavier still in the bass. Semi-weighted keys have a spring with some resistance; unweighted keys, on home keyboards and most controllers, are light like an organ's. Clefsight grades the same on all of them: it hears which key and when, not how hard the key was to press.
• Touch-sensitive keys play louder when you strike harder. Most keyboards sold for learning have them; the very cheapest toys may not. Clefsight never grades loudness against a fixed scale, since every keyboard answers differently, but music played without loud and soft sounds flat to you.

How it connects

Clefsight reads the keyboard's MIDI signal through the browser (Chrome or Edge on a computer or Android tablet, Firefox on a computer). Safari can't, and no browser on an iPhone or iPad can. Look for one of these on the back of the keyboard:

The steps for each device, and what to do when a keyboard isn't found, are on Connect your keyboard.

The sustain pedal

The right-hand pedal on a piano holds notes on after you let go of the keys, and many pieces in the library mark where to press it. Clefsight hears the pedal through the keyboard's MIDI signal and checks it where the music asks for it, so you'll want a keyboard with a pedal socket (marked “Sustain”, “Damper” or “Pedal”).

• Many keyboards come with a small square footswitch. It works, but it slides on the floor and feels nothing like a piano's pedal; a piano-style pedal with a rubber base is a small upgrade that's easy to make later.
• If the pedal works backwards (notes held when it's up), switch the keyboard off, take your foot off the pedal and switch it on again: many keyboards read the pedal's type at power-on.
• A cabinet digital piano has three pedals built in; the right one is the sustain pedal.

Kinds of keyboard, from the cheapest up

Prices change with the shop, the country and the season, so instead of figures here is what you get for more money, and what each kind gives up.

1. Mini-key controllerThe cheapest way in. 25 to 49 small keys, no speakers.

   Sends MIDI over USB and fits on a desk beside a laptop. Clefsight can play your keys through the computer's speakers.

   Gives up: full-size keys, a piano's feel, and range: even 49 keys play 74 of the 157 pieces. Often no pedal socket. Fine for note drills and the first pieces; the small keys are what you'll outgrow.

2. Home keyboardUsually 61 light, touch-sensitive keys, with speakers and built-in sounds.

   Plays on its own and is light enough to move. Many recent ones have USB MIDI; check the specifications for “USB to Host” or “USB MIDI” before buying.

   Gives up: weighted keys, and 48 of the 157 library pieces, mostly for want of bass notes. The pedal socket, if there is one, takes a footswitch.

3. Full-size controller61 or 88 full-size keys, unweighted, semi-weighted or hammer action, no speakers.

   Made to be played into a computer, so the USB connection is a given. An 88-key one with hammer action feels close to a digital piano.

   Gives up: sound of its own; it needs the computer (or headphones from it) to make any. Check it has a pedal socket.

4. Compact digital piano88 weighted keys, speakers, a pedal socket and USB. The usual recommendation.

   Everything reading practice needs, every piece in the library, and a feel that carries over to an acoustic piano. It sits on a table or a stand, sold alone or in a bundle.

   Gives up: the look of furniture and a three-pedal unit, and the speakers are small. The pedal in the box is often a footswitch.

5. Cabinet digital pianoThe same 88 weighted keys in a piece of furniture, with three pedals.

   Usually a better key action and speakers, and it stays put, ready to play.

   Gives up: it can't move easily and costs more. For reading practice it adds nothing a compact digital piano lacks.

An acoustic piano is a joy to play but sends no MIDI unless it has a MIDI or silent system fitted, so Clefsight can't grade it. Second-hand keyboards are a good buy for reading: the keys and the USB port are what matter, and both are easy to test in the shop with a laptop and Connect your keyboard.

Questions

Do I need 88 keys to learn to read music?

No, but it helps sooner than people expect. Of the 157 pieces in Clefsight's library, 109 fit on 61 keys and 154 on 76; 88 keys play all of them. Every level 2 piece fits on 49 keys, so a smaller keyboard will do at the start.

Weighted or unweighted keys?

Either works for reading: Clefsight hears which key you pressed and when, not how heavy the key is. Weighted keys are worth it if you want what you practise to carry over to an acoustic piano, where the keys are heavier.

Will a Bluetooth keyboard work?

On a Mac, yes, once it is paired in Audio MIDI Setup. On Windows and Android a Bluetooth keyboard often doesn't reach the browser, so plan on the USB cable there. Bluetooth timing wobbles a little more than a cable; Clefsight has a setting that widens its timing windows to match.

Can I learn with an acoustic piano?

Not with Clefsight's grading: it needs the keyboard's MIDI signal, and an acoustic piano has none unless it has a MIDI or silent system built in. The reading guides and printable worksheets work with any piano.

Does it work on an iPad or iPhone?

No. iOS doesn't let web pages reach MIDI in any browser. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer or an Android tablet, or Firefox on a computer.