Not everybody wants or needs a normal acoustic piano. Upright and baby grand pianos can be pricey, hard to move, and ill-suited to playing or composing popular music like techno, ambient, and hip-hop.
In many cases beginners and experts alike look to electronic keyboards to meet their musical requirements.
However, looking through a musical store can quickly confuse even the most excited keyboard shopper. So here are some important considerations to keep in mind when comparing keyboards:
(1) How will I use it?
This is a very important starting point as the use of the keyboard sets the size, weight, and features you'll 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'll see a huge difference in the range of voices available. Personally I would rather have a keyboard that comes with a few good quality voices instead of one that has a thousand poor 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 shouldn't stick and you must feel comfortable with how much pressure you need to apply to make the sound you are after.
Are the buttons in positions that seem intuitive to you? Can you go back and forth between them without trouble? (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 isn't going to feel better at home)
(4) What's meant by "weighted" and "unweighted" keys?
When you strike a key on an acoustic piano, a sound is produced when a little 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 don't have hammers or strings. Striking the key triggers the matching sound electronically, so the plastic keys have no weight unless they're engineered to.
Some people don't mind the weightlessness of the plastic keys while others prefer the keys to be weighted to imitate the feel of a traditional piano. This is usually a matter of individual choice.
One thing to take into account , however , is if you learn to play on an electronic keyboard, you might find it hard to switch to an acoustic piano. If you learn how to play on a piano however, you can easily pick up the technique of using unweighted keys, though you may not like the "plastic-y" feel. Another thing to remember is that weighted keys add to the weight of the keyboard, impacting 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 isn't always better in more expensive units. Always choose good sound quality over numbers of features. Especially as a new player you'll probably discover that you do not use as many bells & whistles as you might initially 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 number of "samples" (sounds or voices) you can use by sending signals to a PC or other device that has additional capabilities.
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 searching for keyboards, don't forget to look into the second-hand market. Check the paper, music schools, and local musical instrument stores to see what you can find that's still high quality and new enough to use with current computers and applications.
You may also look into online "for sale" lists or auctions, but recall that you will not be in a position to try the feel or hear the sound quality when buying on the internet. The easiest way to approach the online market is to try out various keyboards in store and identify the model you need. You can then see if you can find the same model available on the internet.
"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 feasible till you find you have a real requirement for them. Useful accessories for a beginner include a stand, earphones (for playing at night or anywhere you may annoy others) and a keyboard bag or case to protect your keyboard if you plan to take it with you when visiting or playing with others.
I hope these tips will help you find the keyboard that is perfect for you. If you just put in the sort of "due diligence" you'd bring to buying a car, you will do fine!
About the Author:
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment