Practising on an electric piano

[persona]

I've read on other topics people saying that the Yamaha Clavinova emulates an acoustic piano very well. So, if I buy this electric piano and practice only on it, will I be able to play an acoustic one without having to start learning the technic all over again?

[tac-tics]

As long as the keys are weighted, you should be able to transfer 99% of what you learn to an acoustic. I started on a spring-weighted keyboard, though, and those are really not helpful for piano.

[gyzzzmo]

Dont worry too much, the digital piano's of yamaha have enough weight to be able to techicly train on like an acoustic one.

[gyzzzmo]

Musically, ofcourse, is an other story

[persona]

gyzzzmo and tac-tics:
Thanx so much for your answers!
I'm not concerned about the sound actually. All I want is to be able to practice and eventually, if I have the possibility to play in public, then borrow an acoustic piano or something. I don't know what you mean by "spring- weighted", but I have been practising on a regular keyboard (with no weight at all) and it's definitely not possible to transfer what you can play there to an actual piano without practising again the technic.
Anyway, thanx again for your answers (given so unexpectedly fast). I'll try to find myself a nice Yamaha then.

[barnowl]

You won't regret getting a Clavinova. but a word of warning...

I recently bought one and almost immediately settled into hours of practicing while wearing earphones. Ended up with a whopping case of tinnitus - ringing (or noise)  in the ears. I asked the sales rep about this matter before I bought, and he assured me there was no danger. Right.

What seemes to happen is, you've got those earphones very close to your eardrums. The sound waves, particularly those in the higher frequencies have considerable energy, even when you have the volume set to very low (as I did). Those waves hit your ears and can wreak havoc.

So, I suggest yoiu don't even buy earphones. You control the volume just like a radio. Turn it way down if someone's sleeping, or you're practicing scales or anything else that might bother your house mates - or even your neighbors.

My wife hits the sack around 9pm. I can keep on hacking away. The piano's in the living room, just down the hall, yet, she hears nothing.

As for the sound...

It's very good in my estimation. (I have a CLP 270.) Add to that, the features that enable you to practice more efficiently than you can on an acoustic piano, and you'll never regret owning a Clavinova. Later, when your ship comes in, you can buy that Imperial Bosendorfer you've been slavoring for. 

BTW, C.C. Chang, author of Fundamentals of Piano Practice, owns a Steinway and a digital piano. He told me he doesn't play the Steinway anymore. That might be an exaggeration on his part for all I know, but I'm certain he's happy with his digital. Fact is, he urged me to buy one. So I did.

If you follow suit, I hope you love yours as well.

[shoshin]

I've read on other topics people saying that the Yamaha Clavinova emulates an acoustic piano very well. So, if I buy this electric piano and practice only on it, will I be able to play an acoustic one without having to start learning the technic all over again?

Only thing  you will have to learn is the "touch" of the real piano. But your fingerwork and stuff should transfer just fine.  In fact, it might actually be better to learn a song starting on a electronic weighted keyboard because you can put the sensitivity high and work out the fingering without having to force out the sound from hitting the keys as hard.

[barnowl]

And how about this set of features in your Yamaha...

Suppose you're assigned a piece. You download a midi file of it into your computer and upload (if that's the term) it into your digital p.

You listen to the midi a couple-three times, then settle into learning the piece hands apart. Now you play the midifile again, except you block out the left hand of the midifile, and you then play the left hand along with the midi's right hand. Repeat playing the left hand.

Tempo too fast? No problema, persona!! You simply hit a key to slow it down to whatever's comfortable, and with continued practice you gradually increase it, until you're playing a tempo. There's a built-in metronome, too. (Just audio for my model 270, so I use a little Seiko, mostly.)

As for regulating touch, shoshin probably has it right.

I haven't developed a sophisticated feel for this area as yet but in my unit, the change didn't seem very apparent when I tried upping the sensitivity to the max. But this was around Easter, after I'd just bought it. Haven't messed with it since and that feature is currently set at the factory default .

Also, when I went for my first lesson two weeks ago, the acoutic's action seemed a lot lighter than mine. (I'll have a better idea when I go back this afternoon for Lesson 2.)

[pianogrl815]

I have a weighted keyboard that was like $800 at our coast home, and I never practice on it.
I believe its better to purchase an okay upright. Some stores will even put the money you spent on your first piano toward your second so its easier to upgrade to a grand. i have a friend who did that. I lived with a family piano for five years, and now have a Baldwin grand, and it was totally worth the wait.
just some ideas.
pianogrl

[persona]

Thanx for all your responses. I didn't think I would get any other. That's it, I'll get the electric piano then. And concerning the earphones, I currently use them, and at a very high volume. I'll stop it right now if you say it's so unhealthy.

[berrt]

And concerning the earphones, I currently use them, and at a very high volume. I'll stop it right now if you say it's so unhealthy.

The volume is all that matters, speakers or phones. Just turn it down reasonably.

[bearzinthehood]

As long as you are not using headphones that sit directly in your ear canal, the frequency response of your headphones will not differ significantly from that of a more distant sound source like a loudspeaker or piano.  The issue with headphones is that they are capable of producing much louder sounds than average stereo setups and at much lower distortion levels.  Because of the ear's psychoacoustic tendency to associate distortion with volume, it is much more common for people to unknowingly listen to sounds that are too loud with headphones.

[gorbee natcase]

Musically, ofcourse, is an other story

I agree 100%. they are usefull for practicing on but don't sound, feel, and even look as good as the real thing you will become aware of this once you purchase one, and learn a piece to any reasonable level, and then listen to a recording of the same piece on an accoustic, it almost breaks your heart. I have both a clavinova at my house and a Bechstein at my parents. To be completely honnest If you are in the maket for a piano get a decsent accoustic

Clavinovas are too bright and lack the pearlyness of sound that you get from an accoustic. Dont get me wrong they are great instruments, but I would want access to the real thing as well.

Go into a dealership and test them for yourself. Even a good upright will out perform the digital

[jas]

I've had a Yamaha clavinova for almost 5 years and it's been great. No tuning, no hassle... I wouldn't perform on one because as gorbee said, its sound is brighter than an acoustic piano so you can hear a slight difference, but for practising it's ideal because it's smaller than an acoustic and you can plug in headphones if you want to practise at night. Mine has helped my playing far more than the acoustic I had before it. Though that could be because that one was falling to pieces.
Anyway, I've had no problems at all with mine (except when I spilled tea on the keyboard - don't do that), so I'd say go for it.

Jas

[Ruro]

Can I ask a question that is slightly off topic?

I have a Yamaha Clavinova myself, and I find when practising without earphones, my fingers hitting the keys can incredibly noisey. I'm wondering if this is a result of having the Clavinova too quiet? I mean.. I guess it is the case... it is actually very seldom I practise on an Acoustic of any sort, and perhaps I'm underestimating how loud one is?

Maybe half the time I'm playing with the force I do, would actually produce a noise fest on an acoustic O_o They need to add a marker on the Volume Slider to indicate an Acoustics approximate sound output or summit!

Would also explain why I hear this pain in the butt "Electrical Piercing" sound when I play the middle and higher registers ¬_¬

Thanks in advance

[kit_moc]

Go to

https://www.yamaha-europe.com/yamaha_europe/uk/10_musical_instruments/50_clavinova/10_clp_series/10_clp_series/index.html

and read up about the clavinova range.

Go to

https://www.yamaha-europe.com/yamaha_europe/uk/service/040_downloads/10_downloads_product_related/10_download_products/

to see the clivinova in action, its played by a guy called Peter Barrtmans and it sounds amazing!