A piano is a piano, right? 

Think again. 

While that might have been true years ago with acoustic pianos, with the onset of digital and electronic keyboards, that’s no longer true. 

Those keyboards you can pick up cheaply from your local big box store? They might look good on display. But once you sit down and try to play them, they might hold you back from learning. 

One of the biggest differences is the way the keys work. Are you working with weighted keys or unweighted keys? What’s the difference? 

Let’s start with a traditional acoustic piano. If you’ve ever sat down and pushed the keys, you might have felt a little resistance. That’s known as “weight”. The keys are weighted for spring action, to be sensitive to the way you touch and play them. 

If you want to play a traditional piano – vertical or grand – knowing how to play weighted keys will be a distinct advantage. 

When you move to the digital and electronic niche, you’ll find that keyboards typically come with unweighted keys, and digital pianos have weighted keys. 

The difference usually comes with cost. Less expensive models won’t create the weighted feeling. They don’t do what’s necessary to mirror the experience of an acoustic piano. 

The touch sensitivity is subtle. However, having a weighted keyboard allows you to practice and build up finger strength as you play. 

Before you invest in a piano or keyboard, as yourself one question: What is your ultimate goal? 

If you hope to transfer your skills to learn piano in many different ways, starting with a weighted keyboard will help you in the long run. It will give you the skills necessary to move freely from one instrument to another, without having to retrain for a new feeling.