Silent Piano

I am rather distrustful of silent [pianos].

pianoexpert wrote:

I am quite unconfident about hybrids (silents).

I agree. I tried one from a friend: the "real" sound was that of a mid-range piano, I didn't like the digital sound at all (not to mention the need for GREAT headphones, which are necessary).

They risk being neither a good digital nor a good acoustic... If it is a purchase, I would lean towards something else.

I acknowledge, however, that having a piano that counts (almost) for two could sometimes be an advantage.

You took the words right out of my mouth!!!

Thanks guys.

I heard, I don't even remember from whom, that a new silent model has been released that seems to work properly. I would be curious to go and try it out.

I believe the problem is always the same; the price! Both the initial cost and maintenance, few students use a piano intensely for more than 10-15 years, so the truth will come out when in about twenty years there will even be a market for used latest-generation silent pianos!

Personally, I think the Yamaha P series is really well-made; if I had money to spend as if it were nothing, I would get one.

On the other hand, there are those who have no choice due to intolerant neighbors; fortunately, that is not my case.

Andry wrote:

On the other hand, there are those who have no choice, because of intolerant neighbors...

Present! That is why I had to opt for a digital [piano] so that I could play even after dinner...

Some other ideas

www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/1470-silent-kit

Hello,

i have been the owner of a Yamaha silent piano for about 8 months. I will tell you the gist of my impressions and why I made this choice:

After about 13 years of being away from the instrument for various reasons that I will not list here, I returned to studying classical music.

Caught up in the enthusiasm, I went to the first music store I found and purchased a high-end Roland digital piano, so with "imitation ivory" keys, good amplification, and good weighting, etc. etc.....

After 6 months of study, when my hands had started working properly again, I immediately realized the limits of digital.

The key weighting which, as good as it is, in no way manages to equal the response of an acoustic piano's mechanics;

The forte pedal on a digital instrument results in just being a button; for example, you don't learn how to not make noise when releasing it, and playing half-pedal is impossible if it is not provided by the instrument;

the sound dynamics are not even remotely comparable to an acoustic one;

interpretation / dynamic symbols such as "sf" or "ppp" are impossible.

A silent piano primarily allows you to play it acoustically, thus solving all the problems I encountered, and allows you to learn to play the instrument as it should be played by exploiting all its dynamic potential and transmitting the response in vibrations under the fingers to the player.

It takes up the space of only one instrument, not two.

In the evening, it allows you to play without causing great disturbance to the neighbors, while maintaining the keyboard and mechanical response of a real piano...

I also had the chance to try silencing systems installed after construction, which however, in my opinion, present some problems.

If not installed correctly, the keyboard does not produce sound simultaneously with the sound of the key.

A defect is created in the key escapement; a sort of "step" is created at the end of the stroke, which is a bit annoying...

They are extremely noisy! You don't hear it in the sound, but the bar that blocks the mechanics makes quite a racket!

The real problem is probably the price, but today there are a thousand systems to be able to purchase such an instrument without paying all the money upfront; we do it with cars.......

In my opinion, learning on a digital is like learning to play another instrument.

I'll leave it to you to decide....

Certainly what you say is true, but I feel compelled to say that some piano teachers are totally against digital instruments because, in their opinion, "it ruins the touch." They are of the opinion that a pianist who respects themselves must certainly have an acoustic instrument. I also have a digital piano in addition to the grand piano on which I play in the evening. When I switch back to the acoustic one, the difference is immediately noticeable, but you get used to it again in less than 10 minutes. To speak of ruining one's touch is, in my opinion, an exaggeration. Rather than talking about touch, one should talk about expressive possibilities which, as you rightly recall, are not possible on digital instruments.