Keyboard vs Digital Piano: Difference and Comparison

A piano is an acoustic instrument with strings and is played by using hammers to strike the strings.

These hammers are controlled by pressing keys on a keyboard, whereas a digital piano replicates the functionality and feel of an acoustic piano with some additional features.

Key Takeaways

1. Keyboards are electronic instruments with various sounds and features, while digital pianos aim to replicate the feel and sound of an acoustic piano.
2. Digital pianos have weighted keys for a more realistic playing experience, whereas keyboards have lighter, non-weighted keys.
3. Keyboards are more portable and affordable than digital pianos, making them suitable for beginners and casual players.

Keyboard vs Digital Piano

A keyboard is a portable electronic musical instrument that can produce a variety of sounds and features, and they have smaller keys and fewer built-in features. A digital piano is a larger, more sophisticated instrument that sounds more like an acoustic piano and has weighted keys and other features that mimic the experience of playing an acoustic piano.

A keyboard is made up of keys and uses individual keys, and those keys correspond to notes that the musician plays to create music.

These notes are called white keys on a piano, as opposed to black keys, which represent natural sounds like drums and grunting.

Digital pianos are a relatively new phenomenon in music. They have evolved with technological innovation and convenience, which has forced the piano to change drastically.

Digital pianos have a note range that is quite large. The range of the notes they produce is also quite wide.

Moreover, it depends on the model.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Keyboard	Digital Piano
Definition	The keyboard is an instrument that uses individual keys that correspond to notes.	A Digital piano is a keyboard instrument that uses an electronic sensor.
Key Quantity	The keyboard has less quantity of keys.	A Digital piano has more quantity of keys.
Key Quality	The keys do not allow a player to feel anything when pressing them down.	The keys allow a player to feel and hear resistance when they press down on them.
Migratability	The keyboard can be migrated.	A Digital piano cannot be migrated.
Body Mass	The keyboard is feathery with little masses.	A Digital piano is loaded with stout mass.
Cost	It is low-priced.	It is high-priced.

What is a Keyboard?

A Keyboard is intended mostly for playing at home, where it is commonly used in classical music and jazz.

Moreover, players can take it with them to play it in different places because it’s feathery and lightweight. Moreover, a Keyboard will have either 61 or 76 non-weighted keys that do not allow you to feel anything when you press them down.

It is used in a variety of musical styles and settings.

The Keyboard is divided into various regions called pitch classes. Each region has a distinct voicing that determines the timbre of each note, as well as its volume.

The division of the Keyboard into pitch classes makes it possible to alter the volume of different pitches and also change the timbre of a note. This is accomplished by striking one or more hammers against the strings.

The Keyboard also weighs almost nothing, which makes them portable and easy to learn. It is a solid wood block with heavy metal strings that move back and forth over a hammer attached to the wooden soundboard.

The player strikes these strings using a combination of hands and feet on the Keyboard’s wooden keys. The Keyboard uses individual keys.

As a result, it is beneficial because it saves time, space, and money.

What is Digital Piano?

A Digital piano is an electronic keyboard instrument that works by using its system of sensors, which can detect hearing and touch, along with a microprocessor to detect notes.

The sensor technology behind digital pianos is made up of three main components accelerometers which use the instrument’s motion, magnetometers that use a magnetic compass

to help instruments differentiate between north and south on a computer.

And newer technology like gyroscopes uses spinning devices to track speed.

A Digital piano is a keyboard instrument that uses electronic sensors to detect the user’s playing and interpret velocity, tonal color, and timbre to respond in various ways.

It uses sensors that allow the instrument to play by sensing sounds, but the digital piano has a computer that converts those notes into music.

A Digital piano will almost always have keys that are fully weighted. These keys are what allow a player to feel and hear resistance when they press down on them.

Moreover, Most Digital pianos have a proper physical keyboard. It’s situated on the left side of the instrument and can be split into two parts to make playing easier.

The left covers lower keys, while the right covers higher ones.

Main Differences Between Keyboard and Digital Piano

1. The Keyboard is an instrument that uses individual keys that correspond to notes, whereas a Digital piano is a keyboard instrument that uses an electronic sensor.
2. The Keyboard has less quantity of keys, whereas a Digital piano has more quantity of keys.
3. The Keyboard can be migrated, whereas a Digital piano cannot be migrated.
4. The Keyboard is feathery with little masses, whereas a Digital piano is loaded with stout mass.
5. The Keyboard is low-priced, whereas, Digital piano is high-priced.
6. The keyboard key quality does not allow a player to feel anything when pressing the keys down, whereas, Digital piano key quality allows a player to feel and hear resistance when they press down on them.

References

1. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5397780/
2. https://search.proquest.com/openview/558afcc328fa3c6224b0c49db123dc9f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40811
3. https://search.proquest.com/openview/a13ac6ea118f0314b401560d45a20f50/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41438

Last Updated : 18 June, 2023