| free guitar lesson | | | | • Lesser sound quality. |
| Electronic Keyboards: Pros and Cons | | | | While the sound quality on high-end, modern machines |
| By Yoke Wong | | | | is much improved from earlier efforts, it’s still an |
| Electronic keyboards. Some piano teachers swear by | | | | electronic tone. The richness, depth, and harmonic |
| them; others, at them. | | | | overtones produced by the acoustic piano’s |
| Certainly the electronic keyboard is different from the | | | | physical wires vibrating cannot really be reproduced by |
| acoustic piano. But, overall, do their differences add up | | | | electronic means. |
| to a lesser, or a better, instrument? | | | | • Less realistic “touch.” |
| Pros of an electronic keyboard, compared to an | | | | This is the quality of the feedback the keys give to |
| acoustic (wood and wire) piano: | | | | your fingers when you’re playing an acoustic piano. |
| • Generally, much less expensive. | | | | In an acoustic piano, there is in fact a direct mechanical |
| The top-end electronic keyboards, like the Clavinova, | | | | linkage between your finger’s motion and the |
| are still quite expensive, however. | | | | production of a note. It’s a subtle feeling, but a real |
| • Smaller, lighter, easier to store and move. | | | | one. Again, the electronic keyboards, while much |
| Again, some of the top-end keyboards are not exactly | | | | improved, still cannot fully reproduce this experience. |
| what you’d call “portable,” and certainly | | | | Do these things really matter? To some piano |
| wouldn’t fit in a closet; but are still smaller and lighter | | | | teachers, they do. I know one piano teacher who |
| than even upright pianos. | | | | insists that her students obtain a “real” piano for |
| • Not as sensitive to environmental conditions. | | | | home practice, and won’t accept them as students |
| You don’t have to be as picky about where you | | | | if they plan to use an electronic one. |
| place it. Temperature, humidity, heating & cooling vents, | | | | For many beginning students, the subtleties of tone and |
| outside walls… No need to be concerned about these | | | | touch will be lost on them. And, for students who want |
| when deciding where to put your electronic keyboard. | | | | to move on to contemporary music, such as a rock |
| • Less expensive to own, going forward. | | | | band, the electronic keyboard is quite well accepted in |
| Does not need to be tuned, adjusted, or otherwise | | | | these genres. Later, if you end up performing in places |
| maintained by a technician on a regular basis. | | | | where you don’t know if the venue will have a |
| • Less bothersome to people other than the pianist. | | | | piano, or what condition or tuning it will be in, you might |
| Can be played in “silent” mode, so as not to | | | | like to have a more movable instrument, so you can |
| disturb the neighbors. (Usually, the player wears | | | | take it with you. You can’t exactly schlep an |
| headphones to hear herself practice.) | | | | acoustic piano around in the back of your minivan. |
| • Versatile in the sounds it can produce. | | | | On the other hand, if you really stick with your piano |
| Can reproduce the sound of a wide range of | | | | studies, eventually these issues of tone and touch will |
| instruments, not just the piano. This can come in handy | | | | matter to you. When that happens, are you going to |
| in an ensemble. | | | | want to purchase a second instrument? |
| • Recordable. | | | | All of these issues need to be considered before you |
| The top-end keyboards can be programmed to | | | | make your purchase. In the end, only you – in |
| “remember” a performance and replay it at the | | | | consultation with your own piano teacher – can |
| touch of a button. This can be helpful, for example, if | | | | decide which instrument to buy in order to reach your |
| you want to accompany yourself singing, but are not | | | | goals as a pianist. |
| quite sure you’re ready to sing and play at the | | | | This article is written by Yoke Wong . She has |
| same time. | | | | published a series of piano courses , free piano |
| Why do some piano teachers consider electronic | | | | lessons, piano sheet music , and many piano playing |
| keyboards inferior to acoustic pianos? | | | | articles. |
| Here are some of the Cons that make them say so: | | | | |