Hey, thanks for the longish reply! Yeah, the 'what piano should I get' is still a very wishy washy topic for me. I want a decent beginner thing, without investing a lot of money, because of how uncertain everything still is. I just want a good beginner keyboard for less than $200, but people keep saying that I should not miss out on weighted keys, but that'll bump up the price 2 or 3 times as much. How well do your portable piano skills translate over to a proper piano with strings anyway? Would you have a short period of getting accustomed to it and then it would work fine or does it take longer? How much of the skill would initially translate and how much after 2 weeks of switching? And thanks for the idea with filming myself, that's a great idea. Not only will it help me to critique myself and see where I can do better, but it will also show my progress and motivate me!
I'm not OP, but I'll drop my two cents anyway. I initially started learning on a 76 key non-weighted keyboard. It was a good platform to start with but it very quickly became a limitation. Some of the pieces I wanted to learn were simply impossible, because the piano was a few keys short. I moved to an 88 key electric piano within a month or two, and the difference was immense. It took me a while to get used to. I didn't have much control over my finger strength and I had to stretch them farther than I was used to. In my experience, moving from the electric piano to upright/grand pianos wasn't as big a deal. If I'm playing on a new piano I'll play for a few minutes just to get a better feel for it anyway. My friend's grand piano feels different to the grand piano I practice with in college for example. My advice would be that if you want the piano to last you more than a year, invest in an 88 key weighted keyboard. Personally I like electronic pianos because I can easily plug my headphones in and play late into the night, however I think stringed pianos sound/feel better.