Digital Piano or Keyboard? Differences and Which to choose
On the outside they are similar but they do not touch the same. We explain to you what changes with the keys, the pedal and the polyphony and how soon a keyboard to learn.
It depends how serious you are to study piano. If you want to learn piano with technique, dynamic and repertoire, choose a digital piano: 88 counterpitted, force sensitive and with a true pedal. If you are looking to explore, accompany songs with chords or are for a small child at play stage, a 61-key keyboard will get to start.
The difference isn't as much about the sound that goes out by the speakers as about what their fingers feel. That's what defines if the instrument helps or challenges you within a few months.
To sum up
- A digital piano mimics the touch of an acoustic piano: 88 counteracted and sensitive keys to the force with which you play them.
- A keyboard usually has 61 light keys, hundreds of sounds and accompanying rhythms and serves as an exploration and popular music.
- The weight-free keys do not develop the strength and control of the fingers that demand the piano repertoire.
- The polyphony is how many notes can sound at once and with the pedal it's quickly run out of the most basic instruments.
- Moving from keyboard to digital piano is a regular shift as practice becomes constant.
Digital Piano vs. Keyboard: The table
| Characteristic | Digital Piano | Teclado |
|---|---|---|
| Number of keys | 88: complete piano range, just over seven octaves. | They are usually 61 (five octaves) and are also 49 and 76. |
| Key weight | Retiring with hammer action, many are graduates and more heavy at serious. | light, organ type and some models are semicontrapesized. |
| Sensitivity to touch | Always: volume and color change with force. | In most models currently but not all: we have to review them. |
| Pedal | A paedal of sustained piano type and models of furniture have three pedals. | Finger entrance and sometimes a small pedal with a switch type, or buy independently. |
| Polyphony | Higher: holds passages with pedal without cutting notes. | Minor: with pedal and many notes, some are put out earlier. |
| Sound and function | A few and a lot of jobs have been worked out: several pianos, organs, ropes. | Hundreds of sounds, accompanying rhythms and learning functions. |
| Size and transport | Weighted and with fixed and portable furniture require a base. | light and some work with batteries. |
| relative cost | Investment increased. | A lot more accessible. |
| What's his goal? | A formal piano studio, a classic repertoire and an audition preparation. | Initiation, accompanying songs, popular music and first months of exploration. |
The four differences that do matter while learning
Retractable keys: the touch
On a piano, each key moves a hammer, and that gives them weight and endurance. The counterpitted keys mimic them. On a light keyboard their fingers do not develop force or control, and the student discover them on the day they play a true piano: the notes don't sound pairs and his hand gets tired. I hear: "sensitive to touch" isn't the same as "counterpitted." The first means that the volume changes as a force and the second, that the key weighs.
Number of keys: Do they reach 61?
For the first year, most of them have been. The initiation repertoire will be at five octaves. The problem comes with intermediate level works, using serious and sharp jobs that a 61 keyboard doesn't have. If the student advances, the limit will be noted.
The pedal
The sustained pedal is part of the piano's technique, but it's an accessory. The small switch-type pedal slips through the ground and only works as a light or an off. One with a piano pedal shape is more stable and, in many digital pianos, allows the pedal medium.
Polyphony
That's how many notes an instrument can sound at once. It looks a lot but with a paedal with a press the notes accumulate and, if the polyphony is low, the instrument starts cutting them first. A slow paedal piece hears as a sound that goes out suddenly.
Choose digital piano if... / choose keyboard if...
Choose a digital piano if...
- You're gonna have piano class with continuity and you want real technique.
- Classic music, jazz and ballads with marked dynamics are a feature of you.
- You're planning to have an audition, an exam or an admittance test later.
- You have a regular corner at home for the instrument.
Choose a keyboard if...
- It's for a little boy that's been scouting and she's still missing his mind if she's going to go on.
- Do you have to join with chords, singing or playing at the church or with friends?
- You need something light that you can move from house to house or get to rehearsals.
- You're interested in experimenting with sounds and rhythms, or production of music.
If you choose keyboard, have at least 61 full and touch sensitive keys. Below that, the instrument starts to get in the way. how to choose your first piano or keyboard Find something to check before you buy.
For children and adults: nuances
With children aged 5 or 6, a good keyboard allows us to start without a great investment while we confirm our interest. What's wrong with them is that a child who's been constantly following months with light keys: his or her fingers get used to his or her jobs and then it's hard to fix them. If you're at that stage, read the [piano guide for children]](/blog/piano-para-ninos-guia-para-padres).
Adults usually notice the difference of touch long before, and many are frustrated with a light keyboard because they can't play soft. If you already know that you want to learn piano, going directly to the digital piano saves you a change.
It's worth mentioning a third option: the controller keyboard, that doesn't have its own sounds and needs a computer or a tablet. It's useful to production music but to learn piano from zero complicates more than it helps.
When and how to move from keyboard to digital piano
These signage indicates that the keyboard was already short:
- The piece that your teacher gave you doesn't fit with the keys.
- Don't get to play pineapple or mojo while you're trying.
- The pedal slips or the notes are cut after using it.
- At class, at a true piano, his hands get tired or they sound unequal.
When changing, the first few weeks the keys will feel heavy. It's normal. It's practice slow scales and exercises with arm weight and relaxed wrist as explained in [the right place of the hands at the piano]](/blog/posicion-correcta-de-las-manos-en-el-piano)and sets the height of the bench so that the forearms are parallel to the keyboard. The previous keyboard does not exceed: it serves as a portable instrument or to experiment with sounds.
At [piano classes]](/clases/piano)Teacher tells you with honesty if your current instrument's limiting you or if it's still giving you for several months.
Frequently asked questions
Can you learn piano with a 61-key keyboard?
The important thing about them is that the keys are full and sensitive to the touch. When the Repertoire requires more registration, or if you need to better control the dynamic, we have to move to a digital piano.
What's the difference between touch sensitive and counteracted keys?
Sensitifiable to touch means that the volume changes as you play with them. Counteracted means that the key has weight and endurance, as with a piano. A keyboard can be sensitive without being counteracted.
How much polyphony do I need to study piano?
To guide, seek at least 64 notes, with 128 or more you will have to care about them, even with a lot of pedal. Below that, pedal pieces can cut notes.
Do a digital piano replace an acoustic piano?
For the great majority of students, yes, for years. If you prepare for auditions or entrance tests, seek opportunities to practice also at an acoustic piano, because their response has nuances that no digital plays at all.