Digital piano

[Telmo]

:)Hello pals, I´m very honoured for  being able to participate on this forum. I´m a beginner and have a digital piano(Roland F-100) which I use for my three hours practising daily. I´m studying the "Pop piano Book" by Mark Harrison and two other courses: Michael Aaron and John Thompson´s piano course. I´m not able to afford a Real piano so I´m trying to see if I can learn some piano repertoire with this digital piano. Can anyone give me some piece of advice if I can become a pianist using a digital piano? Are the books which I mentioned good for piano studies? I have good ears cause I play guitar a little. How can I improve even more? Thanks. Telmo.

[stokes]

My opinion is actually that digital pianos are perfectly fine for beginners. Instead of buying for the same money an old upright piano with bad action I think you would get more out of the digital one. When you later get more advanced and if you want to keep playing you have to get a real piano. Even though digital pianos can be good, you need a real piano to develop the sense for touch and tone qualities.

[artist]

Yes, I agree with the above. Digital piano is fine for beginner's use. But, after  you get to an intermediate level in a couple of years, you will then want a real acoustic piano.
If your goal is to play pop only, you may be well off studying by yourself with a book. However if you wanted to play classical or jazz piano, I would strongly suggest getting a teacher, even at the beginning level. Therefore you won't develop possible bad habits in hand positioning, fingering, and motion that it might be later hard to break. Good Luck!

[davy10tunes]

Telmo,

I have also had to suffer using a digital piano for years The best piece of advice I can give you about learning on a digital piano is to always assume that you're never relaxed enough.Because the sound is produced artificially you wont hear any bad sounds being produced caused by stiffness/pressing etc.
Digitals are alright for learning the notes to a piece, but it's very difficult to aquire the abillity to produce a good tone(you can't do half pedaling either).In my opinion a bad acoustic is beter than any digital, But I know how it is not to be able to afford a proper piano, so remember, just stay relaxed.

David

[stokes]

As a beginner you can't spend too much attention developing a good sound. Half pedaling is something that, I at least, learned after playing the piano several years. I think it is better and nicer for a beginner to practice on a digital piano that, as mentioned, never has a bad tone, instead of struggleling with a bad acoustic that always sounds bad whatever you do.

[Telmo]

I´d like to thank "Stokes, Artist and David" for the nice comments about my studying with a digital piano. I just hope someday I get a Acoustic Piano and become a real pianist. Until then I´ll continue with my practising. Once again, thanks to all of you guys. Telmo. ;)

[amee]

I used to have a digital piano and the slightest pressure on a note would depress it immediately, getting a satisfying sound out.  It was so easy playing on that piano!  However when I started practicing on a real piano, I found it was very very hard to get a single note out because my fingers weren't strong enough.

[glamfolk]

Even a bad acoustic piano is preferable to a digital for a number of reasons.  1. An acoustic "speaks" better and you get a true piano sound, especially on sustained notes, which digitals are approaching, but haven't quite found yet. 2. The true action is a piano action, which everyone agrees is difficult to get used to, even after having used a pretend one. 3. Acoustic pianos are generally cheaper than digitals--many people offer them for free if you'd only come and get them out of the living room.  Talk to your local realtor about people who are selling houses and don't want to take the piano along.  This is even true for grand pianos.  4. There's a certian aesthetic about playing a real instrument that makes it more fun to play, practice, and create.  

[amp]

Telmo, does your piano have weighted action? I have an FP-3 at home, at college I use a Steinway grand. I find my digital piano to work pretty good. While what others say is true, I find I can produce many of the desired effects on the digital piano as well. You'll do fine with it, although try to get to a real piano as much as possible...is there one in anearby church or school you could arrange to play, until you get a real piano? That will quench your thrist for playing on a piano

I managed to get accepted to a college music program, working all along on a digital piano :-) BTW, you study 3 hours a day? That is impressive for a beginner!!! Michael Aaron and John Thompson methods are great. Good choice!

[pianistka]

In some respects digital pianos are better then the traditional instruments.  As long as you choose a keyboard with weighted action, such as Kurzweil PC88MX (this is what I play), you will be fine.

https://www.pianomix.com