mike’s music pages

For those of you who play piano, it would be really nice to put a concert grand piano in your music room, but unless you have plenty of space and plenty of money, you cannot put a grand piano in your house. Some of you would probably like to have more than one piano. I know I would.

Grand pianos cost tens of thousands of dollars, but alternative keyboards start in the hundreds and some produce remarkably good piano sounds. There are also some very good sampled pianos available for your computer that you can use with your keyboard that will fool all but the most discriminating ear.

So if you can’t afford an acoustic piano, what are the alternatives? Today there are many alternatives from which to choose. The trick is to pick the right keyboard for your purposes and your budget. Today you can select from MIDI keyboard controllers, digital pianos, and keyboard synthesizers.

MIDI controllers produce no sound themselves, but send MIDI messages or instructions indicating how a note should be played. MIDI controllers must be connected to a computer or synthesizer that receives the MIDI messages from the controller and produces the sounds. If you only want to make music through your computer with software synthesizers, then a MIDI controller will suit you.

Digital pianos sound more or less like acoustic pianos. How closely they sound like an acoustic piano depends on the quality of the sampled sounds that they contain. They may also contain other sounds such as electric pianos, organs, strings and synthesizers. Many digital pianos can also function as MIDI controllers.

Keyboard synthesizers produce their own sounds and do not need to be connected to a computer, although many can be used with a computer. Keyboard synthesizers are good for playing away from home or the studio when you would rather not carry a computer along, and they may also produce sounds that are not available in your software synthesizer. Some keyboard synthesizers also contain piano sounds. too, and many can also function as MIDI controllers.

Of the three keyboard types, keyboard synthesizers are the most flexible as some of them can function as synthesizers, digital pianos and MIDI controllers.

After deciding on the type of keyboard, you must decide what size keyboard best suits you. Ideally, you should select a keyboard with 88 keys so that you have the compass of a full size piano. However, if your space is limited you can get a keyboard with fewer keys.

Digital pianos come in models for stage and models for home. The home digital pianos are generally not portable, so if you anticipate taking your instruments on gigs you should not consider a home digital piano. You should get a stand for the other keyboards.

Finally, consider the feel or action of the keyboard. If you are a pianist, then you will probably prefer the feel of a piano, so look for weighted, full sized keys. Some keyboards even have graded actions so that the action on the lower keys is heavier than on the upper keys.

Oh, one more thing: If you are going to move your keyboard around a lot, you may want to consider how much it weighs. I know that you are going to be more concerned with the performance of your keyboard, but all other things being equal, you may want to go for the lighter keyboard.

Comments are closed.