Digital vs. Acoustic Piano

Ah, the great digital vs. acoustic piano debate.  Which is better? What should I get? On the digital side, I could get an electric keyboard or a digital piano. On the acoustic side, I could get an upright piano or even a baby grand. What are my options, what are the differences, what are some pros and cons and which will suit my personality better? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Below, you’ll find some clarification about the difference, and the pros and cons of each.  Hopefully, this will help you decide between digital vs. acoustic pianos.  When you are ready to buy, make sure you check out the page on Shopping for a Piano.

ELECTRIC KEYBOARDS

Electric keyboards have come a long way. They come in different sizes and widely varying qualities.  This is a great option if you are just trying out lessons and if you are constrained by space and budget limitations.

The major advantage is that you can practice with headphones and you have a bunch of electronic doodads to keep yourself amused. Possibilities include recording capabilities, different sounds to choose from, built-in metronomes, to name a few. The electric keyboard is a great choice if you are short on space and want to be able to move it around as needed.  They are lighter in weight and are great if you don’t want to invest a whole lot of money if you lose interest in the instrument later.

If at all possible, find a keyboard that is a good size. You won’t get very far in your lessons with a two octave keyboard. Best size for lessons is anything over 60 keys.  (A standard piano is 88 keys!)  This isn’t as important if you are using it to compose electronic music–software is often used to manipulate notes into higher or lower octaves as needed.

One serious downside to electronic keyboards (although they are getting better in this department–especially if you look at higher-end keyboards), is the “touch” or “feel” of the instrument.  Keys often have a “plastic-y” feel to them. They are lighter in weight and often smaller in size to a real piano.  If you are learning on an electric keyboard, you will find it an adjustment to play on a regular piano.  Some of the lower-end keyboards don’t offer touch sensitivity either.  (On a regular piano, when you play softly, you’ll get a soft sound.  When you strike the keys with more weight or attack, the sound corresponds.)  Often, with electric keyboards, the sound stays the same, no matter how softly or loudly you strike the keys.

An acoustic piano is a mechanical instrument–the pianist is operating multiple hammers that hit strings. Every practice session is using muscles that build up over time. Even “weighted” or “touch-sensitive” keys on an electronic keyboard are just simulation of that effect.

DIGITAL PIANOS

Digital pianos use electronic components and speakers to mimic a piano sound. If you want to play music seriously, you should look for one as close to the full complement of 88 keys as possible.

One of the principal advantages of a digital piano is that they are significantly cheaper than traditional pianos. For many people, a new, real piano is out of their price range.  In this case, a digital model is a wonderful alternative.

Digital pianos are also more compact and, so are not subject to restrictions of space or weight that a traditional acoustic piano might be.  Digital pianos are slightly larger and heavier than electric keyboards but still more portable than a real piano and therefore can be moved around more easily when necessary.

Unlike real pianos, digital pianos do not need any form of maintenance. The digital piano never requires tuning.  It obviously needs to be placed near an electric outlet though.  Often, digital pianos will come with some form of recording option–like recording to a CD or USB drive.  This is great feature for learning–you can record and playback–thereby allowing you to review your practice and identify any mistakes that you may make. Subsequently, owning a digital piano can be more convenient for most learners.

If you live in an apartment, a digital piano may be particularly desirable, for not only the reasons already mentioned, but also because digital pianos have volume control features. You can plug in headphones which will disable the external speakers and you can then practice without the fear of disturbing your neighbors.

One last advantage is the sound packs that are built in to alot of the digital pianos.  They often come with buttons to change the sound to other instruments.  Newer models feature “teach” functions, with pre-loaded song packs that light up the keys to teach new songs to players (like the Synthesia game which you can read about here).

Despite the convenience of digital pianos, it is true that a digital model cannot compare with the sound and feel of the real thing. Only really high-end models of digital piano are able to try to copy the key dynamics of a real piano.  As mentioned in the electronic keyboard category, you can vary the volume of a note by how hard or softly you press on a regular acoustic piano. This capability may or may not be found on a digital piano.

You may also find that the value of a digital piano or electric keyboard goes down after you’ve had it for a few years.  Like any kind of electronic device, there are constant updates and new options available, making older models obsolete and unwanted when it comes time to trying to re-sell.

ACOUSTIC PIANOS

As stated above, the acoustic piano is a mechanical instrument.  Each key operates a hammer in lever-like action, the hammer strikes the strings and produces its unique sound.  Real pianos offer sympathetic string vibrations, room resonance and other acoustic (the science of sound) phenomenon that are hard to reproduce digitally.

You cannot forget the investment or aesthetic value of owning a traditional acoustic piano either!  It is a beautiful piece of furniture and can be a showpiece in your household.

Whichever direction you choose to go, try to get out and play the different kinds of instruments (digital vs. acoustic pianos) for yourself before making your decision. If you go the electronic route, go for feel and touch and sound and try to get the best instrument your money can buy.

In my opinion, the ideal choice, if you are at all serious about pursuing piano lessons, is to get yourself a good acoustic piano. Touch, tone, dynamics and technique can be improved and developed on an acoustic piano–a difficult, if not impossible feat on a keyboard.

Acoustic 1, digital 0.

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