I will now certainly look into the lessons idea. It now seems to make more sence.
My original thought track was give him something to aim for instead of just “here’s a keyboard, enjoy!”. I thought giving him a challenge like playing Moonlight Sonata would keep him playing.
If/When he starts to get better I am sure he will buy a full size weighted keys piano. This is just to give him the incentive to start to learn and get into it. This keyboard I am getting him is only meant to serve the purpose to see if he will actually keep it up. There is no way I would but a full size piano for him if i thought he might give it up. This way is safer, for not only him but for my wallet
My parents thought the same thing and for the first six months, I practiced on a paper keyboard. A true test of dedication if there was one.
IME, learning without lessons has two main dangers: first, you’re likely to plateau much, much earlier. Without proper guidance, you very quickly run into passages and techniques that are just going to be impossible to play. Sure, playing scales and exercises and whatnot isn’t hugely fun but in the end the payoff is great. Not everyone has the same strengths and weeknesses and having a teacher show you how to ballance these out makes a huge difference.
The second danger is that of picking up bad habits. From not so good posture to cluncky fingering to the #1 enemy of all musicians: tension. Avoiding some of those habits is hard, even with a good teacher, getting rid of them once you’ve picked them up is almost impossible.
All in all, starting out with an instrument “the right way” might be hard and not always fun at first. However, in the long run, the repertoire of piece you’ll be able to play and the enjoyment you’ll get playing them will be that much greater. IMO.
As for the keyboard, at first, like you said it’s certainly not a bad idea to see if he’s really interested before spending the big bucks. However, if you start on a keyboard with a very, very light touch, it’s going to be difficult to adjust to heavier-weighted keyboards.
