Common features to keep in mind when buying a Keyboard :
Keyboard
– The Beginners Guide
Learning to play the Keyboard is one of the most relaxing activities which enhance one ’ s musical knowledge and performance . Given the huge number of brands and models available in the market , it is imperative to have a clear understanding of each aspect and choose the right one which would suit your style of playing . To make things simpler , let us split the process into 5 steps : -
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1 . Common features in any keyboard 2 . Knowing your purpose 3 . Types of Keyboard 4 . The Go-To type for beginners 5 . The big decision
Common features to keep in mind when buying a Keyboard :
• Number of Keys :
There are numerous keyboards with a varying number of keys ranging from as low as 13 to as high as 88 just like an acoustic piano . Choosing the correct number of keys depends on many factors like space restrictions , cost and the genre ( s ) of music that you will be playing . If you are a beginner and learning music from scratch , the recommendation would be to go for a 61 Key Instrument or higher .
• Polyphony :
Polyphony is the number of sounds that a Keyboard can generate at a time . Watch out for this feature as this decides the extent of instrumental arrangement that a keyboard is capable of . One should understand that polyphonic capacity doesn ’ t necessarily mean the ability to “ play ‘ n ’ number of notes ” at a time .
To understand this , let us take a simple example of the “ sustain ” effect . The sustain effect simply prolongs the sound of a note that is played , for a particular amount of time that can be customized ( say 5 seconds for instance ). Consider you are playing the strings section of a keyboard with the sustain effect switched on . When you play a 5 three fingered chords continuously within 3 seconds , the first chord that you played still has 2 seconds left to decay ( We considered the sustain effect to last for 5 seconds ), which means the keyboard is already generating 15 “ sounds ” by the 3rd second and you are hearing a thick built up sound . The number 15 is only going to increase . Once the polyphonic limit is reached , the sounds get randomly chopped off and you wouldn ’ t be able to hear all the notes that you play which in turn leads to a thinner sound . Therefore , polyphony is a very important aspect of a keyboard . Anywhere between 32-64 is a good number for a beginner .
• Dual / Multi Voice feature :
A more technical term for the above feature would be “ Multitimbrality ” which is the ability of a keyboard to play two or more different sounds at once . The “ different ” is highlighted to emphasize that multitimbrality and polyphony are two different features and are not to be confused with each other .
• Touch Sensitivity :
Also called “ velocity sensitivity ”, this feature enables the ability of a keyboard to sense the force with which a key is pressed and produce a sound or a signal accordingly . Most of the beginners level keyboard comes along with this feature while some of them even have the option to select from various “ levels ” of sensitivity . Is this feature useful ? A definite yes . Having this feature helps you convey the mood of a particular melody in a better way which in turn enhances your overall performance . Is this feature necessary ? The answer to this question completely depends on the purpose for which you want to buy the Instrument , which is discussed in the next section .
• Weighted / Semi-Weighted / Non-Weighted Keys :
Weighted keys are recommended for learners pursuing Piano or those who are already Pianists and planning to learn the keyboard . The keys require you to press them with a bit more force than the nonweighted keys , but they come back up faster on their own . Hammer action adds value to the weighted keys providing the true feel of a piano .
Weighted keys imply more weight to the full keyboard making it comparatively costlier and less portable . For the beginner , weighted keys are not compulsory and do not adversely affect one ’ s performance . However opting for one will give you an advantage when you later move to learning a Piano .