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How does a digital keyboard differ from a piano?

What are the differences between a piano and a digital piano keyboard?

This is a question that many people have before beginning lessons.

The major difference is the way in which they produce a sound.

The piano is an acoustic instrument (it doesn't need electricity) and produces sound when a hammer strikes a string and makes it vibrate.

Through the manipulation of it's entire mechanism, which is surprisingly complex (see diagram above), the piano is capable of an almost infinite range of musical expression. An important part of mastering the piano is learning how to control this mechanism so that, using our bodies/fingers, we can exploit it's expressive capabilities.

That requires developing physical technique, in much the same way that athletes or dancers do. And that's why every pianist learns exercises, like scales and arpeggios, and practices them regularly.

A digital piano doesn't have hammers or strings. The notes across it's keyboard have been previously recorded, or 'sampled', from an acoustic piano and played back to us through speakers or headphones using electricity.

With digital keyboards, we have the ability to use our bodies/fingers to influence the sound to some extent, but expressive control is achieved ultimately by electronic means.

As a result of these and other differences, some of the things we focus on in our lessons are applicable to both the piano and digital piano keyboard, while others are specific to one or the other.