Digital piano

A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument that is intended to function as a standard piano, often adding other features. It implements a standard piano keyboard and piano voice (often including voices other than the standard pianoforte, and often emulating MIDI voices), which are usually created by digital signal processing techniques, such as sampling.

Related Topics:
Modern - Electronic musical instrument - Piano - MIDI - Digital signal processing - Sampling

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Digital pianos are designed to be functionally similar to real pianos: for example, they include the standard pedals a real piano carries; as with upright pianos some models do without a sostenuto pedal. Digital pianos have limitations (such as implementing harmonic tones on a digital piano). They also cannot implement the touch of a real piano exactly. Manufacturers continue to develop this technology, and for both tone and touch, quality and cost are associated. For example, Yamaha top-of-the-line digital pianos use the keyboard action and CD-quality samples from concert grand acoustic pianos.

Related Topics:
Sostenuto - Harmonic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As well as producing grand piano and upright piano sounds, many digital pianos can generate emulations of honky-tonk pianos and earlier electric pianos such as the Rhodes piano.

Related Topics:
Honky-tonk piano - Electric piano - Rhodes piano

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some digital pianos can perform aural transposition using the same finger positions - ie., the transposition is done transparently by the piano and not the player, as well as implementing multiple voices and timbres, mimicking different instrument with their resultant decay and sustain patterns. Digital pianos often have reverb features as well, which a standard piano cannot create on its own and exists as an effect of the room it is played in.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well-known manufacturers of digital pianos include Yamaha, Roland and Kawai.

Related Topics:
Yamaha - Roland - Kawai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~