Topic: Help regarding some basics of keyboard playing

[AnupamEnosh]

Greetings of the new year 2020.
I was thinking about this a lot, and while I am still confused..
In the market I see a lot of keyboards with different types of keys, some with velocity action, some semi weighted, some fully weighted, some soft keys for synth, and the last, hammer action keyboards. So while I am still learning on a pretty basic level keyboard and finding it hard to jump to different notes instantly, will getting a professional keyboard with such advanced keys, help me to significantly improve my playing skills, or am I too ignorant to catch up with those fast playing skills on my current instrument ?
Please advise specifically, as my entire career and future will be based on that...

[Al Ram]

Hello and happy new year.

If I understand your question correctly . . .  would a professional sophisticated keyboard help improve playing skills . . .?

My opinion is that it is NOT the keyboard that will help in improving the playing skills,  it is the practice, practice, practice.   

I have seen people play like masters using an old instrument . . . keyboard, guitar, piano, etc . . . . because the skills are not in the keyboard, the playing skills are developed by the person.

On the other hand, the sound of a professional keyboard will probably be better. 

But sound and skills are two different things. 

Hope it helps.

[AnupamEnosh]

Thanks for the reply.
But what I have learnt in last few years is that Yamaha PSR E453 (my current keyboard) has pretty brittle keys and while I tried playing on some better professional keyboards, I was playing better than that on my current one.. It is definitely a drawback so I wanna know if this is the case only with me, or also with other performers here..

[Toril S]

Hello Anupam!
If you started playing piano, you will want weighted or semi weighted keys. Because the keys have more action, can be pressed deeper, you will not so easily accidentally press down a wrong key.
BUT, if you started with an accordion or a keyboard with light keys, you will prefer that. It takes less force to press the keys, and therefore it is more easy to play fast, but also easier to hit a wrong key accidentally. If you feel you play better on your keyboard, that is the right one for you. If you should get another keyboard with a different keybed, it takes some time to get accustomed to that. There really is no rule here, it all comes down to what we have used before, and what we prefer.
Keys can stop working due to mechanical fault, that can happen on any model, but I believe most Yamaha keyboards are real sturdy. Hope this helps.

[mikf]

At this stage the action will not make much difference. There are so many other things to learn and the keyboard action is pretty minor unless it it is absolutely terrible.
The feel of a beautifully balanced hammer action piano is unique, and if you were aiming to become a high quality piano player you should get an instrument with this kind of action fairly soon because you need to develop that touch. You don't give your age, but I am guessing you are an adult and as a complete beginner, its not likely that you are going to become a high quality piano player. So if you are typical of most on the forum and aiming to play electronic keyboards  to an ok level then the feel of the keyboard becomes purely a personal preference. Try several at a music store when you are a little better and see what you like.
Mike

[AnupamEnosh]

There are so many other things to learn and the keyboard action is pretty minor unless it it is absolutely terrible.

Honestly speaking, the key action of my keyboard is somewhat terrible, when I compare it to other keyboards of similar price range. That is my concern. 🙁

[mikf]

I doubt it will hold you back in your learning process. But if you think it lessens your enjoyment of playing, a change might be on the cards. Then it becomes a question of affordability that only you can decide.
Mike

[SciNote]

I learned to play on both piano and organ keyboards, and both have their advantages.  There is a difference, but just because you learn to play keyboard on one type of keyboard does not mean that you cannot learn techniques to playing on the other type, as well.

I usually prefer the organ/synth action keys, as long as they are of at least a decent quality, as the light touch does make fast playing easier, and it also makes it easier to play multi-note chords with one hand.

However, a hammer-action weighted piano keyboard does, in my opinion, allow for more expression -- even when compared to a velocity-sensitive synth-type keyboard.  If I was playing a gig that mainly called for piano music, I would likely use my 88-key weighted board, not my synth-action PSE-E433.

But again, there's no reason you cannot learn both.  Maybe not at the same time, if owning both types of keyboards at once is not feasible.  But eventually.  For now, as previously suggested, decide what you prefer most, such as by visiting a music store with both types of keyboards and playing both.  Also factor in what type of music you are wanting to play.  If it's piano-based, then that will edge you more toward weighted keys.  If it's more synth-oriented or multi-instrument arranger-style music, then that would likely edge you more toward the organ/synth-type keys.  But of course, there are keyboards with arranger-type features and weighted keys, such as the better Yamaha DGX boards.

I've played around with a PSR-E463 recently at a music store, and I've previously played around with the E453 when it was a current model, and while I agree that the key feel is not as good as my older E433, I personally wouldn't say it is so bad that it would hinder development of learning to play a synth-style keyboard.

EDIT:  I took another look at the original post and saw the part about finding it difficult to jump from key to key instantly.  That just takes practice, regardless of the type of keyboard you're using.  Yes, a really flimsy keyboard might make this more difficult, but I don't think any modern keyboard from Yamaha today is that flimsy.  I would just avoid something with mini-keys, because the difference in the actual size of the keys does make a significant difference when playing a song.  But to reiterate what I said above, I really don't think it needs to be an either/or situation with learning to play a synth-type keyboard or a weighted piano-type keyboard.  You can learn both, and you can learn them together or in whichever order you choose.