Acoustic and Electronic Instruments Used for Practicing

CAN I USE AN ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD, INSTEAD OF A PIANO, AS THE MAIN INSTRUMENT ON WHICH I PRACTICE MY WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, we’re very fortunate these days to have so many different kinds of keyboards to use for practicing. Granted, for some students, nothing will take the place of a real acoustic piano. There are many quality acoustic pianos available today, both new and pre-owned.

In addition, several manufacturers have made excellent electronic keyboards that have their own set of merits. However, be careful; unless you want to develop your playing specifically in the direction of music synthesis and synthesizer technique, it's recommended that your electronic keyboard have as a minimum the following features:

• 76 notes, or even better, 88 (traditional pianos have 88)
• A velocity-sensitive keyboard, or weighted action keyboard
• A place to plug in a damper (sustain) pedal