Piano Keyboards and Alternatives

It is a sad fact that fewer and fewer people seem to have real acoustic pianos in their homes these days. I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a home with an acoustic piano – an upright given to the family by a great uncle.

Partly this is due to cost and lack of space, partly the appalling lack of sound insulation in modern homes and no doubt in part due to the plethora of alternative ways of bringing music into the home.

I would like to see all pupils have a real piano at home to practise on, or at least a good electronic alternative i.e. one with a weighted keyboard. I don’t object to students starting on a smaller keyboard, maybe one with sprung keys, especially small children who will no doubt find the weight of the keys on a full size piano difficult to cope with. (I also object to small children being confronted with a grand piano in examinations!). However, if you really want to progress, it is essential to have a good keyboard.

Fortunately, there are now many good alternatives to the traditional acoustic piano. I own 2 which have great piano sounds, keyboards with a proper ‘weighted’ feel and are still light enough to be considered portable - for a grown man anyway. Unfortunately I can’t mention the makes in this article as this would be advertising.

There are of course many more permanent models which look more like pieces of furniture or even real pianos. They also have the great advantage that the student can practice with headphones or with the volume turned down low – or even off completely.

Students should be aware that the plastic sprung keyboards on the cheaper models may eventually lead to bad piano technique and make it difficult to play fluently.  I play both piano and a variety of keyboards but I learnt on a real piano first.

I sympathize with parents who do not have space for, or cannot afford a real piano and wish that all schools could have several good keyboards on which students could practice without disturbing anyone else. Maybe one day!