Portable electronic reddit mechanical keyboards are a great option if you are considering taking up piano in future, but wish to get your feet wet with a much cheaper option first. Being a versatile instrument, often offering a wide range of instrumental sounds, the portable keyboard is also suitable for anyone aspiring to be a one-man band or even for composing musical scores.
There are various types of keyboards on the market today. These include: MIDI controller keyboard, digital piano and portable electronic keyboard. Most keyboards typically feature common advantages over an acoustic piano, such as the ability to plug in headphones, the ability to record your masterful playings, and of course, not needing any kind of tuning at all.
A MIDI controller keyboard is simply a keyboard which requires a connection to your computer or a sound synthesizer module in order to actually generate sounds. It is a great option if you’re on an especially tight budget, as the fact that it does not produce sound on its own cuts down on the costs significantly.
The ubiquitous portable keyboard (also known as electronic keyboard, music keyboard) typically does not come with the full set of 88 piano keys, which differentiates it from digital pianos. Typical models come with 61 or 76 keys. This usually should not matter much unless you are taking advanced piano lessons, as most beginner tunes will be playable on 61 keys. Such keyboards do not usually feature weighted keys and instead feel plastic or rubbery. This is usually used as a point against electronic keyboards as a substitute for learning the piano, as the difference in touch can lead to development of bad habits. Nonetheless, many have made the transition successfully from playing on an electronic keyboard to performing on a digital or acoustic piano. As long as the player understands that true piano keys will naturally feel heavier, and opts for a more expensive keyboard with weighted keys when he or she is ready, this will not be much of an issue. In addition, many of these keyboards, especially those by Yamaha and Casio, come with built-in song lessons and even lighted keys that can help a complete beginner learn to play easily. This makes it ideal for both kids as well as adult beginners.
A digital piano is essentially an electronic keyboard which tries to emulate the touch and feel of a traditional acoustic piano as realistically as possible. They come with the full set of eighty-eight piano keys, and the keys are fully-weighted, meaning they offer a similar kind of resistance that you can expect when you hit the ivory keys on acoustic pianos. Like normal portable keyboards, sound is produced electronically, but you can often expect higher quality, more realistic tones in the higher-end digital pianos. Digital pianos often feature fewer varieties of instrumental tones than portable keyboards, even though they cost more (after all, the focus is to emulate the acoustic piano, and having more instrumental tones simply add to the cost unnecessarily). Digital pianos can be of the portable kind, or they might fully mimic the aesthetics of an upright piano, complete with wood finish. The latter will typically cost more.
If you’re looking for an instrument to test waters with before taking up expensive piano lessons, consider investing in a portable electronic keyboard. A typical basic model makes learning fun with its wide range of instrumental sounds as well as built-in song lessons.
