Buying the Right Keyboard
Keyboards are less of a financial investment, but that doesn't mean that they're all easy on the pocket. They can get pricey: around $3,000 or more. However, there are many good options in a much lower price range. Keyboards are also easier to maintain. No piano tuners are required and the care and maintenance of a keyboard is undemanding. For example, keyboards are not as susceptible to weather (humidity). However, you need to make sure your keyboard doesn't get wet. Water is the enemy to electrical components. Also, if you drop your keyboard, the electronics could become damaged, so buy a carrying case.
Shopping for a keyboard can become a daunting task, since there are so many varieties out there. It's hard to know where to start. This chapter has stressed needs above anything else. As with pianos, you will have to consider what your musical goals or objectives are before purchasing a keyboard. If you're interested in mimicking a piano for old-time rock-n-roll or boogie-woogie, buy a simple digital piano. In this case, you might as well go the whole nine yards and get a weighted-action, eighty-eight-key instrument. Kurzweil, Roland, Yamaha, and Korg all make good digital stage pianos. Whatever you buy, just make sure that your keyboard is MIDI capable and velocity sensitive.
Velocity sensitivity or touch sensitivity is a must. Velocity sensitivity refers to dynamic range. In other words, the harder you strike a note, the louder it sounds. Velocity sensitivity should not be confused with aftertouch or pressure sensitivity, which triggers a controller to alter the actual sound or pitch.
If you're interested in contemporary, techno-driven music, and modern keyboard applications, you may want to buy a digital workstation. A workstation is a one-stop shop for all your techno indulgences. You've heard about the kid in the candy store? The workstation is the keyboardist's equivalent.
If you know how to operate all the bells and whistles found on today's keyboards, then workstations are a good option for you. They are usually paired with digital synthesizers and offer features such as sampling, mixing, editing, sequencing, hard disc audio recording, CD burning, and more. Each year, up-to-the-minute expanded models hit the showroom floors, and the technological innovations just keep on coming. The trend has always been to create keyboards that are not only user friendly but also artistically stimulating. The more sounds, presets, and creativity features a company can offer, the better their product will sell. Companies such as Alesis and Yamaha know this, so the technology just keeps getting better and better.
The Benefits of Synths and Workstations
Digital synth technology allows for something called “virtual analog” and massive, multi-voice polyphony. The old synths were always monophonic, meaning that only one note could be played at a time. Digital technology has now left monophony in the dust and now more than a hundred voices can sound at once.
Sequencing features also include arpeggio presets for the technically challenged keyboardist. If you recall Chapter 8, you will remember that arpeggios are staggered chord tones. (When playing an arpeggio, each note is played independently and in succession.) Finally, digital synths offer a plethora of effects, including reverbs, choruses, and equalizers (EQ). Like their predecessors, they also all have pitch bend and modulation wheels, which further alter and transform notes. What does all this jargon and technical talk mean? Let's just say that it all adds up to a wide palette of sounds and tone colors. Ultimately, this allows for more artistic and creative freedom.
The Pitfalls of Synths and Workstations
The only pitfall is that many use “synth touch” rather than “piano action.” If you're a student of the piano, you may find the light, nonweighted keys of a synthesizer to be foreign and even problematic. On the other hand, some keyboardists believe that they play faster using synth touch, so it all comes down to your personal preference.
Further, some workstations do not have eighty-eight keys like a piano. For example, you may come across sixty-one-note synthesizers or keyboards with even fewer keys. This can be a drawback for some performers who enjoy using the lowest and highest octaves of a piano. Lastly, if you're not particularly technically savvy, you can be easily confused by synths, workstations, and all the glitz that surrounds keyboard technology. Any way you dice it, keyboards have become a veritable playground of gizmos and gadgetry. But if you're up for the challenge, many incredible musical adventures await you. In the next chapter, we will expand on our discussion of equipment to talk about learning tools and technology.
