Piano Technology
What is a 'home keyboard'?
What is a 'professional keyboard'?
A professional keyboard generally is going to be different from a home keyboard, in that it's going to offer a better range of tones, sounds and features that apply more to the professional, such as being able to create your own sounds and edit sounds. They generally will be in a more compact form, but they won't have any speakers or amplifiers built in, so you'll need to hook them up to an amplifier or through headphones to listen to them. But in general, just like home keyboards, these professional keyboards are not instruments to learn how to play the piano on, they're simply tools of utility for portability, or to take onto a stage, or to use in a home recording studio.
What is a 'digital piano'?
A 'digital piano' is the most realistic form of electric piano, that plays and feels like a real piano. It's also built similar to a real piano, meaning it has three pedals that function like a real piano. It has all 88 keys and a weighted keyboard action that's built like a piano's action. It has a multiple speaker system designed to maximize the tone of the piano. This is where you're taking piano lessons and you want the experience of playing a piano but couldn't have a real piano for whatever reason. This would be the next logical choice to give you the most realistic experience to a real piano.
What are the benefits of a digital piano versus a acoustic one?
The benefits to buying a digital piano over an acoustic are going to be, first of all, maintenance. There really isn't any maintenance needed on a digital piano. There's no tuning necessary. You don't have to have a technician come out and periodically adjust the action. Digital pianos are going to take up less space, so you can actually fit them in places where normally you couldn't fit an acoustic piano. Then also, digital pianos are going to offer more versatility. You can play them with headphones, so if you are in a small apartment, you can not annoy the neighbours, or your roommate. In addition, digital pianos can interface with computers that allow them to work with learning programs and recording programs. So, digital pianos are quite versatile. The only sacrifice you make is that you don't get the real thing.
Are keyboards simpler to use than acoustic pianos?
Acoustic pianos and keyboards are basically the same technique of playing the piano. So I wouldn't say one is easier to play than the other. Playing a keyboard, usually, if you are using a keyboard to it's capacity, you're playing different instruments other than the piano. In addition to the piano sometimes, so you have to make a saxophone sound like a saxophone ,which means a different approach to playing the keys. So playing a piano is actually, technically for a pianist, easier than a keyboard, because it's set up perfect the first time. You don't have to deal with stands, wandering pedals that aren't attached to the base of the keyboard, or speaker systems that aren't set up properly. Whereas with an acoustic piano, you just sit down and play. But the technique of playing both are the same.
