Piano and keyboard, two different things???

[faa2010]

I have been playing piano for almost 8 years, and I know the basic things on theory of music.

However, I am also interested in playing keyboard, is the stuff I've got from learning piano the same for playing keyboard or is it something different?

[stevebob]

Assuming piano is an acoustic piano and keyboard is an electronic device, the answer likely depends on what you mean by "stuff" and what you wish to do with a keyboard.

Music theory is music theory regardless of the musical instrument, but all aspects of it aren't equally relevant to all instruments or musical genres.  A musician who plays classical doesn't need to know much beyond how to read and interpret the components of printed notation; a piano player doesn't need to read the C-clefs fluently; an improviser probably needs to know a whole lot about the elements of harmony, notably chords and how to voice them; an arranger or composer probably needs transposition and orchestration skills.

Those are just a few examples I can think of.  I don't have a clue what goes into activities like playing by ear, how digital instruments are implemented or other "stuff" that's not even on my radar. 

[timothy42b]

Assuming piano is an acoustic piano and keyboard is an electronic device, the answer likely depends on what you mean by "stuff" and what you wish to do with a keyboard.

Just making a guess here.

As a performance vehicle the keyboard can do so much that an acoustic cannot:  change of voices, various accompaniments including chords, arpeggios, and rhythms; set patterns and fills stored in memory, etc. 

Occasionally I've heard someone who makes good use of this, and I think they're mostly self taught.  Next time I run into one of them I intend to ask for a lesson. 

[peterjmathis]

Aspects of it will be the same, but keyboards have extra sounds and such for you to learn. If you've already been playing piano for that long, you can probably just mess around with the different options and see what you like/don't like.

[nystul]

The music theory is the same, and of course the key layout and the notes are the same.  If you are thinking of a digital piano with tones like Rhodes pianos and organs, it's virtually identical to playing a piano.

But if you get into synths, there are potentially new techniques to learn and different ways to think about things.  These probably aren't things you spend years studying with a tutor.  It's just a matter of being creative and willing to experiment with and adapt to the number of sounds available to you.  For example, you could be playing a string melody with your right hand, and your left hand might be using controls to change the amount of vibrato or bend the pitch on certain notes.  Some synths have a monophonic style where only one note at a time will make sound, and you can do interesting things like having the pitch slide from note to note.  Some sounds take time to develop, so then you would want to play with a slow style and not a bunch of running scales.  There might be functions where you hold down a chord and the synth turns it into a preplanned arpeggio sequence.  And of course, the ability to design your own sounds is a completely different world.

[banana-]

By keyboard do you mean:
Digital piano: in that case they shouldn't be very different. Digital piano's are made to resemble a real piano as much as possible. They have weighted keys, a pedal, and can go from ppp to fff.
Keyboard: in that case, no. Keyboards have smaller keys (narrower). They have less keys. They dont have a dynamics range, the sound is always forte. Transition to a keyboard/synthesizer will be easier with piano experience, but since the keys are so narrow, it will not be pleasant to play on.

[nystul]

Keyboard: in that case, no. Keyboards have smaller keys (narrower). They have less keys. They dont have a dynamics range, the sound is always forte. Transition to a keyboard/synthesizer will be easier with piano experience, but since the keys are so narrow, it will not be pleasant to play on.

Most keyboards and synths have full size keys.  Most keyboards and types of synths where it would be appropriate have velocity sensitive keys.  61 or 76 keys are more common than 88.  There are some keyboards and synths with 25 or 37 tiny keys, but those are either baby toys or specialty tools.