Digital piano
Some people are puzzle by how headphones can be associated with a piano.
My hybrid piano is a full-sized 88-key Yamaha that looks rather like an acoustic upright piano, but rather more like a grand piano which has had it back end cut off!
It has the sound, touch and feel of a grand piano. It has built-in speakers, and a headphone jack, and the keys are weighted, so that the action replicates that of a standard piano.
It has no strings, so how does it create music? High-quality sample recordings of real grand pianos are played back when a key is depressed.
It comes with two grand piano ‘voices,’ and other keyboard sounds, like a harpsichord. Using external software, like Pianoteq, connected to a computer, I can ‘play’ a selection of grand pianos, for example, a Steinway, and a Grotrian Concert, among several others.
It is possible to record on it. That would be a useful feature for someone intent on improving their performance, for external examination or recital. My playing is strictly for my ears only. I enjoyed accompanying children singing, but never played solo.
It feels quite different to my old acoustic piano. The keys on that felt heavy and clunky, and required a kind of ‘hammering’ to produce any sound. Subtle and smooth of action it was not!
As the Yamaha is digital, it does not need to be tuned, and that is definitely a bonus.
You are multi talented :) I used to be, but old age reduced the talents one by one :(
ReplyDeleteThe talents are still there for you - they just need a bit of a poke.
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ReplyDeleteI figured it was digital, but it seems like pretty high end. It must be great to play on it.
ReplyDeleteIt feels wonderful.
DeleteNo tuning, but perhaps software updates...that may or may not go well.
ReplyDeleteThe Pianoteq needs to be updated periodically, and some pianos need firmware updates.
DeleteThat’s fascinating! Thanks for explaining.
ReplyDelete😊
DeleteI have never heard of a digital piano and reading of the headphones in the previous piano post I assumed it was an electronic organ. I like the idea of something that doesn't need tuning, I imagine real piano tuners would be hard to find these days.
ReplyDeletePiano tuners are not easy to find and they're always booked up well in advance.
DeleteSounds very grand, even if it's a cut down one to look at.
ReplyDeleteI used to play a very old grand piano when I was teaching. It felt so nice just to sit at it.
DeleteThose Yamaha digital pianos are totally brilliant; I used to advise students to buy a decent digital if they couldn't afford ordinary ones (and NEVER 'old piano, suit beginner, free buyer collects'!)
ReplyDeleteI have a digital harpsichord as well as my trusty upright; the little harpsichord never needs tuning unlike the real ones.
The first secondhand piano we bought was a 'suit beginner' type. It was fun but pretty dreadful. We painted it white!
DeleteBeautiful music without the hammering!
ReplyDeleteBy rights, pianists should have beautifully toned arms . . .
DeleteHi Janice - music is so important to so many ... I failed at it - sad to say ... but I love listening to it. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteMusic is the background to our days.
DeleteThat makes sense. That's convenient. I never learned to play the piano.
ReplyDeleteI don';t know how many people do learn these days. Decades ago, everyone learnt, when people made their own entertainment.
DeleteHow interesting to learn about an electronic piano. I remember the old days when my mother had a very old very used upright piano. I even remember the man who carried it into the house on his back. I never learned anything about playing and I had absolutely a tin ear.
ReplyDeleteHe must have been an exceptionally strong man, to carry a piano on his back. 😕
DeleteIt would be wonderful if you could post a video or sound recording of you playing piano and singing - perhaps picking one of the more memorable songs you played for schoolchildren.
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DeleteWorking on it right now . . .
DeleteOh my…that’s very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI was forced to learn to play the piano when I was 7 years old. At first I hated it and refused to practise but I did become quite good at it. And it came in handy when I was teaching as I had a piano in my reception classroom.
My dad was very musical and incredibly, he could still play the piano even when he had dementia.
That's so interesting. Musical memory goes deep.
DeleteNever heard of a digital piano before, the features sounds unique (headphones attached to a piano). Like it's not the regular type.
ReplyDelete😊
DeleteWe have a regular piano in our home in Pennsylvania, but our Florida condo is smaller so we have a digital piano like the one you are showing. It's not quite the same but my husband likes to play so at least he has something. Thanks for explaining how it works.
ReplyDeletePlaying an instrument can be as relaxing and uplifting as a walk.
DeleteThat's pretty cool. I had a spinet piano that had a very tight register. You almost needed a hammer to bang out a tune.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha - you so often make me laugh out loud.
DeleteI had never heard of a hybrid piano. Thanks for the education.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. 😊
DeleteWhat a clever thing that is, and clever you for being able to play it, I've even forgotten how to play the Recorder!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Ohh, recorders - the bane of my life.
ReplyDeleteI want one... with the head phones so I am the only one to hear it.. thanks for sharing this, have not heard of one of these
ReplyDeleteThey're fun.
DeleteI told this to Carlos but he wants a grand piano and I keep asking where we'd put such a thing!
ReplyDeleteThis is the equivalent of a grand piano, without the look of one. I'd love a full-sized grand piano, but we'd have to move or build another extension!
DeleteWow I didn't know about digital pianos.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a digital age. I wonder what will come next.
DeleteThis is really neat!! I did not know about this kind of piano... Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you,. I am enjoying.😊
DeleteI’m definitely in the minority here, but I prefer playing and hearing an acoustic grand piano. So many who commented here had never even heard of a digital piano even though they have been around for decades. So their opinion is based on nothing except that it sounds like a good way to use technology. Call me a troglodyte, I don’t care. Digital pianos are too tinkly and artificial, even ones with weighted keys.
ReplyDeleteThere's no harm in being in the minority! 😁
DeleteThat sounds like an amazing invention for people in apartments for example where they’re playing my disturb the next-door neighbors who share walls with them. Yes, I was one of those puzzled. You’ve educated me again.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's a similar thing for drum kits?
DeleteThats an elegant looking electronic piano. By your description sounds much better than the one my FiL used to play (fortunately also wirh earphones)
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of us closet pianists around!
DeleteThat sounds very cool.
ReplyDeleteIt is, rather.
DeleteMany thanks for explaining.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
My pleasure. 😊
DeleteI have just read this and your previous post, very interesting about the need to adjust between keyboards of the piano and the computer.
ReplyDeleteMy sister has inherited our great-aunt's grand piano (she's the only family member with a living room big enough to accomodate it), and picked up lessons again some years ago (before the pandemic put a stop to them). We both learned to play in our teens but have not really "done anything" with it.
Two or three years ago, she bought a digital piano with headphones, because she does not want to disturb the neighbours (hers is the middle flat of three in a house). She likes it, but says it's not exactly the same as the old grand piano.
When O.K. and I were staying at the holiday let in September, there was an old upright piano in the corner of the large living room. Out of tune, but still playable. I sat down and let my fingers rest on the keys for a minute or so and then played a little - for the very first time in 20 years. It was amazing how well my fingers remembered what to do after the first tentative pressing of keys. O.K., who had never heard me play before, was quite impressed, which was nice :-) Usually it's the other way round (he's the musician, not me).
How splendid to inherit a grand piano, but I can understand the requirement for space! It's interesting that the musical muscle memory remains in your hands.
DeleteIt has been observed that people with dementia who have lost most communication can sing songs they used to know or use gestures used in dance.
Wow, the wonders of the digital age never cease to amaze me! xxx
ReplyDeleteThere are some clever people around making huge advances in so many fields.
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