|
Acoustic and digital
technology The acoustic piano
("piano") is an entirely mechanical device, brilliantly
developed by Cristofori to overcome the
limitations of its predecessor, the harpsichord, in playing both loud and
soft sounds. Whereas, in the harpsichord, the strings are plucked, in the
piano, they are struck with hammers. It is this difference in the way sound
is produced that accounts for the greater range and potential of the acoustic
piano. The piano was improved steadily for over a hundred years, but the
design is now basically stable. There have been no major changes in the
workings of the piano in probably a 100 years or more - refinements, yes,
changes, no. Because the piano is a mechanical device composed mostly or
entirely of natural materials, whose critical properties change with
temperature and humidity, it must be tuned and maintained regularly to retain
pitch, voicing and feel. It is also subject to wear and requires occasional
repair or reconditioning in the same way that any mechanical device does. Digital pianos and
keyboards are products of the integrated circuit revolution, less than twenty
years old, and have been developing rapidly over that period. Every year, new
models cost less and do more for the same amount of money. They require
virtually no maintenance and upkeep, since they have few moving parts. Sound
generation is entirely electronic in nature and can be amplified easily to
adjust volume for any room. The history of these
instruments is important to keep in mind, since it underlies many attitudes
about them. Because the piano was developed first and had a couple of hundred
years to become a sound we're used to hearing (and also one in which many
people were trained to play), it sets the standard of sound and feel for many
people. If the digital keyboard had been developed first, we might have
acoustic piano manufacturers trying to mimic the digital keyboard. In the
end, an argument about whether the acoustic piano is "better"
than a digital piano or keyboard seems to me to have a certain sterility,
since it involves values and familiarity as much as it does factual
comparisons of advantages and disadvantages. I will not even attempt to
address these value issues here. The important question is not whether the
digital keyboard can, or even should, be a better acoustic piano than an acoustic
piano or whether the acoustic piano should be given all the capabilities of
the digital keyboard, but rather, how best to utilize the unique qualities
and values of each in piano training and learning. Advantages - digital
and acoustic Both digital and
acoustic pianos have inherent advantages and differences, which stem mostly
from their different construction. These must be considered in light of the
potential purchaser's plans and interests. A partial list of some of the
advantages of digital piano and and/or keyboards might include:
The acoustic piano has
its own advantages. Chief among these might be:
Neither of these
listings of advantages is complete. They are intended to illustrate the
differences and strengths of the two types of instruments. Sound and Feel Those of you who have
read my article, Creating Sound
and Music on the PC, know something of
how complicated it is to perfectly mimic ANY sound with an electronic device.
It simply wasn't possible within the severely limited capabilities of the
earliest 1960's synthesizers, the first electronic keyboard instruments. With
today's very powerful Digital Signal Processor "chips", the picture
has changed dramatically. With enough electronics, it's possible now to get
arbitrarily close to the sound of the piano or almost any other instrument,
especially using hardware based on wavetable DSP's, which store actual
samples of instrument timbres. The linked article has much more information
about how sound is created electronically for those who might be interested. The ability of modern
keyboards to duplicate the sound of a piano is now well within the individual
variation in the sound of acoustic pianos. For example, an acoustic Steinway
piano is generally brighter than a Mason & Hamlin; these both differ
slightly in sound from a Yamaha. When comparing a good digital piano or
keyboard's sound with that of a piano, it's very much like comparing a Yamaha
to a Steinway - a matter of personal taste. I'm not suggesting here that you
can go out and buy a digital keyboard or piano that will sound exactly
like the acoustic piano you're used to. Rather, I am saying that a good
keyboard or digital piano will sound virtually identical to many acoustic
pianos. Acoustic pianists
contend that the touch and feel of a digital keyboard or digital piano is
very different from that of an acoustic piano, since the keys are shorter and
the escapement mechanism governing the key action on acoustic pianos is not
present on most keyboards and some digital pianos. This criticism is
certainly valid for the cheapest keyboards. The touch response of the
acoustic piano can be largely duplicated these days through escapement
mechanisms built into digital pianos, though only in the more expensive
models. These are not the ones that most beginning students would be likely
to buy - unless they would be willing to spend enough to get a cheap,
off-brand acoustic piano with the same amount of money. Because the acoustic
piano's system for generating sound is entirely mechanical and depends,
ultimately, on the player to energize it through the keys, it takes more sheer finger strength to play an acoustic piano than
it does for a digital piano or keyboard. This can present some problems for
students used to playing a keyboard or digital piano, when they play an
acoustic piano. Similarly, the pedal mechanisms of keyboards and digital
pianos tend to be electronic in nature, rather than mechanical. Many teachers
indicate that this is a problem in teaching proper pedaling technique and
skills for the acoustic piano. While pedals differ somewhat from model to
model, it's fair to say that most digital piano and keyboard pedals are fewer
in number and lack the same feel as the acoustic piano pedals. Repertoire Some people,
especially those trained on the acoustic piano, feel that many aspects of the
acoustic piano repertoire simply cannot be played appropriately on a digital
piano, even less so on a small keyboard lacking the full 88 keys of a
standard piano. No doubt, there are some parts of the repertoire,
particularly Impressionist works with passages requiring both fast and light
playing, that are written for and best rendered on the acoustic piano, at
least when one compares trying to play them with limited range keyboards. Some pianists take the
position that one can't achieve as much control over the sound he produces on
a digital piano or keyboard. They argue that one must have an acoustic piano
to achieve the necessary control. This position seems to pose the question of
an acoustic piano versus a digital piano as one with a yes or no answer
regarding whether the player wants to control the sound or not. That is, if
he wants to have control over the sound he must have an acoustic piano. As
for control, I suppose that point is to be conceded if your standard for
judgment is "producing the exact sound of an acoustic piano with the
exact feel of an acoustic piano." However, if your standard takes into
account the immensely greater flexibility in sounds (even a small digital
keyboard has at least 64 MIDI "voices") that a digital piano or
keyboard can produce and its ability to be interfaced to a computer, both to
use learning software and to do composing, the question is not as black or
white in nature as the issue of "control" might make it seem to
some. A broader standard, which takes into account the full capabilities of
both the acoustic piano and the digital keyboard
might lead to a choice which is far less "binary" in nature.
Indeed, in an ideal world, pianists and students would have access to both a
good acoustic piano and a good digital keyboard or piano. Some of the same
people would suggest that digital pianos and keyboards have their
"place" - in rock or modern genres. However, digital pianos are
used in a lot more than contemporary rock. Most music in contemporary,
modern, new age, easy listening and several other genres embody and embrace
the digital piano. Many of these works can be played to excellent effect on
the acoustic piano as well. Others suggest that,
because Bach works were written for harpsichord or Rachmaninoff works for the
acoustic piano, they should only be played on those instruments, not on
digital ones. Such an approach seems to me simply to ignore both reality and
the importance of artistic expression. For example, we play Bach keyboard
works mostly on modern pianos, not Viennese pianos or the harpsichord. We do
this not because it is "right" or "wrong", but because
renditions of these works on the piano speak to us in important, if somewhat
different, ways than renditions on the instruments for which these works were
written. From an artistic standpoint, these differences can be both pleasant
and revealing. If you would like to
see a regular program featuring digital keyboards and pianos, check out Paul Todd's program on
the Angel network (carried on most cable and satellite TV). Todd is the
director of music at a large Miami church. His TV program has occasional
religious overtones, but it's content is of the
genre that I would call "fusion". It's a mixture of contemporary,
new age, classical and rock. Todd plays multiple digital keyboards at once,
putting on a virtuoso display. His program will give you a sense of the
capabilities of digital pianos, when played by a professional. Learning It makes no sense to
argue about whether a $200 digital keyboard is as "good" (for
learning or playing) as a $20,000 grand piano. They are different instruments
which happen to share enough attributes that they can be taught to some
degree in the same lessons. Today, if I had to make a decision about whether
I would spend $2000 on a digital piano or keyboard or $2000 on an acoustic
piano, I think I might choose the digital piano, just because, for the same
price, it has a greater number of capabilities (note that I did not use the
word "qualities", which is a different, and more complex, issue),
with virtually no maintenance costs. I'm sure I'd choose the keyboard if all
I had was $200 and really wanted to start piano lessons. Since most of us
learned to play on an acoustic piano, it's easy to say that it is the only
way to learn to play any keyboard instrument, through unfamiliarity with
digital keyboards. However, I believe that it's far better to have people
start lessons, even on a keyboard, than not to have them take them at all for
lack of an acoustic piano. Learning to play acoustic piano may require,
ultimately, an acoustic piano, but I think it might be elitist or misguided
to pretend that an acoustic piano, especially a poor one, is a better choice
all the time and in every case. Teaching Modern, top of
the line digital keyboards and pianos can do amazing things, both in
imitating the sound and feel of an acoustic piano and producing sounds that
an acoustic piano simply couldn't. It might be true, at least in some
circumstances, that the keyboard or digital piano isn't the perfect
instrument for learning acoustic piano, particularly with the smallest,
cheapest beginning digital keyboards. Does that really matter for the
beginning student, who is trying hard just to learn to read music and develop
the motor skills to play? While a good acoustic piano is probably preferable
from the standpoints of learning both the sound and feel of playing the
acoustic piano, a decent digital keyboard or digital piano might be a good
option for a beginning student whose ultimate level of interest and
motivation is basically unknown. It's certainly less expensive than a decent,
off-brand piano (though probably only about half the price) and one gets a
considerable number of additional capabilities. Visitors have written
us several times about their problems finding digital piano and keyboard (NOT
acoustic piano) lessons. Although acoustic pianos and digital keyboards are
NOT identical instruments, a strength for both in my
view, they share enough similarities that they can be taught to a degree in
the same lessons. A trained pianist will have to learn something about the
additional capabilities of the digital piano, while a keyboardist will have
to stress developing finger strength and pedal skills, if the student is also
to play piano, among other differences. One concern I have is
that teachers who insist that only an acoustic piano will do for lessons may
effectively put off those people who want the extra capabilities and sounds
of a good digital piano or keyboard. Digitals provide a medium for the
teacher to encourage practice, get more people in lessons,
provide opportunities for composing and much more. Ideally, teachers will
teach elements of both to students. Indeed, many teachers do just that. If
the teacher takes into account both the differences and similarities in her
teaching, she can help herself and her students. There is an opportunity for
piano teachers to broaden their student base here for a small amount of extra
effort expended in learning the capabilities of digital pianos. Teachers who
take the view that only an acoustic piano will do are missing the point and a
great opportunity. It is particularly sad if teachers take this position
simply from lack of knowledge, training or familiarity with digital
instruments. Most owners of digital
pianos or keyboards at home only use a small fraction of their capabilities,
mostly from lack of knowledge of what the keyboard or digital piano can do.
Teachers can provide a real service in helping students learn how to make
music and compose with these new tools. Teachers can't simply ignore the
"digital revolution," in light of the fact that digital
pianos now outsell acoustic pianos by a large margin in the U.S. and
world. Training students on the acoustic piano to develop strength and touch,
and also devoting some lessons to exploring the capabilities and differences
of digital pianos and keyboards, seems like the best of both worlds (if they
are different worlds) to me. Of course, if the teacher or the student has one
of the best digital grand pianos, most of the touch and sound differences
with the acoustic piano largely disappear. Although teachers are
becoming more knowledgeable, it's probably fair to say that most piano
teachers don't really know the technology well and may not know how to learn
about it. An existing
PEP article explores what MIDI is, how it originated, how it works and
some of the things it can be used for. This article will give you a sense of
the technology underlying most digital pianos and keyboards. Check out the
Teaching Studio (linked on every page on the site) for specific articles on
various aspects of technology in the teaching studio. You might also want to
look at my Music and the
Home Computer series of articles
for information on learning software and how to use it, composing packages
and how they can be applied, information on sound creation on the PC, and
lots more. For piano teacher reviews of over 60 software packages for home or
studio, see our Piano and
Software Reviews page. More than 90%
of these programs either use or require a MIDI-compatible keyboard or digital
piano. The PEP CD
has many additional full articles, abstracted here on PEP, related to
technology in the teaching studio. Roland, a manufacturer of top-line digital pianos, has a
good brochure for piano teachers which lays out some of the options for use of the digital
piano in the teaching curriculum. Pianos and lessons Whether a digital
piano or keyboard is deemed suitable for lessons depends on your interests,
your pocketbook and your teacher. If your goal is the same as most piano
students, to learn both acoustic and digital piano, you'll need both
eventually. The price of an acoustic piano is increasing steadily due to increased
labor and material costs (not to mention the price of maintaining it after
purchase), while the price of digital pianos is dropping rapidly for a given
amount of capability. Thus, it seems that digital pianos and keyboards,
especially the higher-end models, will become increasingly attractive for
those who wish to take lessons and have limited space or cash for an acoustic
piano. Most teachers of acoustic piano would say that a keyboard or digital
piano is acceptable for the first year or so of lessons, although there are
some who take the stance that an acoustic piano is a must from the beginning.
The better the quality of the digital piano you buy, the longer you can use
it in lessons. If possible, look for a full 88 keys, escapement-type action,
MIDI or other interface for computer connection, and pedals which are as
close in action to those of an acoustic piano as possible. Don't assume that
an old, lesser brand piano which needs reconditioning and/or repairing work
and has trouble holding tune is necessarily a better choice than a digital
piano or keyboard of the same price. For advice on buying both acoustic and
digital pianos, please see our page Purchasing and
Caring For a Piano or Keyboard. The future of pianos I have not tried here
to convince anybody that digital pianos and keyboards are better (or worse)
in any sense than the acoustic piano. Such an argument ignores the unique
qualities and capabilities of electronic and mechanical instruments. That
said, it's hard to ignore the advantages, both technological and pedagogical,
that digital pianos can offer - to students, teachers and accomplished
players of the acoustic piano. A love of the acoustic
piano doesn't preclude one from taking advantage of modern piano technology.
Indeed, we are fortunate that digital and acoustic pianos share enough
similarities to make learning both possible in one set of lessons. As we
consider the alternatives, it's important to keep in mind that digital pianos
already outsell acoustic pianos. Teachers who think they can ignore the
digital piano might find themselves in a bad spot in a few years. Those who
can embrace it in their teaching and studio marketing, will see their student
numbers and income grow, while discovering for themselves the creative vistas
opened by digitals. I hope, and believe,
that the acoustic piano won't go the way of the harpsichord, becoming a
footnote to the history of keyboard instruments. I also hope that we can
recognize both the differences and relative advantages of both acoustic
pianos and digital instruments and fully utilize the capabilities of each in
teaching and learning. Digital technology presents advantages for students
and teachers alike, which we would be foolish to discard out of bias,
unfamiliarity or lack of knowledge. |