Need some quick advice

[perprocrastinate]

I will be in a situation in which, for the next four years, I will only have access to digital pianos to practice on. Should I take a hiatus in learning the piano? I don't want to ruin my touch, sense of tone, or any other elements of musicality only a 'real' piano could foster.

[faulty_damper]

Why?  There's nothing wrong with most current DPs and it won't ruin anything.  It's like saying playing the harpsichord will ruin your ability to play the piano.  It most definitely will in this instance, but it's nothing that can't be learned again.

[Bob]

Yeah, heck no.  Practice on whatever you can get your hands on. 

[quantum]

Keep on playing DP's.  Just as when working with acoustic pianos, one needs to learn to deal with the differences between instruments and translate the musical intentions one forms in one's mind through to sounds on the instrument.  It is just an opportunity to widen your experience on varied instruments.  Is it ideal - no.  But even concert instruments are not perfect, and one still needs to adapt. 

[bronnestam]

I don't want to ruin my touch, sense of tone, or any other elements of musicality only a 'real' piano could foster.

    

I only have a DP here at home to practice on. Oh, so I'm doomed?

[kevin69]

Your choice is between playing a digital keyboard and not playing at all.
If you don't play at all, i think you must expect your technique to deteriorate.
I don't think that playing on a digital will make your technique worse, faster than not playing at all.

[iansinclair]

If the digital pianos are any good at all you won't hurt your technique.  You may not progress quite as far as you might have if you had kept at it on an acoustic, but you surely won't lose any ground and some aspects of your technique (particularly fingering) will progress just as well.

If you don't play... it will take you quite some time to get back up to speed when you start again; not an option.

[Bob]

The do have some advantages too, at least for changing how you hear things.  You can set them to a shorter note length and it emphasizes rhythm.

[perprocrastinate]

Jeez, I don't know what I was thinking. I was looking for an excuse to quit piano due to my frustrations over my musical incompetencies.

Now my motivation's back. How could I ever go four years without playing the piano? I lost a week of practice, but that's okay. I'm back now.