Do I need a keyboard with weighted keys?

From making it easier to transition between the keyboard and a piano, to helping you develop essential finger strength and dexterity, to learning to accurately control dynamics, a weighted key keyboard is a must-have.

sagemusic.co - The Importance of Weighted Keys - Sage Music | Piano, Voice, Guitar ...

How fast is Rap God?

4.28 words per second "Rap God" by Eminem (USA) packs 1,560 words into a fast and furious 6 min 4 sec – that's a tongue-twisting average of 4.28...

Last updated Jan 16, 2018

Is one piano lesson a week enough?

One piano lesson a week is enough for most people. In some cases, more than one lesson per week can be recommended. For example, a second lesson...

Last updated Jul 10, 2021

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

Weighted Keys for a Keyboard

When you’re taking piano lessons, practicing at home is an essential step in becoming a better musician. But purchasing a full-size piano to practice on at home isn’t just expensive, it also requires a lot of space that you might not have. Luckily, quality keyboards with weighted keys can closely simulate the feel of playing a real piano, and they’re both small enough and affordable enough to be a practical option for home practice. When you buy a keyboard, you’ll need to understand the different types of weighted keys, why they matter, and how to choose the instrument that’s right for you.

Understanding Weighted Keys

When you play a piano, you need to push the keys with enough force to send a hammer into two or three strings. When the hammer strikes those strings, the note sounds. A lever system connects each key to each hammer, and it gives the keys a feeling of weight. If you’ve ever played a keyboard without weighted keys, then you’ll know that the absence of the weighted feeling of a genuine piano can be confusing to you at first. Keyboard keys are designed to spring right back up, and they can be depressed with less force than you need when playing a piano. This can make for a problem if you’re going back and forth between a keyboard and a piano, specifically if you’re practicing on a keyboard at home and then need to play on a piano in your music lessons or during a performance. The adjustment between the two very different keys is difficult to make, and can affect your finger and dynamic control because they feel very different.

The Benefits of Weighted Keys

Weighted keys on keyboards make them feel much more like a traditional piano, so the adjustment as you move between instruments is much more minimal and easier to make. Weighted keys make for more effective practicing, and can help you to develop appropriate finger strength and dexterity. All of these factors make you a better overall musician. Keyboards equipped with weighted keys have other benefits, too. They are portable and they don’t need tuning, making them more versatile than pianos. You can use headphones to practice so that you don’t disturb others, meaning you can practice in more locations and more times of day. Plus, if you use sealed headphones, this can help to prevent distractions as you practice, making you more productive.

The Types of Weighted Keys

Did ACDC use autotune?

Veteran rockers AC/DC exploded onto the stage performing their classic hit from 1979 “Highway to Hell”. Not only did they nail it without the...

Last updated May 15, 2020

Can 61 keys play classical music?

You can play some classical music with 61-keys. Early pianos were based on the harpsichord which had only 60 keys. This means that you can play...

Last updated Mar 29, 2020

Promotion

Weighted keys fall into three main categories: Semi-weighted, Hammer action keyboards and graded weighting. We don’t recommend semi-weighted keyboards for piano practice. The keys are made more resistant by springs, and don’t feel enough like real piano keys to earn our approval. Stick to either hammer action, or graded action keys. Hammer action keyboards are built with a mechanism that replicates the feel of the hammer action in a piano. As you depress the keys, you’ll feel resistance designed to feel as similar to a real piano as possible. Different manufacturers have different mechanism types and different feels. Graded hammer action, sometimes just called graded action, is similar to hammer action in that the keys are made to be resistant and to feel similar to those on a piano. With graded weighting, though, the keys on the lower end of the register will have a heavier feel, and the keys on the higher end of the register will have a lighter feel. This more closely mimics the actual resistance that you’ll find in a piano than you will find in hammer action keys.

Purchasing a Weighted Keyboard

Keyboards with weighted keys are well worth the investment for piano students. They’re an essential investment in your music education and will contribute to your development as a musician. Keyboards with weighted keys will cost more than a keyboard without weighted keys, but the benefits far outweigh the price difference. From making it easier to transition between the keyboard and a piano, to helping you develop essential finger strength and dexterity, to learning to accurately control dynamics, a weighted key keyboard is a must-have. While your keyboard will be an investment, it’s still less expensive than it would be to purchase a quality piano. When it’s time for you to buy a keyboard, be sure to consult with your music teacher. You’ll have many different keyboards to choose from, and they’re equipped with different weighted key systems, different key action, and different features. The best way to find the right keyboard for you is to get the advice of your teacher who can help you choose the right instrument based on your needs, and your musical goals. A quality keyboard will last you for years, so it’s absolutely worth it to save up in order to buy an instrument that will serve you well.

sagemusic.co - The Importance of Weighted Keys - Sage Music | Piano, Voice, Guitar ...

How long does it take to be able to play piano?

To play piano well takes between 4 to 6 years of practice to be considered a good piano player, somewhere between the level of beginner and expert,...

Last updated Nov 20, 2018

Does Walmart cut chip keys?

Does Walmart fix broken car keys? No. The key copy kiosks at Walmart are designed to create key duplicates, but they are not equipped to fix broken...

Last updated Jan 9, 2018

Promotion

Is Yousician good for beginners?

It's easy to be sniffy about Yousician, particularly if you take your playing seriously. However, for those that require practice time to be fun –...

Last updated Apr 7, 2022

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

Promotion

How to look sexier?

Here are 40 tips to be more sexy almost immediately. Always Make Eye Contact. ... Focus on Dynamic Attractiveness. ... You've Got A Brain—Use It!...

Last updated Jan 21, 2020