An electronic keyboard offers this better than an acoustic piano. Here are some reasons (and some "sub-reasons"):
1. Easier to learn. Why? Several good reasons:
A. Your worst hand is your left hand. Piano notes are harder to play with this hand. Keyboard chords are easier than anything the piano offers.
B. Acoustic piano notes decay pretty readily forcing you to play more of them to "keep the music going."
C. You have to get used to "dis-associating" the rhythm of the LH from the melody of the RH and this is not natural to people. It can be done, but it doesn't have to be.
D. The majority of people are RIGHT handed which makes what you do with the LEFT hand more difficult. What is the role of the LH in piano? Creating rhythm via chords. Most folks don't do this well for the reasons I've given.
E. The "House of Music" is built on foundation of rhythm (NOT melody) and this rhythm is performed by the LH.
Thus, anything that makes the LH easier to play is better than anything that makes the LH harder to play, such as an acoustic piano.
2. Classical music is dead. Sure there are folks who love it, but most people want to play their favorite pop SONGS from the last 100 years. Keyboards are better at this than acoustic pianos for a number of reasons:
A. the Human Singing Voice is THE instrument during this age of the popular song. It is a wind instrument, not a decaying string instrument. So other wind instruments reproduce the human voice better than a piano can.
B. Songs sound best with full backgrounds. The "auto-accompaniment" feature of a keyboard can create that thoroughly. For example, one lady gave me a big compliment when she said, "It sounds like there are 14 people on the stage." There was only one and a great keyboard!
3. I'm not totally sure why the dedicated pianists are so nasty and adamant about promoting pianos and the use of keyboards as a sort of "poorman's piano" but they are.
I have some theories about why, but they are only theories.
I honestly care much more about my students and the people I help and decades of successes and failures at this, having taught all ages (really) and all types of instruments, have shown me that piano is very hard for most folks while keyboards are more easily learned.
Some other advantages are:
A. You can plug in headphones so nobody has to hear you. Thus, you can practice or play whenever or wherever you want to, regardless of other's schedules.
B. You don't have to master a multitude of instruments physically, just learn to play them on a keyboard.
That results in fewer instruments, less storage space, less expense.
C. Keyboards are cheap and there is nothing else you have to purchase, although a stand and a bench and a book can help.
Still those items are much cheaper than regular tunings and "stand-alone" metronomes.
D. The acoustic piano can be reserved for those who want professional levels of abilities.
The keyboard, and it's "auto-accompaniment" feature are perfect for a person who wants a life but also wants a great inexpensive hobby.
E. Your LH needs to learn chords to use the auto-accompaniment feature and that is much easier than what the LH hand must learn to play piano well.
Once this feature is learned, you can either sing the melody of the tune or play it with your best hand (Right.)
