Can a digital piano achieve the authentic sound of an acoustic piano?
Among pianos, there’s a special category of instruments that bridge the gap between the old and new worlds: electronic pianos, often called digital pianos.
These instruments simulate the sound of an acoustic piano but are digital and offer many additional features not found in a traditional instrument.
But how do digital pianos produce their sound, and how close does this sound come to that of an acoustic piano? How can you improve the sound of your digital piano?
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Gordon November
Gordon November
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In this article, we’ll explore these questions and help you better understand the science and technology behind the sound of digital pianos.
How is the Unique Sound of a Real Piano Created?
To understand why it’s so challenging to imitate the sound of an acoustic piano, let’s look at the basics of sound production.
A real piano produces its sound through a series of actions: When we press a key, a felt-covered hammer strikes one or more piano strings. These vibrate and produce the sound, which is amplified by the piano’s soundboard.
But the sound of a piano isn’t limited to just a fundamental tone. The complex tonal characteristics of a piano arise from a mixture of fundamental tones and overtones that originate from different parts and frequencies of the string and stimulate neighboring strings to resonate.
Together with the cabinet’s resonances, the combination of fundamental tones and overtones creates the distinctive sound of a piano.
How Do Digital Pianos Manage to Simulate this Sound?
Unlike an acoustic piano, a digital piano has no strings and no hammers. Instead, it uses digital technology and algorithms to produce the sound of a piano.
The touch dynamics on the keyboard are captured by sensors and converted into digital signals which then produce the sound. The key to the sound’s authenticity lies in how well these touch dynamics are converted into sound.
The first electronic pianos, which came onto the market in the 1970s, used synthetic methods to imitate the sound of piano strings. But with the advancement of digital technologies and improved computing power, we’ve seen significant progress in sound quality.
Modern digital pianos use a technique called sampling. The sound of a real piano is recorded with microphones and digitally stored. When we press a key, this recorded sound sample is played back.
With further advancements and increasing storage capacity, longer and more detailed samples could be created, making the sound more realistic.
How Does the Manufacturer’s Choice Affect the Sound?
The manufacturer’s choice has a significant impact on the sound of the digital piano. Different manufacturers use different processes and algorithms to produce the sound and record their samples from various pianos.
For example, the sound of a Yamaha digital piano might be based on the sound of their own pianos, while Roland samples the sound of their own instruments.
Furthermore, the quality and number of microphones used, the room in which the piano was recorded, and the skills of the technician who made the recording all differ.
All these factors contribute to each digital piano having its own unique sound.
What Does Polyphony Mean in Digital Pianos?
Polyphony is the ability of a digital piano to produce multiple tones simultaneously. There is a difference between computational and true polyphony.
True polyphony describes how many tones can be produced without cutting off already sounding notes. With intensive use of the sustain pedal, polyphony can quickly be exhausted.
What Factors Influence Polyphony?
Modern digital pianos use multiple samples per note. In addition, there are piano-typical noises and resonances. All of this contributes to polyphony. With intensive pedal use and complex chord clusters, losses can occur. A good digital piano has a polyphony of over 200.
What is Physical Modeling in Digital Pianos?
Physical modeling is a sound generation method that uses algorithms and basic waveforms to model the piano sound in real-time.
What Advantages Does Modeling Technology Offer?
Modeling technology enables different overtone structures and considers the mutual influence of string vibrations. It also offers high flexibility in sound customization.
What Role Does Polyphony Play in Modeling Digital Pianos?
Since modeling hardly uses memory-intensive samples, polyphony is less relevant. The dynamic sound development is stepless and adaptable to the playing style.
Can Modeling Outperform Sampling in Terms of Sound Quality?
Although modeling offers many advantages, it cannot keep up with sampling in terms of sound naturalness. The choice between both techniques depends on personal preferences and requirements.
How Can the Sound of a Digital Piano be Improved?
In addition to sampling technology, digital signal processors (DSPs) can be used to shape and refine the sound of a digital piano.
A DSP can be used to control reverb effects, to simulate the sound of the room in which the piano is played, or to influence other sound aspects such as the stereo effect.
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High-quality speakers are also crucial for improving the sound of a digital piano. They play an important role in providing a full, warm, and resonant sound that comes close to that of an acoustic piano.
Some digital pianos have built-in speakers, while others require external speakers. It’s important that the speakers are well-matched to the digital piano and have the right size and power for the room in which the instrument is played.
Conclusion
While a digital piano can never achieve the countless nuances and full sound of a real piano, the sound quality has significantly improved thanks to technological advancements and refined processes.
The quality of a digital piano also heavily depends on the model, brand, and technologies used.
Regardless of whether you prefer a digital piano or an acoustic piano, you should choose the instrument that best suits your musical needs and your available budget.
A digital piano can be a good choice if you’re looking for an affordable, low-maintenance, and space-saving instrument that still offers a convincing piano sound.
And if you now want to know how you can really get started with your digital piano, take a look at my beginner’s guide to learning piano.
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Play Piano by Intuition
Master Keys Without Sheet Music
With the new turbo training, you'll be proficient in every key signature within just a few weeks.
(no knowledge of sheet music required)
