In this material we shall discuss how to choose the best keyboard for you. I get lots of emails from visitors to my web site asking what keyboard they should choose. They often want to know whether they should choose one particular keyboard over another. Well choosing the best keyboard for you does not have to be difficult at all. As long as you know and understand the features that you really need, it's a simple matter of buying a keyboard that comes with these features. And there's no need to pay extra for features that you will never have use for.
Here's a checklist for choosing the best keyboard for you. Understand what these features are all about and you can choose your keyboard according to them. These features are as follows:
Number of keys - 32, 49, 61, 76, 88Keyboard touch response
Display - color, score, lyrics, 640x480 dot matrix
Recording capability - 16-track recording capability
Yamaha Education Suite
GM, XF, XG, or XG Lite compatibility
Standard features such as metronome, tuning, and transpose
Polyphony - 16 or less, 32-64, 96-128, or more than 128
Vocal harmony
Guide lamp
Internet connectivity
Professional piano players, serious pianists and piano students should buy 88 key keyboards. But if portability is an issue, the best keyboard for you would probably be a 61 or 76 key keyboard. If you're looking to save money, a keyboard with less keys may be your best bet.
Personally I think touch response is very important. In fact, I wouldn't buy a keyboard that didn't come with this feature. With touch response, your keyboard will feel and sound like an acoustic piano. The more pressure you apply the louder your keyboard will sound, and the less pressure, the softer. Some keyboards take touch sensitivity one step further with a feature called Graded Hammer Effect where the keys are heavier in the bass and lighter in the higher registers of the keyboard just like an acoustic piano.
Knowing what kind of display you really want makes it easy to choose the right keyboard for you. It's really about personal preferences. You have various choices when it comes to a display. These include color display, backlit display, one that displays lyrics and score, or even a 640x480 dot matrix display. Or how about a keyboard that comes with a touch screen?
Do you need a keyboard that comes with recording capability or not? There are many options available from simple 2 track sequencers to 16 track sequencers. The more tracks the better. These are great for practice as well as professional arrangements and compositions.
Yamaha keyboards come with a feature called Yamaha Education Suite that is very good for students. If you're buying a keyboard for a child or student, you may want to buy one with this feature. It actually teaches one how to play the keyboard with its various keyboard lessons.
Polyphony is another important feature. Polyphony has to do with the number of notes that can play together simultaneously. If your playing is such that you're only using one or two voices at a time you can get away with low polyphony. But if you're doing complex sequences it becomes an issue, and the more polyphony the better. Polyphony choices include 16 or less, 32 to 64, 98-128, and 128 and over.
If you're a student you will find Yamaha's guide lamp very useful. With this feature the keys light up as you play, indicating where you should place your fingers.
Understanding what terms like GM, XF, XG, and XG Lite stand for will make it easier to choose the best keyboard for you. Other standard features include metronome, tuning and transpose.
If want to harness the power of the Internet your best keyboard should be one that connects directly to the Internet. Some Yamaha keyboards come with a feature called Internet Direct Connect (IDC) that allows you to do just that.
Whether you're a beginner, professional, teacher, gift giver, religious, or simply want a piano replacement, choosing the right keyboard for you shouldn't be difficult at all. As long as you know what to look for the rest comes easy.
