The Right Fit: Digital Piano Vs. Keyboard
So you're a piano player. The urge to play is in your blood, and you need an outlet. You need a piano.
Where to start?
The first question would be: do you have the resources/space/means to put a $10,000-$150,000, 1,000 pound hunk of instrument in your apartment/dorm/house?
Yeah me neither. So a grand piano is out of the picture.
Second question: do you have the resources/space/means to put a $2,000-$10,000, 500 pound music-making mass in your apartment/dorm/house?
Well, that's why my grandpa bought it for me, and why it is currently sitting in my parents' house.
Okay, so you are like me, and you need something that doesn't put a huge dent in your life savings or in your living space.
We want that real, rich piano sound though. That piano app for iPad isn't going to cut it. We want to burst out in a cover of our favorite song. Our fingers are itching to break out the Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Brahms. We want to join that band that's holding auditions. We want to impress our significant other with romantic serenades (eeew...).
We are down to two options: buy a digital piano, or buy a keyboard. They are, indeed, two entirely different things, and this article will help you decide between the two. I hope by the end you have narrowed down your search so you can go buy a piano and start playing right away.
Digital Pianos:
Digital Pianos are designed to mirror the sound and feel of 88-key acoustic pianos. While something inside me insists a perfect replication is just not possible, there are some very good quality digital pianos out there that do the job really well. The two most important things when looking at digital pianos are sound quality and an authentic feel. The technology used in digital pianos to mimic the rich tones of a "real" piano is called sampling, and it involves taking high-quality stereo recordings from the best-of-the-best concert pianos. Yamaha has their Advanced Wave Memory (AWM), while Cassio calls it AiF Linear Morphing. Obviously with digital pianos the main effort in sound quality has been focused on the main piano voice. But many digital pianos also feature different voices (anywhere from 10 to hundreds), including church organs, electric pianos, guitars, and drum kits. Effects like harmony, reverb, transpose, and dual and split voice are featured in many digital pianos as well. These voices and effects can be fun to play around with, especially when the digital piano has recording capabilities. If you are really into that stuff, and value it more than the "real piano" set-up of digital pianos, I would recommend a keyboard.
Back to the most important parts of a digital piano: feel is the second big area to consider. If you have ever played an acoustic piano you have noticed that the keys feel quite solid and heavy when you press them. You may have also noticed that the bass keys give more resistance, and as you travel higher up the keyboard the keys become more sensitive. In order to copy this feel digital pianos are usually equipped with what is called Graded Hammer or Scaled Hammer-Action Keyboards. Pedaling is another critical part to the feel and expression of piano playing. Acoustic pianos usually have three pedals: a damper (sustain) pedal, a soft (or una corda) pedal, and a sostenuto pedal. The damper pedal is the most commonly used pedal nowadays. It keeps notes sustained long after you have released the keys, creating a legato effect. The soft pedal enhances the timbre of softly played notes. The sostenuto pedal is used to sustain certain notes while leaving the rest of the keyboard unaffected. I consistently use all three of these pedals, especially the damper and soft pedals, to convey expression while playing the piano. Most digital pianos have developed a quality 3-pedal system that is attached to the digital piano cabinet. A very nice thing about digital pianos is that they include a very large polyphony (most that I have seen have 128 note polyphony), which means that you will never drop notes in a dense passage.
Digital pianos are the perfect option for music lovers who value an authentic grand piano sound and feel, and are content with a minimal amount of voice, effect, and recording features. There are some very elegant digital pianos out there that offer a great piano experience at a fraction of the cost of a large and heavy acoustic piano.
Keyboards:
For those of you not so classically inclined musicians who prefer to unleash your creative side through hundreds of voices, styles and effects, multi-track recording, and computer connectivity, you are clearly in need of a keyboard. Keyboards are also great if you are on a tight budget or are living in a pretty tiny apartment or dorm since they are so small and portable. Most keyboards have 61 or 76 keys, a couple scales short of an acoustic or full-sized digital. It's not impossible to find 88-key keyboards; they are just usually a bit more expensive. Be aware that the keyboard doesn't care much about giving you an authentic piano feel. It is more concerned with giving you all the digital features you could ever want. Don't expect to play concert hall quality classical music on a keyboard, but prepare for tons of fun.
Keyboards are great learning tools. Many of them come with preloaded songs and lessons that you can play along with. They are also an excellent way to break into music recording. The sounds that come out of your keyboard are highly customizable through effects, layering, and EQ adjustments. Besides a learning and recording tool, keyboards are just as functional in a band setting.
I hope you have gained some knowledge on digital pianos and keyboards. These are the basic functions of each. Figure out what kind of instrument best fits who you are and where you are in life. Choose the features you need, and find a piano that provides them. Be sure to read the in-depth digital piano and keyboard reviews on my website, get your Free Buyer's Guide, and enjoy the music!
Where to start?
The first question would be: do you have the resources/space/means to put a $10,000-$150,000, 1,000 pound hunk of instrument in your apartment/dorm/house?
Yeah me neither. So a grand piano is out of the picture.
Second question: do you have the resources/space/means to put a $2,000-$10,000, 500 pound music-making mass in your apartment/dorm/house?
Well, that's why my grandpa bought it for me, and why it is currently sitting in my parents' house.
Okay, so you are like me, and you need something that doesn't put a huge dent in your life savings or in your living space.
We want that real, rich piano sound though. That piano app for iPad isn't going to cut it. We want to burst out in a cover of our favorite song. Our fingers are itching to break out the Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Brahms. We want to join that band that's holding auditions. We want to impress our significant other with romantic serenades (eeew...).
We are down to two options: buy a digital piano, or buy a keyboard. They are, indeed, two entirely different things, and this article will help you decide between the two. I hope by the end you have narrowed down your search so you can go buy a piano and start playing right away.
Digital Pianos:
Digital Pianos are designed to mirror the sound and feel of 88-key acoustic pianos. While something inside me insists a perfect replication is just not possible, there are some very good quality digital pianos out there that do the job really well. The two most important things when looking at digital pianos are sound quality and an authentic feel. The technology used in digital pianos to mimic the rich tones of a "real" piano is called sampling, and it involves taking high-quality stereo recordings from the best-of-the-best concert pianos. Yamaha has their Advanced Wave Memory (AWM), while Cassio calls it AiF Linear Morphing. Obviously with digital pianos the main effort in sound quality has been focused on the main piano voice. But many digital pianos also feature different voices (anywhere from 10 to hundreds), including church organs, electric pianos, guitars, and drum kits. Effects like harmony, reverb, transpose, and dual and split voice are featured in many digital pianos as well. These voices and effects can be fun to play around with, especially when the digital piano has recording capabilities. If you are really into that stuff, and value it more than the "real piano" set-up of digital pianos, I would recommend a keyboard.
Back to the most important parts of a digital piano: feel is the second big area to consider. If you have ever played an acoustic piano you have noticed that the keys feel quite solid and heavy when you press them. You may have also noticed that the bass keys give more resistance, and as you travel higher up the keyboard the keys become more sensitive. In order to copy this feel digital pianos are usually equipped with what is called Graded Hammer or Scaled Hammer-Action Keyboards. Pedaling is another critical part to the feel and expression of piano playing. Acoustic pianos usually have three pedals: a damper (sustain) pedal, a soft (or una corda) pedal, and a sostenuto pedal. The damper pedal is the most commonly used pedal nowadays. It keeps notes sustained long after you have released the keys, creating a legato effect. The soft pedal enhances the timbre of softly played notes. The sostenuto pedal is used to sustain certain notes while leaving the rest of the keyboard unaffected. I consistently use all three of these pedals, especially the damper and soft pedals, to convey expression while playing the piano. Most digital pianos have developed a quality 3-pedal system that is attached to the digital piano cabinet. A very nice thing about digital pianos is that they include a very large polyphony (most that I have seen have 128 note polyphony), which means that you will never drop notes in a dense passage.
Digital pianos are the perfect option for music lovers who value an authentic grand piano sound and feel, and are content with a minimal amount of voice, effect, and recording features. There are some very elegant digital pianos out there that offer a great piano experience at a fraction of the cost of a large and heavy acoustic piano.
Keyboards:
For those of you not so classically inclined musicians who prefer to unleash your creative side through hundreds of voices, styles and effects, multi-track recording, and computer connectivity, you are clearly in need of a keyboard. Keyboards are also great if you are on a tight budget or are living in a pretty tiny apartment or dorm since they are so small and portable. Most keyboards have 61 or 76 keys, a couple scales short of an acoustic or full-sized digital. It's not impossible to find 88-key keyboards; they are just usually a bit more expensive. Be aware that the keyboard doesn't care much about giving you an authentic piano feel. It is more concerned with giving you all the digital features you could ever want. Don't expect to play concert hall quality classical music on a keyboard, but prepare for tons of fun.
Keyboards are great learning tools. Many of them come with preloaded songs and lessons that you can play along with. They are also an excellent way to break into music recording. The sounds that come out of your keyboard are highly customizable through effects, layering, and EQ adjustments. Besides a learning and recording tool, keyboards are just as functional in a band setting.
I hope you have gained some knowledge on digital pianos and keyboards. These are the basic functions of each. Figure out what kind of instrument best fits who you are and where you are in life. Choose the features you need, and find a piano that provides them. Be sure to read the in-depth digital piano and keyboard reviews on my website, get your Free Buyer's Guide, and enjoy the music!
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