Can You Learn Piano on a Digital Piano?

An acoustic piano is not always the right instrument for you if you want to avoid spending too much money or making too much noise in your home. Although long established as the ideal instrument for beginners, the question of whether you should learn to play the piano on a digital piano remains.

There are many arguments in favor of a digital piano. To name just one, digital instruments offer many more possibilities than acoustic instruments – even including learning functions. However, the question above focuses mainly on another aspect: are the playing characteristics of a digital piano sufficient for learning how to play?

Wooden keys, grand piano action, even real soundboards: All of these features create high-quality hybrid digital pianos that are almost as good as acoustic pianos regarding playing and sound characteristics. Even on the outside, you could easily mistake digital pianos such as the Kawai CS11 or Yamaha Clavinova CLP-685 for acoustic pianos – both visually and in terms of playing feel. Nevertheless, there is a difference…

Learning how to play on a digital piano: What are the differences?

The complex interaction of the hammer mechanism, the vibration of the strings, and the soundboard results in a finely nuanced piano sound. Despite its advanced development, the acoustic piano is still superior to the digital piano in terms of expressiveness. Therefore, if you want to learn how to play the acoustic piano, you need to learn and practice on an acoustic piano.

Nevertheless, digital pianos are ideal for learning to play the piano. If you start with a digital piano, you can build on the skills you learned when you move on to an acoustic piano. A digital piano offers many interesting features, such as a metronome, recorder, and learning functions… All of these can be very useful when practicing and learning to play the piano.

Learn piano on a digital piano: Technical requirements

To learn piano on a digital piano, you simply need the features of an acoustic piano: A good piano keyboard with hammer action and a beautiful piano sound that lets you play with dynamic touch and detailed nuances. In addition, the piano sound should be as balanced as possible in terms of dynamics and across the entire tonal range. If you prioritize these aspects when buying a new beginner’s instrument, you cannot go wrong.

Tips for new piano players

A fully playable digital piano includes a keyboard with 88 touch-sensitive piano keys, at least one sustain pedal, a music rest, built-in speakers, and a headphone jack. While you’ll find these standard features even on entry-level instruments, the quality can vary from brand to brand. We have summarized our current recommendations for entry-level models in our “Digital Pianos Under 500 Euros” buyer’s guide. And what if you are looking for not just an entry-level but for a family instrument? In this case, it’s worth looking at high-quality digital pianos with learning functions as well as hybrid digital pianos.

The must-have list for a beginner digital piano:

• 88-key hammer action keyboard
• At least 1 sustain/damper pedal
• Built-in speakers
• Headphone jack
• Music rest
• Metronome and recorder as useful practice functions

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