Digital Piano Keyboard Polyphony

Polyphony is the playing of notes simultaneously.  To emulate the acoustic piano, the digital piano keyboard should have at least 32 polyphony.  Digital pianos use algorithms to determine which notes to drop off if the max note count is reached and they will often pick notes that could be dropped without being noticed. If you are getting a new digital piano keyboard, because they are so much lower in price now, you may be able to get a larger polyphony for an affordable price.  Use your judgement to determine the amount of polyphony you will need for the types of pieces you will be playing on your digital keyboard.   Remember that the more complex the musical piece, the more polyphony you may need. 

You may elect to play your music in stereo. Thinking in these terms, playing one note may produce two recorded sounds playing at the same time to emulate the sound of an acoustic piano.  As this occurs, you use 2  polyphony notes for every key turning what a 32 note polyphony into a 16 note polyphony digital keyboard.  For this reason you may want to consider a higher polyphony if you intend playing in stereo often. 

If you record multiple tracks as you play you must take into consideration that each track contributes to your maximum polyphony.  The more tracks you record the more polyphony you are using.  You will need about 128 polyp0hony if you use layering effects.

Differences of the Digital Keyboard vs. Acoustic Piano

The digital piano keyboard sits on a stand or can be incorporated in a digital piano shell like that of the grand piano.  It has 88 full length keys that on touch can be made to feel like the same pressure of keys as the grand piano with lighter pressure on the treble cleff and more pressure on the bass.  The keyboard range is usually the same as the piano which is A0-C8. 

The digital piano is versatile in that it can be played in many styles, i.e. grand piano, harpsichord, strings, jazz and pipe organ as well as the more traditional styles of the piano which are classical, jazz and blues.  Of course, most of your classical pianists prefer the acoustic piano over the digital piano keyboard.

The size and weight of the digital piano is considerably lighter than the acoustic piano.  It can be carried around, it is portable, where the acoustic piano is too heavy to be carried everywhere.  The acoustic piano is large and cumbersome.

Periodically the piano will need cleaned of dusted and tuned.  An acoustic piano should be tuned at least 2x a year because the strings can become lose or too tight and cause an out of tune key when the hammer hits a string.  It is best to keep the piano away from sunlight, vents and windows avoiding things that would cause it to get warmer or cooler and affect the tuning of the piano.  The digital keyboard is never tuned because the sounds are in a program written to sound like a given style.   The acoustic piano must be kept in a room with  stable temperatures and humidity. 

Digital piano keyboards are less expensive than an acoustic piano and therefore more affordable for the beginning student of piano. 

Whichever you choose, be aware that both can be made to look the same aesthetically.  Today piano shells are made for the digital piano keyboard that make it look very similar to a grand piano or baby grand.

Amplifying the Digital Piano Keyboard

Most of the digital keyboards on the market do have amplifiers built in, but if yours does not, you will want to purchase one or two depending on your needs.  You will want a small amplifier of 15-20 watts for a small area.  You might also want to purchase an amplifier if you are going to be playing in large rooms or concert areas so that you can be heard all the way to the back row.  The larger your audience, the more power you should have behind your amplifier.  The more wattage you have in your amplifier, the louder it is and the more clear it sounds. You will usually need about 140-200 watts to be heard over the rest of the band instruments.  It is important to note however, that the more powerful your amplifier, the more it points to the weaknesses of your digital keyboard. This may be something you want to consider when buying your keyboard so that you don't purchase under what you are going to need.

Amplifiers are used to amplify digital keyboards, synthisizers and digital pianos. They usually contain a large woofer for bass sound and a horn or tweeter for the treble sound making the sounds more clear sounding to the audience. In most cases, the smaller the better for an amplifier because you will have to carry it around with your keyboard.  Amplifiers can get heavy. 

For most digital keyboard users, the simplet tone controls of treble and bass will be enough.  There are a few that will need the higher multiband control EQs which is also available.  So again, it depends on your needs as to what EQ you will need.

If you are strapped and cannot pay for an amp and your keyboard doesn't have one, you could try hooking in to your home sound system which will also give you some quality sound.

Last, but certainly not least, you want to stay away from the guitar amplifier.  The frequencies of the guitar amp are much lower than what you will need for your digital keyboard.  Your keyboard has a full frequency range and needs its own amplifier.  For more information about amplifiers and digital piano keyboards, click here.

Facts About the Digital or Electronic Keyboard

The digital piano keyboards are usually used by those who are either learning to play the piano or is already an acoustical pianist and desires something a bit portable to take on trips for practice purposes and of course, other reasons.  There are some characteristics you may want to consider prior to buying a digital piano so that you can make the absolute right choice and meet your needs in a piano.

Digital pianos usually come with 88 keys like the acoustic piano.  The difference is that with the acoustic piano, small felt hammers hit strings that vibrate or resonate the sound and with digital pianos you have samples or recordings of strings or soundboard sound.  The keys strike electronic contacts.  So the sound board is replaced by the amplifier and speakers of an electronic piano or digital keyboard.

When playing a digital piano, the sound should resonate, it should sound like the acoustical piano and have a weighted keyboard which means it might have lighter feeling keys in the treble and heavy feeling keys in the bass.  If you practice play a digital piano you are interested in and your hands feel sore afterwards, the action on the keys might be too heavy for your hands which is definitely something you want to consider when you are purchasing.  You want to feel comfortable playing your keyboard and you want it to feel exactly like playing the acoustic piano.

Pay attention to the polyphony or simultaneous notes played.  The better keyboard will play 128 notes of polyphony.  You may not need that however, depending on your purpose for use of the keyboard.  The more polyphony you have, the more voices you have or notes.  Mor complicated pieces or songs require more voices or notes.  If you are playing a complicated song with less than 128 notes, the notes may cut off on you.  You can purchase a mid price 128 note keyboard from Yamaha or Roland usually.

The price of a good digital keyboard can usually range from $2,000.00 to $4,000.00 dollars.  The price always depends on the quality of sound and responsiveness of keyboard action.  There are extras like metronomes, sequencers, and voices that will add to the cost. 

Play many different keyboards to decide the sound you want and keyboard action.  Once you decide what is best for you, your purchase should satisfy your needs.

An Introduction - Digital Piano Keyboards

The beauty of the digital keyboard lies within types of music played, the size of the keyboard and features and quite frankly, the sound.  This blog is a discussion of the digital keyboard and its pros and cons.  Our intent here is to answer some of your questions to give you a better idea of  digital piano keyboards so that you can be clear about what you need when you go to purchase.  If you have further questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.