Digital Piano or Other Keyboard? How to Choose.

If a musician says that they play keyboards they are referring to a whole range of music making devices that have a keyboard. This includes audio and digital pianos, organs synthesizers, MIDI controllers or even a Moog (though not many people have one of these ancient, exotic machines!)

The main thing that distinguishes a digital piano from other electronic keyboards is that it has weighted keys. This means that when you strike a key. the speed and the force that you strike with effects the sound that is produced.

On one of the old style, electric organs, the keys were just on/off switches. You got the same sound, at the same volume every time- as long as all the other settings remained the same. Modern synthesizers can respond to the style of your playing but there is less sensitivity- unless you use a synth like the Yamaha MM8 Synthesizer which has a fully weighted keyboard.

A digital piano is usually a more expressive instrument and reflects the mood you bring to it. Soft, harsh, urgent, classic or funky sounds can be coaxed from the keys by a talented player.

One disadvantage of a weighted keyboard is that they are heavy and less portable. Some of the more sophisticated digital pianos are massive, including not just the keyboard but sound generator, amps, speakers and pedals.

In defense of synthesizers, it should also be said that a great synth player can get a phenomenal. very expressive and truly unique sound from a quality instrument!

Also synths, overall, offer a greater range of sounds to choose from and are more suited to the performance of contemporary music.

Digital pianos are a first choice for anyone who wants to move onto acoustic piano and people who are interested in classical music or jazz,

Midi controllers interact directly with a computer and are used by composers to built up pieces of music, layer on layer, with the help of recording and mixing software. Some performers will use them on stage.

How Many Keys do you Need?

An acoustic piano has 88 keys. Keyboards come with 61, 76 or 88 keys normally, though some have as few as 49 or even 32.

If you are aiming to graduate to an acoustic piano or you are learning classical or serious jazz you are best going for at least 76. Most pieces of music can be played with this number without having to transpose (rearrange a score).

Fewer keys usually means less cost and, sometimes, the important thing is just to have something to get your hands on and get started with.

Fewer keys also means greater portability. If you are flying to a gig somewhere, a smaller keyboard can save a lot of trouble!

How are You going to Hear What You Play?

Almost every keyboard has a headphones jack. A set of quality headphiones will let you hear everything you need to hear for practising- without driving anyone else crazy.

If you want to perform- even on a small scale- you will probably want an amp and some speakers of the appropriate power. Some keyboards have built in speakers that can be OK for practice or small scale performance but again, there is the weight issue.

Connecting with a PC and other Media

The better keyboards allow a lot of inputs from other media and let you transfer music to PC for mixing etc.

With a MIDI controller. it is especially easy (with the right. often expensive software) to download all kinds of sounds and effects from the Internet and use them with your keyboard. Mini Midi keyboards are the instruments of choice for plenty of live music makers and also composers who like to build up a track on a computer from simple elements.

On-board Software for Beginners

Most keyboard set ups have some kind of music library for you to play along with as a beginner. Look out for the ability to add music of your choice.

'Auto accompaniment' will let you choose a rhythm and bass style to accompany your playing.

Quality educational software can help you learn.

A metronome can help you perfect your timing.

Other Useful Features of a Keyboard

One feature to look out for is how many different 'voices', (in other words. sounds) a keyboard set up can handle.

When manufacturers talk about 'polyphony' (literally meaning many voices) they are telling you mainly what the keyboards processors and software will cope with. A good sound generator in a synthesizer can handle 32 notes at once.

Reverb and a sustain pedal can add a lot to the sound any keyboard can produce.

After these basics, you will find most machines have all kinds of wheels, buttons and knobs to adjust things like vibrato, panning, tremolo, pitch bending etc. etc.

Where to Buy a Digital Piano or other Keyboard?

If you are going to spend a lot of money, always try before you buy. You can often get a better bargain buying online but I would only buy online if you have already played the exact model at a friend's place or in an instrument store.

For beginners, Amazon or Buy.com can be good places to get unbiased opinions from people who have bought a particular keyboard. They will soon tell if they are disappointed!

There is nothing wrong with getting your first keyboard from a garage sale either. You will be following in the footsteps of many great artists...

Digital Piano Prices

This is not meant to be any kind of definitive list. It is just to give you an idea of the prices of well respected models, if you are thinking of getting serious.

The Roland FP-4 Digital Piano costs around $1,500.00. If want to explore other Roland models this is a good place to start: rolandus.com/products/

The Casio PX130 is a high quality 88 key, weighted keyboard at around $500 online- up to $800 in retail stores, For other casio models try this page:

www.casio.com/Musical_Instruments/

The Yamaha P85 Digital Stage Piano is around $400 online.

Synth Prices

The Yamaha EZ-200 61is probably the most popular choice for beginners right now, It has a full sized touch sensitive keyboard with 61 keys and comes with headphones and stand. Online they sell for less than $200.

The Casio WK210 is a 76 Key Digital keyboard at around the same price but without the headphones and stand,

The Korg X50 61 Key Music Synthesizer Keyboard comes in between $600 and $700.

Find the full Korg range here: korg.com

A Yamaha MM8 88-Key Weighted Key Synthesizer is around $1000

For all the other Yamaha synthesizers check out this page:

yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/List/ModelSeries

Midi Controller Prices

$200 will get you the Behringer UMA25S U-Control 25-Key USB Midi Controller Keyboard pictured above

About $70 will buy a Korg nanoKEY 25 Key USB Controller Keyboard.