I think I would be ok with that though. I already hook the keyboard I am using the my computer with the line in/out, so I can record my progress, or lack there of, and listen through the computer using headphones...
Far be it from me to discourage you, but it is only fair to tell you that you are talking about taking up a fairly complex hobby! Things are far better now than when I first built my studio, but you still have all sorts of setup stuff like "VST Inputs", "Midi in/out", buffer settings -- its still pretty technical. I know you work in the biz and are very tech savvy, so I don't doubt you can do this -- I'm just not sure if you want to. Operating Cubase or one of the other audio workstations is very much like operating a real-life big-time recording studio. Think of it as Photoshop or Blender for midi and sound. If you're up for that, great, and I'll happily answer any tech questions I can.
You can get a little sense of the scope of Cubase here:
Cubase 11 out now!
The fun thing about learning all that, though, is you can play a song into, say, Cubase, then correct any errors you made by editing the midi file. (I confess, any chops I had in my youth are long vanished, but I've made professional music by playing the computer.) You could also just dispense with the keyboard altogether and just write your music in midi in the computer. The keyboard's just an input device, after all. You can also multi-track, loop, and do all sorts of audio tricks. As someone who grew up doing all that in analogue, I still get amazed at the stuff I can do at my desktop that I actually
couldn't have done in those multi-million dollar studios. One day I was doing some special effects voices for an audiobook and I realized that were this the old days and I was renting the special fx boxes, I'd have about $10,000 going into that one track!
You won't be limited to piano, either. Name the instrument, including drums, and it will be available in any quality virtual synthesizer. You can be your own band!
... recognize the quality brands ...
Which are Roland,Yamaha, and maybe Korg for your purposes. (I doubt you're in the market for a $4500 Nord!) Do NOT get Casio -- all the big kids will point and laugh at you.
Sad to say, but I imagine there might be quite a market in used instruments these days -- its not like anyone's playing gigs to make the payments.
