Reddit reviews On-Stage KT7800+ Deluxe X-Style Padded Keyboard Bench

Ideas:
-Can sit on some books to raise yourself a bit higher
-Get yourself a higher bench, there's this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-Put books or planks underneath the bench itself, if you prefer the feel of the bench seat.
-Get something else to support the piano. Doesn't have to be the stand, can be a bookshelf or whatever works.

Privia PX-160 is my reco for a beginner looking to invest a bit more, but still under $600. I also recommend going to Guitar Center and playing a couple just in case you have a preference in another direction, but if you’re looking for a solid starter keyboard with weighted keys, this one is great. I did a lot of research. There is a dude at Kraft Music (kraftmusic.com) named Michael that I talked to on the phone and he was super helpful. My bundle was $533 and they don’t charge tax or shipping. And they sell packages: piano + console/stand + pedal.

Also have this adjustable stand separately purchased and I love it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Happy piano’ing!

I got this foldable piano bench for guitar playing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GUR8V8/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481160384&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=piano+bench&dpPl=1&dpID=414Tc8OrOQL&ref=plSrch

It's really comfortable and if you want to, easy to fold up and put somewhere under a bed or something.

You should get a piano bench that is adjustable. I started with the one linked below, although I'd shop around as the price may have jumped up. I don't remember spending 50 dollars, but considering it's lasted 6 years I guess it was worth it. It's not 100% adjustable since it has "levels" and you might end up needing a height between levels. The acoustic piano benches that are fully adjustable cost $200+ though. A bench at the proper height will help avoid back pain after playing for a little while.

Scales are good to learn, you can do this as a warm up. I just listed two that seem to come up often and only had a single black key in them. I wouldn't recommend learning only scales as that would get boring. My teacher would have me do one scale as a warm up and when I could play it two-octave, hands together, including the 3 primary chords and inversions, and the arpeggio (the book we used had all of these on one page) then we'd move to a new one.

Now I'm going back and playing the scales of any pieces I'm working on at the time during warm-up. I do 4 octaves contrary motion. So it starts out normal then half way left hand starts going back down and right hand keeps going up. When right hand hits the 4th octave it starts going down and left hand starts going up again. Makes them feel fresh. I can learn scales faster than pieces so soon I'll have to start rotating scales in that aren't tied to pieces.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GUR8V8/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_boCu1_c_x_3_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=ZWXDVWB0S7AT05JJVCKX&pf_rd_r=ZWXDVWB0S7AT05JJVCKX&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=ab2b2dba-42b7-45ce-8379-d10e65c92e8d&pf_rd_p=ab2b2dba-42b7-45ce-8379-d10e65c92e8d&pf_rd_i=11966001

Edit - this is the new book I use for scales. The old one was fine but this had a little more info in it. There were some sections at the beginning that explained how scales were formed before getting into the usual big list of all of them.

https://www.amazon.com/Scales-Chords-Arpeggios-Cadences-Complete/dp/0739003682