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Yamaha's Clavinova is a long-running line of digital pianos

A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. Some digital pianos are also designed to look like an acoustic piano. While digital pianos may fall short of the genuine article in feel and sound, they nevertheless have many advantages over normal pianos: Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Yamaha may refer to: Yamaha Corporation – A manufacturer of a diverse range of musical instruments and electronics. ... Clavinova CLP-240 keyboard The Clavinova is a long-running line of digital pianos created by the Yamaha Corporation. ... Telharmonium, created by Thaddeus Cahill 1897 Luigi Russolo and his assistant Ugo Piatti with their Intonarumori, 1913 Léon Theremin and his Theremin, 1919 Trautonium, 1928 An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. ... Pianoforte redirects here. ...

• Compared to acoustic pianos, digital pianos are generally less expensive.
• Most models are smaller and considerably lighter, but there are large ones as well.
• They have no strings and thus do not require tuning.
• Depending on the digital piano, they may include many more instrument sounds including strings, guitars, organs, and more.
• They are much more likely to incorporate a MIDI implementation.
• They may have more features to assist in learning and composition.
• They usually include headphone output.
• They often have a transposition feature.
• They do not require the use of microphones, eliminating the problem of audio feedback in sound reinforcement, as well as simplifying the recording process.

Piano tuner “Piano tuner” redirects here. ... MIDI redirects here. ... Musical composition is a phrase used in a number of contexts, the most commonly used being a piece of music. ... For other uses, see Headphones (disambiguation). ... In music transposition refers to the process of moving a collection of notes (pitches) up or down in pitch by a constant interval. ... Microphones redirects here. ... Audio feedback (also known as the Larsen effect after the Danish scientist, Søren Larsen, who first discovered its principles) is a special kind of feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input (for example, a microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (for example... A sound reinforcement system is a functional arrangement of electronic components that is designed to reinforce a live sound source. ...

Sounds

In most implementations, a digital piano produces a variety of piano timbres and usually other sounds as well. For example, a digital piano may have settings for a concert grand piano, an upright piano, a tack piano, and various electric pianos such as the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer, for example. Some digital pianos incorporate other basic "synthesizer" sounds such as string ensemble, for example, and offer settings to combine them with piano. In music, timbre, or sometimes timber, (from Fr. ... A grand piano from Schiedmayer & Söhne, Stuttgart. ... The tack piano is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which tacks or nails are placed on the hammers of the instrument, giving it a tinny, more percussive sound. ... An electric piano (e-piano) is an electric musical instrument whose popularity started in the late 1960s, was at its greatest during the 1970s and still is big today. ... A Rhodes piano A Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a brand of electric piano. ... The Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and North Tonawanda, NY. Interestingly, the Wurlitzer company itself never called the instrument an electric piano, inventing instead the phrase Electronic Piano and using this... Synth redirects here. ...

The sounds produced by a digital piano are samples stored in ROM. Despite the fact that a digital piano plays samples, it is not a sampler because it lacks the ability to record samples. It does, however, qualify as a rompler. Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ... An AKAI MPC2000 sampler Playing a Yamaha SU10 Sampler A sampler is an electronic music instrument closely related to a synthesizer. ... Rompler is a nickname for an electronic musical instrument that specializes in the playback of samples stored in ROM chips. ...

The samples stored in digital pianos are usually of very high quality and made using world class pianos, expensive microphones, and high-quality preamps in a professional recording studio^{[citation needed]}. Microphones redirects here. ... An example of a typical high-end stereo preamplifier. ... ==Individual Studio== A recording studio is a facility for sound recording. ...

Digital pianos do have limitations on the faithfulness with which they reproduce the sound of an acoustic piano. These include the lack of implementation of harmonic tones that result when certain combinations of notes are sounded, limited polyphony, and a lack of natural reverberation when the instrument is played percussively. They often lack the incidental acoustic noises associated with piano playing, such as the sounds of pedals being depressed and the associated machinery shifting within the piano, which some actually consider a benefit. These limitations apply to most acoustic instruments and their sampled counterparts, the difference often being described as "visceral". This article is about the components of sound. ... Polyphony is the property of an electronic musical instrument which describes how many notes it can sound at one time. ... This article is about audio effect. ...

For the vast majority of listeners, however, professional recordings made with a digital piano are difficult or impossible to distinguish from a recording made with a real piano.

Many digital pianos include an amplifier and loudspeakers so that no additional equipment is required to play the instrument. Some do not. Most digital pianos incorporate headphone output. For the British rock band of the same name, see Amplifier (band). ... An inexpensive low fidelity 3. ...

Shape and form

The physical form of a digital piano can vary considerably. Most vaguely resemble a low upright piano (but usually lacking a fully enclosed lower section). Others, notably Yamaha's "GranTouch" range are based on the casework of traditional upright or grand instruments. An opposite and recent trend is to produce an instrument which has a unique and distinctive appearance, unobtainable with a conventional instrument. Yamaha makes a model which is designed to stand against a wall and is far shallower from keyboard to back than any possible upright design.

Yet another form is the "stage piano", designed for use with a live band. This type of digital piano normally makes no attempt to imitate the physical appearance of an acoustic piano, rather resembling a modern synthesizer or music workstation. A distinguishing feature of most stage pianos is a lack of internal loudspeakers and amplification - it is normally assumed that a powerful keyboard amplifier or PA system will be used. Roland RD-700 - a typical digital stage piano Yamaha P-250 - a digital stage piano with built-in speakers Casio AP-38 - a typical digital piano- notice the integrated modesty panel & pedals A stage piano is a digital piano that reproduces sound electronically by the use of sampled or digitally... Synth redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

There are also digital piano modules, which are simply keyboardless sound modules chiefly containing piano samples. One early example of a digital piano module is the Roland MKS-20 Digital Piano. A Sound module (sometimes referred to as tone generator) is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a keyboard, for example. ... Roland Corporation ) TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ...

Keyboard and pedals

A picture of a digital piano keyboard

Just like a real piano, a digital piano features a keyboard. A digital piano's keyboard is weighted to simulate the action of a real piano and is velocity sensitive so that the volume of the sounds depends on how fast the keys are pressed. Many instruments now have a complex action incorporating actual hammers in order to better simulate the touch of a grand piano^[1]; these hammers do not actually hit strings, but since a real piano's hammer is in free flight when it contacts the string it could be argued that this difference would not affect the instrument's touch anyway. The layout of a typical musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which cause the instrument to produce sounds. ...

Many digital pianos, especially those which physically resemble a piano, have built-in pedals which modify the instrument's behavior in the same way pedals on a regular piano do. As with real pianos, some digital pianos omit the sostenuto and/or the una corda pedals. Some digital pianos have jacks for pedals to be attached at the user's option. In music, sostenuto is a term from Italian which means sustained, and occasionally also implies a slowing of tempo. ... The soft pedal (or una corda pedal) is one of the standard pedals on a piano, generally placed to the left of the pedals. ...

Other features

Most digital pianos implement a variety of features not found on a traditional piano.

Digital pianos are implemented for MIDI, so they can control or be controlled by other electronic instruments and sequencers. They may also have a disk drive or other external media slot to load MIDI data, which the piano can play automatically. In this way, a digital piano can function as a player piano. In the field of electronic music, a sequencer was traditionally a device or piece of software that allows the user to record, play back and edit musical patterns. ... The player piano is a type of piano that plays music without the need for a human pianist to depress the normal keys or pedals. ...

Some digital pianos have a built-in sequencer to aid in composition. They usually let you record a minimum of 2 tracks.

A digital piano may have lights associated with keys so that a beginning piano player can learn a piece by playing lit keys.

Some digital pianos can transpose music as it is played. This allows the pianist to play a piece using the fingering of a familiar key while the piece is actually heard in another. A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ...

A standard piano creates natural reverberation inside its soundboard and in the room where it is played. Digital pianos often have a feature to electronically simulate reverb as well. Other digital pianos may have additional reverberation options such as a "stage simulation." The sounding board is the largest part of a string musical instruments body. ...

In addition to reverberation, some (as seen on Yamaha's & Kawai's websites) have additional effects to add to the sound such as a "chorus" effect.

Other typical high-quality voices that go along with piano are strings, harpsichords, organs, etc.

Since the 1980s, computers and digital pianos have connected via MIDI to perform various functions such as software synthesis (computer-generated sound), musical notation (printing of music), Musical sequencer (recording of MIDI and digital audio) and interactive music lessons (from lesson supplements to complete courses of study). Since 2000, a generation of CEMI (Computer Enhanced Musical Instruments) has emerged that incorporates software and internet technologies into musical instruments. Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, is a system designed to transmit information between electronic musical instruments. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The ePiano ([1]) is one example of how CEMI technology is incorporated into digital pianos.

Alternatives

A digital piano is essentially nothing more than a keyboard controller married to a sample playback device which specializes in piano sounds. Other electronic instruments are capable of playing piano samples. These include sample-based synthesizers, hardware and software samplers, sound modules, and music workstations. These instruments may contain piano samples as good as or perhaps even better than a digital piano. Keyboard controllers (keyboards which make no sounds on their own) are also available from many manufacturers and vary greatly in feel and feature set. Thus, one can combine a favorite controller and instrument and effectively have everything that a digital piano delivers. Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be similar in structure to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. ... A Sound module (sometimes referred to as tone generator) is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a keyboard, for example. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A device, real or virtual, which generates and transmits MIDI data for operating musical devices or other devices which are electronically enabled for MIDI operation. ...

Acoustic pianos can be made to compensate for some of the advantages which digital pianos ordinarily hold over them. Pianos may be retrofitted with or designed to include a MIDI interface, allowing them to control or, with the addition of electromechanical actuators under each key, be controlled by other MIDI hardware. (See player piano for more information.) The player piano is a type of piano that plays music without the need for a human pianist to depress the normal keys or pedals. ...

Manufacturers

Manufacturers continue to develop technology of both sound and feel. Quality and cost are highly correlated. Well-known manufacturers of digital pianos include Yamaha, Roland, Kurzweil, Clavia, Casio, Korg and Kawai. The headquarters of Yamaha Corporation Yamaha redirects here. ... Roland Corporation ) TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ... Kurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. ... Clavia is a Swedish virtual analog synthesizer and digital percussion system manufacturer founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson. ... Casio Computer Co. ... For comic book character, see Korg (comics). ... The Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. ...

See also

• Electronic piano
• Clavinova
• Clavia

An electronic piano is an entirely electronic musical instrument designed to simulate the timbre of a piano (and sometimes a harpsichord) using analog circuitry. ... Clavinova CLP-240 keyboard The Clavinova is a long-running line of digital pianos created by the Yamaha Corporation. ... Clavia is a Swedish virtual analog synthesizer and digital percussion system manufacturer founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson. ...

External Links

• Yamaha Musician - Digital piano and keyboard enthusiast site

References

1. ^ "Behringer Eurogrand EG8080" Canadian Musician Jul/Aug2006, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p72. EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Accessed December 16, 2007