Hi!

I have a friend from Belgium, she is a piano player and has never played a keyboard, Although she's interested in playing keyboard, She has heard pianists saying that keyboards sound "dead" , I told her that keyboard (IMO) is much more fun than playing piano , Maybe you guys remember one of my first posts when I said I liked playing piano a lot (I still like it but not as much as keyboard), but when I've tried a few pianolessons,I didn't like it one bit.
So I'm trying to persuade her to give keyboard a chance, So I wanna make a poll.
Which one of you like keyboard better than piano or piano better than keyboard, and why?
Thanks in advance

Greetz,
Marcel


[This message has been edited by Wazza (edited 11-14-2002).]

Hi Wazza,
I would say the Keyboard! (But I love both)
Reason:
#1 I think they're more fun.
#2 They're more portable. (For giging)
#3 They have all the wonder Inst, sounds!
(Electronic,digital arranrer have this!)
#4 I couldn't get the Baby Grand in
the trunk or the back of my car!
Take Care,
Nobby

[This message has been edited by Nobby (edited 11-14-2002).]

Marcel: I think this is an unfair poll ESPECIALLY because this is an arranger keyboard specific forum, not a piano player forum. Both traditional acoustic pianos and electronic keyboard synths have their own merits. The piano certain has been around much longer than electronic keyboards.

Here's my feeling. I think lessons on a piano provide a better foundation to developing good keyboard playing skills(scales, arpegios, chords) and it offers more playing control (dynamics, articulation, inner voicings, etc). Once this is developed, these techniques can be carried over to electronic keyboard arranger/synth playing which offer greater possibilities for exploring orchestration and arranging. If keyboard playing proficiency is not what you're after , and composing & arranging is more of interest to you, then maybe you should find a teacher that will help you explore the arranging & orchestration features that electronic arranger keyboards provide. Marcel, too bad you don't live closer to my area, because I think I'd be the perfect combination piano/arranger keyboard teacher you're looking for. - Scott



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http://scottyee.com

Although I enjoy playing both keyboard and piano, I'd have to definitely vote for the piano.

While a keyboard provides you lots of fun with rhythms, accompaniements, different sounds, portability, I personally feel that I'd be able to express myself better on the piano.

Although my roland does a very good job in emulating the grand piano sound, I still love the natural accoustic sound and feel that the piano provides. This gives me the impression that I'm more "in control".
I was never able to add all the variations I wanted on a keyboard because of the key feel.

Maybe because I just come from a piano background

Claude

They both have their place in Music !

Hi,

Thanks for your reply's, I appreciate it a lot!


Scott:
You're absolutely right, It is an unfair poll, I just wanted to know what the pro's think about it, Maybe I should post the same message in a piano player forum as well, That would be more fair, although I don't know where I can find a forum for piano players.

I wish I could go the to the States and have a great teacher like Scott , that would be awesome !!!
Maybe the future offers those possibilities.

Greetz ,
Marcel

Organ!

Wazza,
I agree with Scott. This is about apples and oranges.

But, learning (classical) piano in the early age will provide you with lots of foundation for latter use. I did it for six years...difference between me and Scott, he continually studied and became an accomplished pro, I stopped and now only play in my own home..One thing to remember though, it's good to learn various chords and listen to different music while you practice also. I know some people, who can play (classical)piano like crazy, but struggle when playing non-classical music.

I've been playing both for years and I find I can only play piano music on the piano and keyboard music on the keyboard. I don't get the feedback from the keys on the keyboard for piano stuff and it sounds very scrappy. Likewise my keyboard style sounds like garbage on the piano. Maybe that's why have both.

While I love acoustic piano for it's sound, I like a keyboard more because of it's versatility.
jam on,
Terry

I write all my songs on acoustic piano. I find myself doodling on an arranger and can never get anything finished. I do use the arranger, once my piece is assembled and basically use the drum only style.
ZUKI

Hi Wazza & Guy`s,
I would "Vote" for KB`s !
I luv the sound of the piano and the talent it takes to play one.
I`ve been playing KB`s for about twenty years and organs about twice that , so to me the KB and organ are almost the same.
You play a rythmic chord (left H) and melody with right.
When playing piano it almost like you need to have two right hands. For some reason when it comes to "manuals" (keys) the left hand just doesn`t do what it should for me so the organ and KB is a natural choice for me. And that is weird, because playing guitar is no problem getting the left hand to work , but when it comes to "key`s" it`s different and it has always puzzled me.
Either way if you can play both with equal talent then you have all the best. IMO
jedi

Jedi,
I have to agree with you on the guitar vs piano thing, I'm a guitar player both hands in motion no problem.....keyboard the left hand does not work as independently as it does on my guitar....hmmmm has puzzled me too.
jam on,
Terry

Hi Terry,
Glad to hear that I`m not alone. It has always seemed strange that a can get the "left" to work right when playing guitar, I`m no "Steve Howe" or "Eric Clapton" , but at least it (left hand) works (to a certain degree) when playing guitar. I have tried to play some piano songs like "Crime of the Century" and "Rudy" (Supertramp) aren`t too bad but nothing I would want to do in public. I don`t need "tomatos" that bad !! hahahaha Take care and do "jam-on"
jedi

I think the piano and keyboard are very different instruments (the apples & oranges comparison). If someone has learned to play on a piano, then the "feel" of the keyboard will be very different. Also, the way one plays is very different. The piano tries to play all the parts of an orchestra, but with the keyboard, the left hand, by playing a chord, has lots of orchestral help launched. I'm with Jedi on this. I learned on the accordion, then I played an organ for several years before a long gap. We have a piano in my house, but I couldn't play it very well at all. It's that left-hand thing. On the accordion, the left hand played the chords, but just by pressing buttons. The organ has more similarity to the keyboard as far as left hand playing goes. When I was learning on the accordion, I did all the scales and chords and exercises Scotty talked about, but it was my right-hand only. Accordion players are very big on knowing how to play full chords under a melody with one hand. I find the musical knowledge gained has transferred, but not so much the dexterity. On the accordion, all my chord playing with the right hand was while the "keyboard" was in a vertical position. On the arranger, the keyboard is horizontal. That's a major change for the position of the wrist. However, I haven't found that a great disadvantage, because I like to play a lot of the solo instruments (trumpet, sax, etc) with my right hand, and they sound best playing only a single note, not a chord. My left hand still isn't very agile in terms of being able to play a run up and down the keyboard, but it is getting much better at being able to instantly play any chord I want. So - the apples and oranges -- getting the most out of an arranger can mean playing it very differently than one would play a piano.

Terry, Jedi,
couldn't agree more. I can get by, fairly well with the left hand on a guitar, but as soon as I turn it over and put it on the lower keyboard register, all that intelligence and mobility promptly osmotes right out to the other [right] hand. I don't know why, but the darn thing [left hand] just sits there like it has never moved in its life (only ever with the fingers UP tho'). Beats me.

Probably a guitar thing.

For that reason I like the keys vs paino - nope, not a typo... that's how I feel about it, its a pain-o 'cus it hurts my left hand after I play it a while.

I especially prefer the arranger family..

Regards,
Steve


[This message has been edited by S0C9 (edited 11-14-2002).]

I'm with Tom and the KB guys, only because organ is where I started and the early analog synths are where my playing skills really evolved. I have never owned an acoustic piano, and although Im realize it isn't the same, I did have a dedicated electric with similar action ( the Yamaha CP 25 ). I can play an acoustic ok because it seems one way or another I've almost always had access to one , but there is no doubt that I am more expressive on a keyboard / organ because of the way I learned to play. No regrets either. When I was learning to play could have never imagined what was to become possible via midi and electronics. Some of the organs of the day had auto accomp, but there was nothing at that time to compare to what is available today.

AJ

Wazza...For me, I prefer and enjoy the piano more than a keyboard because for me, I enjoy the sound, smell and feel of an acoustic piano. When I'm home alone, and I sit down to create or simply play/practice...I always go to the acoustic before the PSR2000. In fact, I can go weeks without turning the PSR on, But can rarely go a day or two without tinkering to some extent on the acoustic. mainly, it's a combination of the elements I described...plus I find I can be more expressive on the acoustic. The dynamics of soft to loud, smooth/flowing to sticatto for me are more noticeable on the piano...I even think you can communicate attitudes and feelings better on the piano. My only experiene with keyboards is the PSR. I played organ in church as a kid, but was horrible at it. I couldn't make the music flow...it was too choppy and ragged. Now I'm sure it was all my doing, because I just can't get the technique down. It's like I'm uncoordinated....The PSR is better because of the sustain pedal ...but the key feel and lack of warmth (IMO, not factual by any means)always brings me back to the piano...Now, I'm not arranger bashing here on the forum...I practice different techniques on my PSR alot, and am beginning to gig with it next month...and slowly, I will integrate into my act more and more...it is exciting to be able to be a one man band...and have the band play the way you want it to, and I love the versatility of it...but in the end, If I was doing studio work and gigging with a band...I'd have synths/modules and an acoustic in my studio, and play the acoustic onstage. And leave the synth stuff to another keyboard player....that's the long and short of it. For me, like the keys themselves...it's black and white..no gray areas...but that's just me...

I'm a classically trained pianist. So I'm biased.

IMHO there is nothing to beat a good piano....

Except maybe a well sorted Hammond

Or something huge with pipes played by someone who can play the feet as well as the hands...

However, as a gigging musician my favoured options all have problems. Lets start with size and weight! Therefore I'm going around with a PSR2k. I set this up at home too. To create a "tune" that can be sung along to, or easily recognised, then the keyboard is much better. I do not play Beethoven sonatas on my PSR but I can't play Bossa Nova on a piano (not with the right atnosphere or feel, anyhow).

If I had to choose it would have to be a piano. But can I keep the keyboard on top just in case?

Keyboards. Another former Hammond organ player. Chords in the left hand with melody in the right hand comes easy for me. I am trying to teach myself piano, which is almost the opposite of keyboard/organ playing: bass in the left hand using single fingers, and chords in the right. I would love to play piano accompaniment properly. I love the sound of an acoustic piano, but I also love the sound of "The Beast with Hairy Balls" the Hammond B3 with a Leslie 122.
Starkeeper

Hi Wazza

One more vote for Scott's remarks.

In addition you might suggest to your friend a "compromise": to look for an E-Piano with the 1:1 electronic stuff (Yamaha once had a model which was - electronically - a copy of the PSR-8000). She would have a better physical touch than a Keyboard, however worse than a real Piano, but win all these nyce styles, sounds, etc.

Brgds Hansruedi

I found this thread most interesting, not just for the comparison (which as stated is apples vs oranges [I love both, and yes Dnj, they both absolutely have their place in music, but they are totally different]) but moreso for the fact that so many have confessed to the same problem I have : the DREADED left hand !!! .... like Joe Waters I started out on accordion, playing chords with the press of one button ... when I started to play around with a kb ( I had an uncle who had a Fender Rhodes, but being classically trained it didn't provide him with what he was looking for, so he GAVE it to me!!!) .. I found my left hand VERY lacking even though I played some classical piano pieces on the accordion, using a lot of the bass buttons for counter-melodies, syncopation off the right hand, etc. .... to my regret, I never took the time to 'study' piano ... consequently, I can perform better on a kb than on piano because I don't seem to need the same level of dexterity and expertise ... I have an acoustic piano at home, which I have not played in many months .... for a long time I have wanted a baby grand, but will not get one until I feel I can sit at it and play it.... even at age 61, a future goal is still to study piano and get that baby grand ... I am not shy about sitting at a kb to entertain, but people can't understand my refusal to sit at a piano to do the same thing.... bottom line, as B2 said, I love the sound, smell, feel of an acoustic, but the kb provides a different level and type of entertainment ....
t.

[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 11-15-2002).]

Hmm?
The piano has one huge advantage over keyboard - it is the source of the sample. So if you have a good piano - In tune - it can offer you an enormous pallet of sound nuance - within that one horse limit.
The keyboard has one huge advantage over the piano. It does a bunch of those samples with fair enough rendition to satisfy the average listener.
If preference is the poll question - I sit down at the keyboard more - because its always in tune! I can deedle more easily - the action is fair - the sound is fine - the arranger keeps me from getting much done sometimes - but hey! - who's counting?

Mike

[This message has been edited by Mike H (edited 11-15-2002).]