28
votes
Accepted
Why do I hear higher harmonics, when the strings aren't free to vibrate?
Tim's answer is of course correct, but I'd like to offer a more quantitative way of saying the same thing. As others have noted, digital pianos emulate the sympathetic vibrations of acoustic pianos (...
- 20.6k
22
votes
Why does a digital piano need stretched tuning?
The reason is that digital piano has the same inharmonicity as real one. If the digital simulation is based on samples from a real piano, it will inherit the inharmonicity from the sampled instrument. ...
- 2,788
20
votes
How does a keyboard help in a band?
The advice to get a digital piano that transposes easily given in other answers is excellent; when I played keys in a cover band once upon a time that's what I did. Learn the pieces in whatever key is ...
- 551
20
votes
I need a help about polyphony, will 128 be enough
There's no simple yes or no answer to this - it depends on how smart the polyphony recycler is.
Dumb devices will simply steal the oldest note.
Smart ones will steal 'the one least likely to be ...
- 27.7k
17
votes
Is it an issue if the white and black keys are weighted differently?
TL;DR: It's a matter of personal taste.
Preface: I've played scores of different pianos and keyboards, and it has never once dawned on me that the black and white keys were weighted differently.
A ...
- 82.8k
16
votes
Why do I hear higher harmonics, when the strings aren't free to vibrate?
Any piano string (or other, for that matter) will produce harmonics from that root note. The first few harmonics produced from a C string are the octave (C), the 5th above that (G) and the next octave ...
- 190k
14
votes
What should I take into consideration when buying my first digital piano
Both Kawai and Roland are reputable brands. But Kawai CN37 is a brilliant digital piano. From my experience with some digital pianos, I wasn't able to use a great range of dynamics, but with Kawai ...
- 456
14
votes
Is it okay to use different fingers every time while playing a song on a keyboard? Is it considered a bad practice?
You are overthinking this.
You are free to use whichever fingers you like when playing a piece but obviously some fingerings will work better than others.
What you need to do is to find a fingering ...
- 5,041
13
votes
Is practicing on a digital piano harmful to an experienced piano player?
The keys of e-pianos today are weighted.
My son is professional pianist. He plays on different grand pianos and keyboards and he never complained about losing skills. I wouldn’t worry about yours ...
- 25.7k
13
votes
I accidently plugged my sustain pedal jack into AUX output, will it brick my brand new digital piano?
No, it shouldn't hurt. The worst thing that could have happened was shortening the AUX output terminals. The voltage on audio outputs is low (or zero if no sound was playing), and at the same time the ...
- 16k
13
votes
Accepted
Is the polyphony limit on a Digital piano tied to the sound engine?
A VSTi will have its own polyphony limit, completely separate to that of the generating instrument.
This usually comes into play when you're using a lot of pedal. The notes on/off are still generated, ...
- 27.7k
10
votes
Is it OK to use the transpose function of a piano like guitar players use a capo?
Being able to use easy open position chords is not the only possible reason for using a guitar capo, and often not a reason at all. When guitar players use a capo, it is a very specific situation.
...
- 27.1k
9
votes
How many keys are enough to learn to play piano?
The thing about piano is that unlike most other instruments, playing in the extreme high and low registers is not any more difficult than playing in the middle. So there is a lot of easy music that ...
- 22.3k
9
votes
Does it matter if a digital piano has a large cabinet?
Not really.
Most of the resonance in a digital piano is "faked" - that doesn't mean it can't be good, just that it doesn't rely on actual cabinet resonance to make it sound "real". ...
- 27.7k
9
votes
Does it matter if a digital piano has a large cabinet?
I'm going to post a counter-opinion and say it does matter. Not because that fake structure makes any difference to the sound of the piano - it doesn't. But...
We do not need it to be mobile
I'm not ...
- 4,752
8
votes
Accepted
What do "Brilliance" and "Ambience" mean?
Let me break it down from a language point of view so we can better understand how these words were chosen in the context of controlling the sound of musical instruments and thereby gain a better ...
- 27.2k
8
votes
Acoustic piano vs digital piano: is there any solid evidence for one being better than the other?
I'm only a guitarist, but I play once a week on a real piano at my teacher's studio, and I have a Yamaha P-115 digital piano at home (weighted keys, $600 retail most places -- I got lucky and paid $...
- 625
8
votes
Is it okay to use different fingers every time while playing a song on a keyboard? Is it considered a bad practice?
We try to find a good fingering - that might mean 'good for YOU' considering your hand size - and stick to it. Not because it's a 'rule', but because it's effecient! You don't want to be hunting ...
- 90.6k
8
votes
What is the difference between marcato and forte?
The forte symbol: f means "loud", but it doesn't mean just play that note loudly; successive notes after this symbol should also be played loudly, (until another dynamic symbol is encountered).
The ...
- 12.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Do I need to be able to read sheet music to become a good pianist?
Depends on what your definition of "good" pianist is. Reading sheet music is a skill that would certainly greatly aid you in becoming a good pianist, but isn't strictly required. If you are ...
- 1,006
7
votes
How does a keyboard help in a band?
I admire your desire to want to be a part of a band and your willingness to try to improve your skills so you can make a valuable contribution.
As far as transposing - you can spend many hours ...
- 27.2k
7
votes
Accepted
If I only care about playing, is high end home digital piano better than high end stage digital piano?
Home piano and stage piano are two completely different animals.
A "home" piano is designed to be permanently set up in the home. Therefore it must be aesthetically pleasing because it may well ...
- 27.2k
7
votes
Acoustic piano vs digital piano: is there any solid evidence for one being better than the other?
I own, and have performed on both kinds. I use them for different reasons, in different scenarios. If you can have only one, you should choose according to your needs. What kind of music will you ...
- 91
7
votes
For piano scales, should I let go of the previous key before I hit the next one?
Practising scales is about warming up, learning which notes go with which, diatonically, and for playing in exams!
How you play them, as Heather suggests, can and should vary- a lot! Play them piano; ...
- 190k
7
votes
For piano scales, should I let go of the previous key before I hit the next one?
a) release the previous note at the same time that I press the next
note
b) let go BEFORE I press the next note OR
c) let go AFTER i press the note (but not so much that it bleeds
...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Does using a portable keyboard with slim or mini keys mess with muscle memory, as a pianist?
can you switch easily between normal and mini key sizes like it was
two different instruments, or do you feel that your playing on a real
piano is badly impacted with the bad habits you constructed ...
- 27.1k
7
votes
I accidently plugged my sustain pedal jack into AUX output, will it brick my brand new digital piano?
No.
Audio Line level outputs have an output impedance of 100Ohm - 600 Ohm and it's perfectly safe to short them. In the worst case you draw maybe 50 mA or so.
- 1,780
7
votes
Is it OK to use the transpose function of a piano like guitar players use a capo?
It's absolutely fine to use any facilities available on any particular instrument. Who's judging?
Don't rely on it too much though. Lots of music doesn't stick in one key. You can't be continually ...
- 90.6k
6
votes
How does a keyboard help in a band?
I note you have the tag "digital-piano". Does your digital piano have a transposition setting? Almost all of them do. That makes it easy, as long as you don't have "absolute pitch" and get confused ...
- 8,792
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible