Keyboard = Piano ? question

[Syahwylder]

Mayve this has been posted before but I'll ask anyways.

Can you learn keyboards and still be proficient at playing the piano. I'd really love to play the piano but I seriously dont think my house has anymore space for one. I think a keyboard to play and practice on would be a good substitute. They seem to be pretty similar instruments. What would be the pros and cons of doing this? Some good advice is greatly appreciated. TY

 

[soft]

If you are playing for leisure, it should be ok. But if you are going for exams, it might affect your playing on a real piano.

 

[alshit]

Piano has weighted keys while only some high end keyboards have it and that alone makes quite alot of difference in the way you play it.
Keyboard to me seems more flexible in the sense that they would come in arrays of onboard sounds for you to switch and play around and for the more advance keyboard you can even do more. If you just wanna practice playing, a keyboard would be sufficient if you're not picky about the non-weighted keys. You can still play the piano even if you're learning by keyboard. Just make the best out of what you have.

 

[Syahwylder]

Thank you for the great tips. Unless i start throwing out some furniture, I'll settle for the keyboards for now. Still would be cool to have an actual piano in my room. I'll just sleep on top of it haha. Thanks again guys.

 

[Cheez]

Keyboards is a generic term for instruments with black and white keys (from piano to organ and synths) - other than the keyboard I'm typing now on my PC.

If your only reason for not getting a piano is room space, then obviously budget is not your decision making factor. Then I would suggest getting a digital piano that has the closest touch to the piano as possible. Currently, Yamaha is your closest bet for best touch. Piano sound of Yamaha is OK but continues to irk some piano enthusiasts (myself included). What they lack in the piano sound, the make up in their built-in speakers of some of their digital/stage pianos like the CP300.

The best balance for good touch AND sound is probably now Roland. Their latest generation of keys all come with escapement (do a search in SOFT and you'll find that). They have one of the best (if not the best) sounding piano short of a sampler or the real piano itself.

You'll have to do some shopping to feel it for yourself. Try all the Yamaha's P series and CP300. Try also the Roland FP series (if you can find one...). Roland's latest RD series are good but lack built-in speakers. All these are space savers compared to a real piano. An upright digital piano like the Clavinova is what you don't want if space is a concern.

However, although I said that budget may not be your main factor, with the curent economic crisis, I'm sure you will be tightening your budget. Do tell us your decision in the end.

 

[Syahwylder]

HAHAHA.. I cant tell the difference between the feel of playing the piano and the keyboards because I have not even begun learning any of those. That was some great tips. I will definitely keep the stuff you mentioned in mind when out shopping for one.

Yea I have quite a flexible budget due to the fact I was saving for about a year to buy another guitar but I sat down and realized I have too many guitars already.

Space wise.. the 2 amps, 5 guitars and stands plus the gadgets and FX on the floor and wires take up a lot of my room space. I threw out my bed already and now sleep on a foldable mattress. Hehe.

I think the digital piano suggestion was brilliant. Definitely will be getting that. Now just gotta go shop around and look for a good deal. After that, some lessons.

THANKS ! MUCH APPRECIATED!

 

[Cheez]

However, one big consideration is: what genre do you intend to play? This will have implications on whether you really need to learn to play the piano/weighted keyboards.

 

[lester_music]

The singaporean language...keyboard usually refers to a plastic keys.....

In the western context.....Piano is also a keyboard like what Cheez mentioned...

anyway it all depends on how much you can learn..not so much the instrument but rather the style and method that you played...

being able to play on both is a matter of getting used to it...

ask a piano player to play on plastic keys..they will naturally feel awkward at first but after a while will get used...

but naturally a piano finger tends to be stronger due to the nature of the keys..

and some schools actually add weight to their keys of the piano to strengthen their fingers..

 

[pf]

Haha...Cheez, Roland FP series very difficult to find meh?

Isn't it here? http://www.play-by-ear.net/store_roland.html

Main page: http://www.play-by-ear.net/store.html

Now PBE is a 1 stop shop for digital pianos. No need to go Plaza Sing, then City Music, then Swee Lee separately. Got Kawai and Kurzweil also.

But too bad, no Roland RD series.

I just need to find time to go and tinker around a bit with the demo sets in the showroom.

 

[Syahwylder]

Sweet! You saved me a lot of time. The damn thing still looks big though hahaha. I have to go see it in person and measure the size in comparison to my room. I might just end up having to sleeping somewhere else at home and not in my room.

You guys have been great! Pretty much answered all my questions. TY again.

 

[pf]

Hey Syahwylder...you might wanna consider what Cheez said about the genre that you wanna play before you settle on a digital piano.

If you wanna play metal, rock, etc...a 61 key non weighted keyboard might be enough to serve your needs. Then can buy a taller stand and just practice while standing. Or just store the keyboard vertical at a corner...set it up on the stand when you wanna play...

You might break your back if you try to do the above with a digital piano

 

[Syahwylder]

Well genre wise. I'm kinda into a bit of everything. Pop, rock metal, blues, jazz, country and basically anything I find nice.

Mostly though I enjoy writing my own songs. I'm looking at it from the same point of view as how I look at my guitar playing. Know the keys, the chords, the rhythm and the solo parts. hehe. And just basically go from there.

Its the piano really. I've always found it alluring. Maybe its that whole image of a songwriter/composer on the piano all haggard and tired with songsheets all over the place trying to come up with that perfect tune. Its classic. But I think I am be able to do more with a keyboard hahaha.

 

[since1982]

[=Syahwylder

if space is a huge problem for you (as it is for me) you might want to try the P85 Yamaha digital piano. i just got it recently, and it snugs just nice between my window ledge and the computer table. phew it's very thin and minimalistic. i'm very pleased with the touch/sound/etc as well (i'm using it mostly for piano sounds..)
btw Yamaha's having a year end sale right now! may be a good time to make a decision this mth.

 

[evident]

get keyboard with weighted keys if you still wanna do it "piano-style"...

 

[savagemp5]

Let me answer you guys with my experiences on the different touch between a piano and a keyboard keys.

On a piano, the strength comes by the hammer hitting the string, and it is how hard you press the keys down.

On a keyboard, the strength comes from how fast you press the keys. Try pressing the keyboard keys slowly but hard, against fast but soft.

On a keyboard, you will realise that if you press it slowly but hard, it will still be soft, while if you were to press it fast but soft, like a tapping motion, it’s gonna be very loud. This is completely different from a piano hammer head mechanism.

I’ve tried playing almost perfect classical pieces in terms of dynamics, but I can never achieve that same results with a keyboard, be it a $1000 or a $10,000 keyboard. When I played, due to the different sensitivity of the keyboard, it is sometimes loud and soft, making it totally different though the strength of pressing on a piano is the same.

So that’s what you get for the quality of a keyboard. As for pop genre music, since pop piano is not about playing proper dynamics and expressions, a keyboard should be enough for normal playing.

I hope this explains most of the queries you guys wanted to know!

 

[l0u5y]

clavinovas are built to emulate a piano. Hence, the touch is closer to a real piano compared to a dgx-630. For me, i use a "keyboard"(midi controller hooked up to a pc running a piano sample) because of the style of music i play. if you are a strict classical pianist, a piano will be better suited for u because it is the real thing, like the touch, and it sounds better too. but if u are the kind who cant practise at night, you can get those silent pianos too. if u play other styles like funk or rock stuff. maybe a keyboard will be suited for you. but keyboard techniques are different from piano techniques. eg. you can't play a hammond organ like a piano.