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Rio Rancho, NM USA
ost pianists and piano educators learned to play on an acoustic piano, a
large, complicated and heavy mechanical device which was developed to
overcome some of the limitations of the harpsichord, which preceded the
piano. There is a large literature written for the acoustic piano and a
correspondingly large history of use and training that is associated with
the acoustic piano as an instrument. Our ears are "trained" to the sound and
our fingers to the "touch" of the acoustic piano.
However, with the relatively recent development of powerful, light and
inexpensive digital keyboards, which have many capabilities that the
acoustic piano lacks, it is time to ask the question: Is a digital keyboard
a suitable short or long-term alternative or adjunct to the acoustic piano for teaching
and learning piano? We will investigate this question in this article. The
article won't offer a "buying guide" for digital keyboards and pianos
(please see our section on Digital Keyboards
for more information), nor
will it attempt to convince anyone of the "superiority" of either type of
instrument. Rather, it will focus on what role digital keyboards might play
in teaching and learning the piano.
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This is the abstract for the article.
The full text of it, and many other articles not available on the online Piano
Education Page, can be obtained by purchasing the
PEP CD. 