Digital piano

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A modern Yamaha Clavinova CLP-470PE digital piano

A digital piano (sometimes incorrectly referred to as an electric piano) is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some digital pianos are also designed to look like an acoustic piano. While digital pianos may fall short of a real piano in feel and sound, they nevertheless have other advantages over acoustic pianos.


The following is a non-exhaustive list of advantages offered by digital pianos over acoustic pianos:[1][2]

  • Sound level can be adjusted, and headphones can be used. This allows to practice where (and when) the sound of the instrument would disturb other people.
  • Compared to acoustic pianos, digital pianos are generally less expensive and also cheaper to maintain (no regular tuning is required).
  • They are less sensitive to the room climate changes and can be used for training in places like basements.
  • They are much more likely to incorporate a MIDI implementation.
  • They may have more features to assist in learning and composition.
  • They often have a transposition feature.
  • Most models are smaller and considerably lighter, but there are large ones as well.
  • Depending on the individual features of each digital piano, they may include many more instrument sounds including strings, guitars, organs, and more.




The sounds produced by a digital piano are samples stored in ROM. The samples stored in digital pianos are usually of very high quality and made using world class pianos, expensive microphones, and high-quality preamps in a professional recording studio.[3] ROM may include multiple samples for the same keystroke, attempting to reproduce diversity observed on the real piano, but the number of these recorded alternatives is limited. Some implementations like Roland V-piano use mathematical models of the real piano [3] to generate sounds that vary more freely depending on how the keys have been struck.[3]



Many digital pianos include an amplifier and loudspeakers so that no additional equipment is required to play the instrument. Some do not. Most digital pianos incorporate headphone output.

Shape and form[edit]

Yamaha P-140S

The physical form of a digital piano can vary considerably. Most vaguely resemble a low upright piano (but usually lacking a fully enclosed lower section). Others, notably Yamaha's "GranTouch" range are based on the casework of traditional upright or grand instruments. An opposite and recent trend is to produce an instrument which has a unique and distinctive appearance, unobtainable with a conventional instrument. Yamaha makes a model which is designed to stand against a wall and is far shallower from keyboard to back than any possible upright design.

Yet another form is the "stage piano", designed for use with a live band. This type of digital piano normally makes no attempt to imitate the physical appearance of an acoustic piano, rather resembling a modern synthesizer or music workstation. A distinguishing feature of most stage pianos is a lack of internal loudspeakers and amplification - it is normally assumed that a powerful keyboard amplifier or PA system will be used.


Keyboard and pedals[edit]

Just like a traditional piano, a digital piano features a keyboard. A digital piano's keyboard is weighted to simulate the action of a traditional piano and is velocity sensitive so that the volume of the sounds depends on how hard the keys are pressed. Many instruments now have a complex action incorporating actual hammers in order to better simulate the touch of a grand piano.[4]


Other features[edit]


Digital pianos usually offer a MIDI connection, allowing them to control or be controlled by other electronic instruments and sequencers. They may also have a disk drive or other external media slot to load MIDI data, which the piano can play automatically, allowing it to function as a player piano.

Some have a built-in sequencer to aid in composition.




Some offer additional voices; common ones are string instruments, harpsichord, organs, clavichord, etc.[5]



Manufacturers continue to develop technology for both sound and feel covering a wide range of quality and cost. Well-known manufacturers of digital pianos include Yamaha, Roland, Kurzweil, Clavia, Casio, Korg, and Kawai.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Pros and Cons of Digital Pianos". Digital Piano Reviews. Retrieved 24 July 2013. 
  2. ^ Hankin, Paul (3 January 2012). "Digital Pianos Vs. Acoustic Pianos - a Piano Teachers' Perspective". Yahoo! Voices. Retrieved 25 July 2013. 
  3. ^ a b c "Roland V-Piano". Retrieved 2014-05-12. 
  5. ^ "Beyond the Acoustic Piano". Digital Piano Basics, Part 2. Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer. Spring 2012. p. 128. Retrieved 25 July 2013. 

External links[edit]
