If you have tried to play a digital piano at least once in your life or already have one at home, then here are eight things you can absolutely relate to!
1. You can play and hear the music the way the composer heard it
Did you know that J.S. Bach actually wrote many of his pieces for the harpsichord, not the piano (though they are typically played on the piano)? Digital pianos usually have this sound among the many others, so you can re-create any piece of music just the way the original composer heard and played it so many years ago. An acoustic piano, on the contrary, can only ever sound like one thing, but digital pianos can sound like any piano you can imagine!
2. You don’t spend extra money on maintenance
That’s one huge advantage, as you know that tuning instruments isn’t cheap and can cost upwards of $150 per year. Otherwise, your instrument is completely unplayable. You love your digital piano as you can switch to play in a different key with a touch of a button (makes playing in C# a whole lot easier!).
3. You can practice in absolute silence
Inspiration strikes after midnight – yet you don’t want to wake up your partner or your neighbors? You don’t need to wait until morning to record a new tune you’ve just made up, as you can plugin a set of headphones. You can dive into the process of creating with no side distractions and outside noise. Besides, when you are just learning it is essential to stay fully concentrated on the process and don’t bother others with some chords played wrong. Also, some digital pianos have twin headphone jacks, so you can play a tune privately to someone or listen together with your teacher to spot the tiniest mistakes.
4. You have more space to create
Apart from having multiple keyboard sounds, digital pianos often have other tunes like guitar, bass, and synthesizer sounds. This way, you don’t need to have a full orchestra to experiment and mix up your own melodies. Plus, you can always download and add additional tunes and sound effects from a royalty free music library to mix and mash when you are struggling to produce the right one yourself.
5. You can instantly record your performance
You don’t need to write down the tune you have created and keep a bunch of notes scattered around the house. The beauty of digital pianos is that you can tap a button and record everything you have just played and afterwards share it with whomever you like! Or, have it transcribed for you as a sheet music, so that someone else can play it too. Additionally, recording is an excellent learning tool as you can play back, pick out, and practice any problems, nipping bad playing habits in the bud before they become ingrained.
6. You develop a sense of rhythm faster
Timing is essential to playing the piano great, and often a huge issue for beginners. Your digital piano has a built-in digital metronome that can be easily adjusted to any beat and tempo with just a few clicks. This makes it easy to slow any piece down to learn and master them, and to tackle complex time signatures and other advanced concepts later on. Another benefit – you don’t need to spend extra money on buying a physical metronome!
7. You can enhance your performance with numerous apps
We live in the digital age and the beauty of it is that there’s an app to help you with pretty much everything. The coolest digital piano models have touch screens where you can display digital sheet music as well as interactive exercises and fun games. Also, with apps, there’s no need to stop and flip a page like while you are playing from a sheet! You can install one on your tablet, so that it “listens” as you play and will automatically switch to the next page when you reach the last bar. Roland has a great selection of apps for digital piano players! Currently, most of them are for iOS devices only.
8. You still have a lot of room at home
Yes, having a grand piano in your living room is somewhat posh, however if you rent out a small flat, having half of the living space occupied by the instrument isn’t that cool. Digital pianos offer the same big sound out of a surprisingly compact item that can be easily transported without paying a tiny fortune to the movers!
