How to choose a digital piano

If you are still unsure of the pros and cons of a digital piano you might want to look at 10 reasons for choosing a digital piano to get a bit more information.

Assuming you have decided that a digital piano is the way to go, this hub is designed to make that mind-boggling array of choices a little bit easier to negotiate, and to steer you through the pitfalls to ensure you are happy with your ultimate purchase.

If you are like me, and grew up in the era of the tinkly hideousness of the early digital PSOs (Piano Shaped Objects) they were unworthy of being called pianos, and were no substitute for a proper acoustic piano if someone was wanting to learn to play.  But things have changed, and the quality of the electronic sampling has moved on so much that you can get a grand piano sample of a stunning quality in a relatively reasonably priced digital piano, so that you have the acoustic effect of playing on your dream piano that you could never begin to afford.

Touch sensitivity too is another thing notable for its absence in the early days, but that has improved enormously and beginners can quite happily learn on a decent weighted digital keyboard - although for concert hall finesse ultimately a concert hall quality acoustic piano will most likely be required.

The worry at the moment however is that with such a huge range of choice out there in the digital piano market, and such a variety of prices and option how do you make sure you buy a really great digital piano that will support your playing and learning and give you hours of pleasure, rather than a horrible PSO that will hamper any musical development and be tutted at by piano teachers and musician friends until you end up stuffing it into the attic in shame and humiliation?

Read on and fear not! All will be revealed...

What is the difference between all of these digital pianos?

Because there are so many models available in each range it can become a daunting task to compare them, especially if you're not familiar with the jargon used. The most common trap people fall into is to uy a piano with the larget number of 'features' they can afford on their budget. Usually this is a mistake, and instead people would be far better off choosing a simpler piano with fewer bt better quality samples, and a better touch sensitive keyboard.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself to make the choosing process a little clearer:

1. Are you more interested in playing classical/traditional music or contemporary music? If the answer is mostly traditional music, you are most likely looking for an instrument that has an excellent piano sound and feel but are not so bothered about other features. Try not to get distracted by a multitude of other sounds and bells and whistles, as although they may seem lovely and interesting in the shop, the reality is you will use your piano for what you think you will use you piano for, and the 8-10 standard sounds you will get on any digital piano will be quite enough fiddling about, without any additional complexities.
2. If you like the idea of having lots more features and clever twiddles, are you prepared to dedicate enough time to read the instructions and learn how to use the software used to access all of the functionality? Think about the other appliances and electronic items in your life. Did you read the booklet that came with the washing machine, or did you just switch it on and twist the knob to 40 degrees and leave it there for the next 5 years? Do you use all the features on the work photocopier, or just the big green button that says GO? Be realistic - this is your time and your money. Spend both wisely for maximum pleasure and return on your investment!
3. What is your playing ability? Are you a complete beginner, intermediate or advanced? Be really honest. If you are a beginner, whilst percussion effects and a multitude of features may be fun, they might end up being a distraction from the core keyboard skills, of good fingering and reading notation, evenness of touch and developing musicality. To be honest you don't really need backing tracks and all of that sort of thing until you are fairly advanced or at least a competent intermediate, otherwise all you will end up with is pressing go on the demo song and miming along, which is inly funny the first 17 times, and after than just annoying.What is helpful for a beginner is a record feature so you can hear yourself play and listen to it back again. It is amazing how you can hear unevenness and miscounting much more clearly that way. You can also try playing the right hand along with the left hand that you haev pre-recorded, and vice versa. Of course if you are the sort of person who wants to get into composing their own music than the ability to add backing tracks and new sounds becomes far more important, and the choice of piano alters accordingly.
4. Finally, lets get practical - how much space do you have?  If you have room for a traditional piano but want a digital for other reasons, then look for an upright model such as the Yamaha Clavinova which is a substantial piece of furniture.  Otherwise if space is short a stage piano which can be easily moved around is probably the way to go.  These have all the keyboard technology of the larger models.  Most have in built speakers.  If you want to perform in a large space with one of these you will need a piano amplifier and additional speakers, but for your living room at home my Yamaha P85 is just fine.

If you speak the language you can hold your head up high and converse sensibly with the digital piano salesman, without resorting to the 'smile and nod' technique. You may find the following useful.

Fully-Weighted Keys - these are designed to mimic the touch and feel of a traditional acoustic piano. This is essential if you want to play classical or traditional music and to use your digital piano in place of an acoustic instrument.

Semi-Weighted Keys - These are used to save weight, and therefore can often offer more portability, but are a compromise on touch and feel. Up to you to reflect on what you want to use the insrument for.

88 Keys - This is the standard number, although you may find concert grands with a few more. If you are wanting to play traditional or classical repertoire and you choose a keyboard with fewer than 88 keys you will be frustratingly linited in the amount of repertoire you can play. 88 keys is a necessity for most semi-serious pianists and beyond.

Sustain Pedal - Many digital pianos come with a plug-in sustain pedal as standard. This in my experience does not really replicate the feel or technique associated with proper pedalling on an acoustic piano (which is a skill all in itself which pianist have to learn - usually when they get big enough for their feet to reach down that far). It is marginally better than nothing, but it dangles around and moves about on the floor, and deosn't spring back up again reliably. The bigger digital pianos have a three pedal system which you can buy as an upgrade to the smaller stage pianos which would be worth considering.