When people think of digital pianos, the first images that come to mind are often standing keyboards with a musician playing techno or cheesy early-nineties pop ballads. Surely, they think, a digital piano can’t compare with the class and refinement of a baby grand. But digital pianos have come a long way since the nineties. In fact, many digital pianos offer a sound and aesthetic quality on par with their acoustic counterparts. And that’s just one of the benefits of buying a digital piano.
What Is a Digital Piano?
Before we get into the benefits of buying a digital piano, it’s important to specify what one is. The fact is, the initial image of the nineties pop song instrument that we mentioned isn’t actually a digital piano. Digital pianos are made to mimic the sound and feel of an acoustic piano. That means they come with a full set of eighty-eight weighted keys designed to feel like acoustic keys when you play them. Electronic keyboards like the ones mentioned earlier don’t necessarily have that goal in mind. When we’re talking about digital pianos, keep that distinction in mind.
No Tuning Needed
As majestic as acoustic pianos are, their construction demands certain conditions and maintenance. The surroundings, humidity, frequency of use, and age will make a piano go out of tune. These tunings can take anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours, depending on how out of tune the piano is, and can cost as much as $200. Digital pianos, on the other hand, never go out of tune. That means nothing hinders your sound or your progress as you play.
Volume Control
It’s hard being a budding musician when you’re living in an apartment or penthouse, or if you have people living in your home who aren’t always interested in hearing you play. While you can—with a little skill—play an acoustic piano quietly (they’re called pianofortes for a reason), you can’t play them silently. The beauty of digital pianos is that you can plug in a set of headphones and tune out the world—and, perhaps more to the point, the world can tune you out too. The only one who can hear you playing is you.
Easy To Record
Let’s say you decide to make the piano more than a hobby. You decide that you want to record yourself or collaborate with other musicians. In today’s age of digital recording studios, having a digital instrument makes it incredibly simple to connect it with a computer. Even if you don’t have plans of becoming the next Billy Joel or John Legend, having the ability to record yourself playing is invaluable for people trying to improve their craft. This way you can catch and tweak your own mistakes.
Piano music is powerful. It captures the imagination, sways our emotions, and can become personal in a way that few other things can. Digital pianos make it easy to bring that music into any home.
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