Not everyone needs or wants a traditional acoustic piano. Upright and baby grand pianos can be costly, awkward to move, and ill-suited to playing or composing popular music like techno, house and hip hop.
In many cases beginners and experts alike look to electronic keyboards to meet their musical requirements.
However, browsing through a music store can often discourage even the most enthusiastic keyboard purchaser. So here are some important points to consider when comparing keyboards:
(1) How will I use it?
This is a vital place to start as the use of the keyboard determines the size, weight, and features you will need.
– Are you a beginner whose goal is to learn the basics in order to play for your own enjoyment?
– An intermediate player interested in exploring options for performing?
– Or a skilled pianist looking to compose music and explore recording options?
Keyboards come in a variety of sizes expressed in keys generally 37, 49, 61, 76, and 88 keys. A beginner who needs to practice their skills can potentially get by with three octaves or 61 keys at a minimum, while intermediate players will most likely need a four or five octave range.
An acoustic piano has 88 keys – five octaves so to reproduce the full expression of a conventional piano, you’ll need to move into a higher price range of keyboard. This is fine if you’ll be performing on stage or creating songs in a record studio.
(2) What are “voices” and how many of them do I need?
“Voices” refer to the various “samples” or sounds your keyboard can reproduce. Today’s standard keyboards offer dozens to thousands of “voices,” most of which you probably will never use.
As you compare keyboards, you will see a massive variability in the number of voices available. Personally I would rather have a keyboard that provides a few great quality voices instead of one that has a thousand low quality voices.
(3) How easy is the keyboard to use?
If you've ever used more than one computer, you have likely realized that each PC keyboard has a different “feel.” The same is true for piano keyboards, particularly if you’re considering purchasing a second hand keyboard.
Try playing the keys when the keyboard is both “off” and “on.” The keys should not stick and you should feel relaxed with how much pressure you need to exert to make the sound you want to create.
Are the buttons in positions that make sense to you? Can you go back and forth between them without effort? (Some of this, naturally, is a matter of becoming acquainted with the new features, but like shoes, if the “fit” doesn't feel right in the shop, it is not going to feel better at home)
(4) What is meant by “weighted” and “unweighted” keys?
When you strike a key on an acoustic piano, a sound is produced when a tiny hammer controlled by the key hits a string within the piano. The effort required as you strike the key reflects the weight of the hammer.
Keyboards do not have hammers or strings. Striking the key triggers the correspondent sound electronically, so the plastic keys have no weight unless they are designed to.
Some people do not mind the weightlessness of the plastic keys while others like the keys to be weighted to mimic the feeling of a normal piano. This is usually a matter of personal choice.
One thing to take into consideration , however , is that if you learn how to play on an electronic keyboard, you could find it tricky to switch to an acoustic piano. If you learn to play on a piano however, you can simply pick up the approach of using unweighted keys, though you may not like the “plastic-y” feel. One other thing to remember is that weighted keys add to the overall weight of the keyboard, affecting portability.
Something else to think about is “touch sensitivity.” The sound produced by striking a piano key is louder or softer depending on the force of your strike. The same is not true of an electronic keyboard unless it offers ‘touch sensitivity’.
(5) How does the keyboard sound?
Ensure you compare keyboards in differing price ranges to hear the range of quality available. Sound quality is not always better in more expensive units. Always choose good sound quality over numbers of features. Especially as a new player you’ll likely discover that you do not use as many advanced options as you may think. Remember you can always trade up later on.
(6) What’s MIDI and what can I do with it?
Some keyboards come with MIDI capabilities. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It increases the quantity of “samples” (sounds or voices) you can use by sending signals to a computer or other gadget that has further capacities.
Your MIDI keyboard makes no sounds itself. Instead it sends data to another module that will produce the sounds of other musical instruments, like drums or strings. Your keyboard, then, becomes a device (sometimes called a “controller”) that captures and then transmits information that tells another device what sounds to make, at what volume, and so on. MIDI information takes up a lot less space than recorded audio and is even smaller than MP3 files.
(7) More recent is not always Better
When you are looking for keyboards, do not forget to look into the second-hand market. Check the paper, music colleges, and local musical instrument stores to see what you can find that's still top quality and new enough to use with current computers and software programs.
You can also look into online “for sale” lists or auctions, but don't forget that you won’t be able to check out the feel or hear the sound quality when purchasing on the web. The best way to approach the Internet market is to try out assorted keyboards in store and identify the model you would like. You can then see if you can find the same model available online.
“Scratch and Dent” sales can also save you money by helping you to get a more expensive keyboard for slightly less than retail because of blemishes or because they have been refurbished.
(8) What accessories should a beginner buy?
As few as possible until you find you've a real need for them. Helpful accessories for a beginner include a stand, headphones (for playing at night or anywhere you might disturb others) and a keyboard bag or case to guard your keyboard if you intend to take it with you when visiting or playing with others.
I hope these pointers will help you find the keyboard that is right for you. If you put in the kind of “due diligence” you’d bring to purchasing a car, you’ll do very nicely!
For more great keyboard tips, make sure you visit Dr Anthony Fernando’s piano software website. You’ll find some wonderful ideas about learning keyboard and tips on how to get started.