After you have carefully selected a piano or keyboard (READ THIS FIRST!), here are some things you should consider:

DIGITAL PIANO PEDAL

Unfortunately, all of the pianos in the under-$1,000 price range come with terrible sustain pedals.  Those square clickety-clack sewing machine type pedals are completely useless for piano.

If you buy an under-$1,000 keyboard and it comes with a pedal like the one above, I recommend that you spend an extra few dollars and get a decent sustain pedal.  Sustain pedals have the same kind of on-off switch as the cheap ones, but they are bigger, heavier, they don't make a clicking noise, and they look and feel like real piano pedals.  They turn on sustain when you press them and turn it off when you let go.  You can get a universal generic piano-style sustain pedal for super cheap.  Amazon has one for $15:


If you want the full effect of a variable-sustain "damper" pedal that acts more like a real grand piano pedal, and that you can "half pedal" by pressing the pedal down partway, you'll need to purchase the damper pedal that was made specifically for your piano by its manufacturer.

NOTE: Pianos over $1,000, including stage pianos, generally come with a good pedal, so you probably won't need to buy another one.

KEYBOARD STANDS

If your digital piano is going to be moved frequently (either for performing or because of frequent moves), and your vehicle that you transport your band equipment in is not large, and you want the simplest, easiest, fastest stand to set up, I recommend the On-Stage KS8290X Ergo-Lok stand (below) which sells for about $65.  Its single X design makes it lightweight and compact for transporting and setting up, and it is the strongest single X I've found; almost as strong as a double X from other manufacturers.  It's also by far the easiest to use / fastest to set up because of its lever controlled quick release action.  It is perfectly stable at lower keyboard heights where the piano player is seated.  It can also can raise up high enough for the performer to stand up during performances if desired, although it's a little less stable up that high. 


I have used this stand for performances for 15 years.  At low heights (seated position) it is very stable with a 45lb 88-key keyboard.  At high heights (standing position) it is reasonably stable with a 30lb 61 key keyboard.  But I don't think I'd trust it with a 45lb 88 key keyboard up high in a standing position on a wobbly temporary stage.  For such situations, On-Stage does make a stronger "double-x" version of this same stand, the KS7291.  But the problem with wide, heavy keyboards up high on X stands doesn't get solved with a double X.  The problem is that X stands get narrower as they get higher.

For the most stable stand, that is rock solid at any height, I recommend the On-Stage KS7350 Folding Z stand (below).  It's complicated, confusing, and time consuming to set up, but once it's put together it's by far the most solid, stable stand out there, and there's plenty of room for your legs and for pedalboards.  It is fully adjustable for both width and height.  I also recommend this stand if the keyboard will mostly be used in your house and won't be moved frequently.


STOOL OR BENCH

Many stands place the keyboard a couple of inches higher than a normal piano.  In order to get your torso and arms into a good playing position, you will probably need a stool or bench that has an adjustable height.  I looked and looked, and have not yet found an ideal solution.

In the early 1980s I purchased a nice pneumatic adjustable stool that I used as my keyboard stool for practicing and gigging for 30 years before it finally died.  It was very comfortable, easy to instantly adjust the height to any desired level, very strong, and I loved it.  I looked for several years for a replacement without success.  Pneumatic bar stools are too high at the lowest position, and other pneumatic stools are too short at their highest position.  I finally found a replacement that is perfect: the Norwood Active Stool, NOR-1716F-BK-SO (below), sold on Amazon.  It is expensive, but it is comfortable, and the height is easily adjusted with a range that will work for all keyboard players.

MUSIC SLOW DOWNER

I recommend that every aspiring keyboard player who is learning to play by ear purchase a music player app for their phones that allows them to slow down and/or to change the pitch of recorded music. Slowing down the music is very helpful to guitar and piano students who are learning to play by ear, and changing the pitch is very helpful to vocal students.  There are many apps that do this, but there are only two that I recommend.  Both of them have the limitation that they cannot play music off of Youtube.  Both of them can change speed, change pitch, and loop a certain section of the song over and over.  Both were originally $20 and more recently have been priced at $10-15.

Transcribe + Slow Down Music by Dynamic App Design LLC
This one only works on iPhone, not Android.  It is harder to set up but easier to use than the other app.  It has a great user interface.  I had trouble getting my songs into the app but young people are better at that stuff than I am.  I don’t know if it works with Apple Music cloud downloads.  The sound quality when slowed down is not quite as high as the other app, but most students like this app better.  There is no free trial version.

The Amazing Slow Downer by Roni Music
This app has a version for both iPhone and Android.  It is easier to set up but the user interface is not as nice.  It works well with Apple Music.  The sound quality when slowed down is very high, but that doesn’t make much difference on a phone.  If you get this app, beware that if you get the free trial version, you can’t just simply click a button and pay to turn on the full version.  The trial version (green icon) is a completely separate app from the full version (blue icon), so you have to delete the trial app and download the full app, and all your setup and all the songs you imported are lost and you have to start from scratch.

HEADPHONES

For practicing, headphones are a great thing to have.  You can practice without bothering anyone else in the house, and the sound is always better than the sound you get with a keyboard amp or the built in speakers.

Smartphone speakers are not suitable for playing music by ear.  They do not provide sufficient volume nor frequency response to hear what students need to hear.

A pair of high quality, closed-back, around-the-ear, corded (not bluetooth), professional headphones is usually an excellent investment for anyone with a digital piano.  It allows the student to practice as loud as you want without disturbing others, even in the same room.  It's not completely silent (people in the room can still hear the clickety-clack of the keys) but it's not as distracting as having the speakers on.  It also prevents the student from being distracted by others, because the headphone cushions seal out most of the room noise.  My personal favorite headphones in the $100 price range is the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro.  They've been around for a while, but I still haven't found anything in that price range that surpasses their sound quality.  They sound really close to $400 studio headphones.  You can pick up a pair at Sweetwater.com for about $100.  They come with both a 1/8" and 1/4" jack, so they fit many devices in addition to the piano.

If you cannot afford the Sennheisers, the best cheap headphones I could find are the AKG Pro Audio K72 phones that sell for about $45.  (I have not heard these phones personally, I'm just relying on reviews.)

To use corded headphones with a phone that has no jack, I recommend a bluetooth adapter such as this one: LINK HERE

For playing piano by ear, and for guitar and vocal students, open ear headphones or high quality ear buds work better than closed back, around the ear headphones.  They allow the student to hear the recording of the music in the phones and their instrument or their own voice at the same time.  There are too many options in this category for me to make a recommendation, except to say make sure they have excellent fidelity and plenty of bass response.

CASE OR GIG BAG

If your keyboard will be used for gigging, it is a good idea to purchase some kind of protection for it.

The first consideration in buying a keyboard case or bag is to buy one that has internal dimensions very close to the dimensions of your keyboard.  You don't want your keyboard sloshing around inside a case that is too big for it.  The second factor is padding.  You want enough protection so that your keyboard knobs won't get broken off if someone stacks a mixer on top of it in the car.  The third factor is strength/reliability/quality. 

In my opinion, the latter point is problematic.  None of the many keyboard bags I have purchased in the last 20 years have lasted like they should have.  Including the big names (SKB and Gator).  The handles break off, the wheels break off, the seams split open.  A few years ago I purchased a Kaces XPress Series Keyboard Porter, 88-key Large.  It isn't the best bag I've ever owned, but it has decent padding, it fits the Yamaha YC88 and Korg Grandstage perfectly, it has good sized wheels for dragging it on smooth surfaces, and when I bought it it was less expensive than some other bags (not anymore; the price has doubled since then).  This time, I have taken REALLY good care of it.  I NEVER let anyone but me carry it.  When I pick it up by the straps I am VERY gentle and don't jerk them.  I don't drag it on its wheels on rough surfaces.  So far, so good.  It hasn't broken yet.  Just a word to the wise.  If you want to throw it around, don't get a bag, get an airline rated hardshell case.  (And then start pumping weights, because that kind of a case weighs nearly as much as your keyboard, so it will double the weight when you're hauling it around.)

When searching for a bag online, narrow your search by typing "keyboard bags 88 key".  Then compare the internal measurements to the dimensions of your keyboard.  Sweetwater does not carry a wide variety of brands and sizes, so in addition to sweetwater.com, I encourage you to also check out other places such as wwbw.com, musiciansfriend.com, americanmusical.com, and even amazon.com.  In fact, because the name brands don't hold up well, I might even suggest starting on Amazon.  They have some padded bags in the $50-70 range that might be nearly as good as the name brands.  Even if they aren't, you can buy two or three of them for the price of one name-brand bag.  Just make sure they have thick padding... and again, treat it very gently.  For example here is a decent bag for the Roland RD-88: LINK HERE.

CORDS

If you will be gigging with your keyboard, you will need a decent quality cord to plug your guitar into the amp or mixer.  What kind of a cord you will need depends on your keyboard.

If your keyboard has a 1/4 inch "Output" or "Line Out" or "L/Mono" or similar jack, you will need a 1/4" mono T/S "guitar" style cord.  If your keyboard has no such output jack and has only a "Headphone" jack, a guitar style cord may or may not work.  If your headphone jack is 1/4", it is best practice to get an adapter cord that goes from a 1/4" "stereo" or "TRS" male plug to a 1/4" "mono" or "TS" female jack, then plug a guitar TS cord into it.  If your headphone jack is 1/8", your only option is to get an adapter cord that goes from a 1/8" "stereo" or "TRS" male plug to a 1/4" "TS" female jack, then plug a guitar TS cord into it.  If your keyboard has XLR (mic style) jacks on it, those go to the PA mixer, but there is usually also one or two 1/4" jacks that can be used for monitor on stage or for practice in your home.

For the guitar style 1/4" TS cords, stay away from the cheapest, thin cords.  They don't hold up.  You don't need the most expensive cord, but at least get a medium quality cord.  I recommend getting one a little longer than the standard 15' length, such as 18-20'.  I recommend a cord with straight plugs on both ends of the cord, not one with a 90 degree bend.  The highest quality lowest price cord I have found that comes in various lengths is the EWI GBNC Premium Series cords with Neutrik straight ends (available only at audiopile.net).  These are serious cords for a great price.  Everything EWI makes is extremely high quality for a very reasonable price.

For professionals, I recommend the very best cord money can buy: George L .155 cords with gold straight ends.  These are the best sounding, most reliable, strongest, lowest capacitance, easiest to coil, rebuildable instrument cords ever made.  I have been using them exclusively for 40 years, and have beat them into the ground, and I'm still using the ones I bought 40 years ago with no problems.  You can cut them to any length.  They cost about $50-75 each, depending on the length.  The best place I've found to buy George L cords is loop-master.com.

MUSIC STAND

You won't need a music stand for your keyboard if it is a home model.  But if you are purchasing a stage keyboard, most of them don't come with a stand.  Even if you memorize all your music, you'll at least need a music stand for practicing.

Stay away from the Gator Frameworks GFW-MUS-0500.  It is a great looking stand for a good price.  Unfortunately, it has a problem.  It is very weak where the music holder meets the stand.  I found this out when someone stuck something heavy on it in the back up my pickup truck, and it snapped like a pretzel.  It was nearly new, and Sweetwater warrantied it.  But if you read the reviews, this is a common problem, so I cannot recommend that stand.

The music stand that gets my vote is the On-Stage SM7211B.  It is a tripod design similar to the Gator, but without the weak connector, and it is only $8 more.

DI BOX

If you will be gigging, it is a good idea to buy a DI box. 

If you plug directly into a powered speaker or mixer, you can just use a guitar cord and you won't need a DI box.  If you need to run a long cord to reach the mixer or if you need to plug into a snake, but your keyboard has XLR outputs on the back, you can use a mic cord and you won't need a DI box.  If you need to plug into a snake and your keyboard only has 1/4" jacks on the back, but a pro sound company is doing the sound at the gig, they will almost certainly have a DI box you can use, so you still won't need to buy a DI. 

But if you need to plug into a snake or run a long cord, and your keyboard only has 1/4" jacks on the back, and some guy who doesn't know what he's doing and doesn't have good equipment is running the sound, or your band is doing its own sound, you'll need a DI box.  A DI box will also be useful if you ever need to plug into a PA system in a church or school or similar venue.

LINK HERE and scroll to the middle of the page for more information about DI's.

KEYBOARD AMP / POWERED SPEAKER / PA SYSTEM

If you have a home model keyboard, it will have built in speakers.  But if you buy a stage keyboard, most of them don't have internal speakers, so you will need a small PA system, powered speaker, or keyboard amp to hear anything out of it (unless you are using headphones).  (The Roland RD88 is an exception; it has some small speakers built in.)

I do not recommend buying a "keyboard amp."  They are way overpriced for what you get, and a small PA system will actually sound better, anyway.  LINK HERE for a discussion of small PA systems and my recommendations.

STRING TUNING TOOL for acoustic pianos (optional)

If you have an acoustic piano, it is frustrating when a couple of strings go out of tune, and the rest of the piano sounds fine.  You don't want to spend all that money to get the tuner guy to come out and tune the whole piano for just those few strings.  I have found it is a great investment to buy a tuning wrench and a rubber damper to tune a few strings between official tunings.  You can buy a kit with a wrench and a couple of dampers for under $20 on Ebay.