To become a pianist you need three things: talent, training, and an instrument. Even the greatest piano virtuoso will find it difficult to reproduce his award winning pieces on a piano that is below par to begin with.

Some do not pursue a piano training simply because they think that pianos are expensive. If you are a beginner, getting a good quality but less expensive digital keyboard would be a much better option.

Digital keyboards have five general types. First of which are digital pianos, which are good for those who are still starting out, because they are simple and easy to use. Arrangers are loaded with features that allow you to be a one-man band, that is, it can provide you automatic drum, bass and chord accompaniment. Those who perform onstage will require the richer tones of a digital stage piano. It typically has fewer functions as an arranger, but offer a more professional keyboard sound. Workstations and synthesizers on the other hand are for more advanced piano players. More work can be done on these systems such as sequencing, recording or editing music as well as manipulating waveforms. Their professional extra features make them the most expensive among the five.

Among the many brands of digital pianos available these days, low-priced but feature-dense Casio pianos remain to be in demand. They are best known for their topnotch beginner pianos which come built in with step-up learning systems. Casio also incorporated a music challenge feature to most of their beginner keyboards to provide a fun learning experience. Tri-sensor scaled hammer-action keyboards which have an ivory feel similar to concert pianos are common features of pianos made by this company.

For those who are just starting out, the CTK-2100 is already a good piano. It is a good buy at $170 because you already get a 61-key unit which already feature-rich. The step-up learning program installed in every CTK-2100, assists tutees with fingering and notes. Using AHL audio technology, these keyboards provide almost the same sweet tunes produced by a real grand piano.

Feature-rich and inexpensive, the CTK-2100 is indeed a great buy for both beginners and intermediate piano players. Click here for more information on Casio pianos .

* Em’s at the Guinness Book of World Records for being the fastest selling hip-hop artist.

* His mother Debbie has roots in Scandinavia.

* Eminem wrote lyrics for the soundtrack of 8 Mile during film breaks. He got so absorbed in the task that film crew members would have to pull the notepad from under him.

* Em was bullied as a kid because he was small and was often mistaken as retarded. He would hum melodies to himself not knowing it was loud enough to be heard by everybody. (He still does today. He also said that he is always writing and that he cant stop writing because ideas keep flowin’ in.)

* Eminem has both Scottish and Welsh ancestry.

* Em has been falsely reported dead by a car crash 4 times and a drug overdose once.

* Eminem is the oldest member of D12 (b. 1972). Kon Artis is the youngest.

* He is a Spiderman fan.

* Em is a Baptist (just like his mom and the rest of her family). He’s not religious though. Kim’s the one who is Catholic. She’s also not religious.

* Em wears glasses because he’s near-sighted.

* Eminem is interested in all types of gadgets.

* He has a favorite porn star called Janet Jacme.

* Kim and Em’s term of endearment is “Stinky”.

* Despite what was written before, Em did not attempt suicide. He took pills to fight his depression and accidentally OD’d. He was happy to wake up the next day.

* He wears a platinum bracelet and ring and both have “DAD” inscribed on them. Both are from his daughter.

* Eminem is actually a very quiet person despite his chosen career.

* Em used to have a problem with people staring at him.

* Eminem’s favourite actor is Robin Williams.

* The Matrix is Eminem’s favourite movie of all time.

* Eminem was abandoned by his father at just 6 months old.

* At age 11, Eminem had an infatuation with Madonna.

* The first concert he ever went to is Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane and Queen Latifah in Detroit.

* He cuts his own hair rather than going to a barber.

* Eminem’s preferred dance song is Busta Rhymes’s “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”.

* Eminem and Dr. Dre’s first choice for Stan was Macaulay Culkin but he was in a play at the time. Dre then picked Devon Sawa because he thought he looked like Em.

* Lose Yourself is one of the songs most likely to lead to car crashes according to polls.

* Elton John has dedicated his song Rocket Man to Em.

* Em’s high-profile movie debut should’ve been ‘Training Day’ with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. He was to play Denzel’s drug dealer friend. 8 Mile came along so we all know how that ended. The other movie that he also considered was ‘Lazarus’ with DMX which is a part of ‘The Crow’ series in which he was also supposed to play the villain.

* Shannon Elizabeth was his primary choice to be the girl in ‘Superman’.

* Neil Tennant from the Petshop Boys has a crush on Eminem.

* He has got a cat named Tigger.

* For his 8 Mile role, Em dropped from 168 lbs (12 stone or 76.21kg) to 145 lbs (10.35 stone or 65.8kg).

* Em likes to wear size XXL clothes as it makes him feel larger.

* Eminem’s mother and father were in a band called ‘Daddy Warbucks.’

* Eminem’s friends say that he doesn’t like to drive.

* Em does not smoke

* Em used to spend hours at night studying the dictionary so that he could expand his vocabulary for his ryhmes.

* Eminem originally wanted to become a comic-book artist.

Learn all your eminem lyrics at our website as well as cutting edge eminem gossip and articles.