Whether you are a newbie to the music industry or a seasoned professional, you are going to run across music contracts, no matter what! Record companies, managers, agents, songwriters, musicians, bands, independent artists, producers, directors will all have to deal with music business contracts at one time or another, you can count on it. The only question is, will you be prepared.
Let's say you have decided to start your own record label. You must already know that recording contracts are going to play a huge role in your day-to-day business. But the bottom line is that lawyers are extremely expensive so you may not be able to run to them to write every single legal document you need. What do you do about this?
Maybe you are an independent artist, just starting out, trying to get signed. The available cash just isn't there! There is no way you could hire a legal team to protect yourself let alone even one lawyer to review your music contracts. You are not alone and there is something you can do about this.
You don't have to be put in a tough situation like the ones above. It is true, having a lawyer on the side is a great idea but the hourly rate is sky high. So, cut your costs were you can, you know? Since everyone in the music industry is going to have to deal with music business contracts, you need a plan.
Don't worry, your plan does not have to involve you going to law school or business school. All you have to do is purchase some music business contracts templates. Yes, it is as simple as 1-2-3. This way you don't leave anything out, you are free to edit it to your liking and you display professionalism to every person you come in contact with. You can't go wrong here. You don't need fancy lawyer's that charge hundreds of dollars an hour. But you do need to be prepared for any situation that may arise in the music world. The music industry is tougher than nails and you have to have a thick skin and a plan no matter what role you are trying to play.
Music business contracts, recording contracts and music contracts can get confusing and complicated if you don't have a plan. Acquire these templates so that they can be your guide to creating contracts and using them to protect yourself, your music, your company, your job, whatever! Don't look like an amature and don't get taken advantage of in this industry.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Ballerina Music Box - for Lovers of Music
A ballerina music box can make a perfect present for any woman. These boxes are so delicate and beautiful, and they are rather rare gifts. See how you can find a music box that will make you friend or family member smile every time she looks at it.
Are you thinking about getting a gift for a friend? How about a music box? These boxes make great gifts, because they can always cheer you up and put a smile on your face. Ballerina music boxes are among the most popular, because of their elegance and beauty.
You probably know what tunes this person likes, so you can select a box that plays a tune that will make her happy. If you have no idea what are her musical preferences, simply ask. Most music boxes come with only one piece of music, but you can also find ballerina musical boxes that play several tunes. Also, many places that sell dancer boxes let you choose a tune from their list. Usually you will have to pay an extra fee for that, but at least you can find the exact tune you want.
Since ballerina music boxes are so popular you will not have any troubles finding the box you like. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can even find ballerina jewelry box wich would have a spinning dancer on top and a draw to store your treasures.
Searching for a music box that plays a specific tune, it is a good idea to ask the sales clerk to help you out. After all, you do not want to spend hours listening to the tunes of different boxes. Here is a tip; music boxes that have the same design and shape usually play the same melody.
How much would a ballerina music box cost me?
Surprisingly, not much. In most shops you can buy stunning dancer music boxes for under 50 dollars, sometimes even for less than 25 dollars. And with so many styles available some of them will be on sale, which will save you even more.
Of cause if you want a unique Italian or German musical box, that would be more expensive. Antique boxes are also much pricier. But it is quite possible to find a really nice one for your girlfriend, sister or mother at a reasonable price.
By the way, ballerina music box is not your only option. There are many other beautiful styles including boxes with dancing couples. One very popular theme is Gone with the Wind box.
Are you thinking about getting a gift for a friend? How about a music box? These boxes make great gifts, because they can always cheer you up and put a smile on your face. Ballerina music boxes are among the most popular, because of their elegance and beauty.
You probably know what tunes this person likes, so you can select a box that plays a tune that will make her happy. If you have no idea what are her musical preferences, simply ask. Most music boxes come with only one piece of music, but you can also find ballerina musical boxes that play several tunes. Also, many places that sell dancer boxes let you choose a tune from their list. Usually you will have to pay an extra fee for that, but at least you can find the exact tune you want.
Since ballerina music boxes are so popular you will not have any troubles finding the box you like. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can even find ballerina jewelry box wich would have a spinning dancer on top and a draw to store your treasures.
Searching for a music box that plays a specific tune, it is a good idea to ask the sales clerk to help you out. After all, you do not want to spend hours listening to the tunes of different boxes. Here is a tip; music boxes that have the same design and shape usually play the same melody.
How much would a ballerina music box cost me?
Surprisingly, not much. In most shops you can buy stunning dancer music boxes for under 50 dollars, sometimes even for less than 25 dollars. And with so many styles available some of them will be on sale, which will save you even more.
Of cause if you want a unique Italian or German musical box, that would be more expensive. Antique boxes are also much pricier. But it is quite possible to find a really nice one for your girlfriend, sister or mother at a reasonable price.
By the way, ballerina music box is not your only option. There are many other beautiful styles including boxes with dancing couples. One very popular theme is Gone with the Wind box.
The Difference in Karaoke Music Formats
The current market for karaoke music is in three different formats: CDG, DVD and VCD. Each format is distinctly different in terms of quality, background videos, and music selection.
CDG, or otherwise known as CD+G or CD+Graphics, is in my opinion the better format for karaoke music. You have a larger selection of music to choose from and you also have better manufacturers producing quality content. Some of the better manufacturers are Sound Choice, Musie Maestro, Chartbusters, and Top Hits Monthly. One thing that throws people off about this format is that you cannot play this on any regular CD player for the full features. You can play this on regular CD players to listen to the music but you will not be able to see the lyrics on the TV screen. You will need a player that can play CDG (CD+G, CD+Graphics) format if you want to see the lyrics appear on the TV screen. The other thing to note is that you won't see actual music videos in the background, you will only get a solid color background.
DVD and VCD formats are similar and any DVD player can play both of these formats. With these formats, you get a smaller selection of music but one of the advantages is that you do get videos in the background. Mind you, they are not the actual music videos that you see on MTV for example. They are usually just background videos of nice sceneries and such. Music quality can vary with DVD and VCD format but in my opinion, CDG music quality is on average better than these two formats if you go with the name brands of course. Another thing to note with DVD and VCD Karaoke Music is that they are all multi-plexed, meaning that all the songs will have vocals that can easily be removed with a press of a button on your DVD player's remote. Many people do not know this so when they started to play the Karaoke DVD and the vocals were there, they complained to the store that it's not karaoke. So with these formats, you have to remember that you can remove the primary vocals by pressing either the MPX or Audio button on your DVD player's remote. Actual button may be different depending on your machine.
Another thing to note about Karaoke Music is that it isn't completely vocaless. It's a misconception that Karaoke Music has no, and I mean no vocals. It sounds odd but that's true. Karaoke Music isn't the same as instrumental music. Instrumental music is completely vocaless. In Karaoke Music, you will always get the background vocals. Why? Karaoke music is meant for a person to sing as the primary vocalist while the background vocals in the music provide back-up, that's why all karaoke music, no matter what format, will always include the background vocals.
CDG, or otherwise known as CD+G or CD+Graphics, is in my opinion the better format for karaoke music. You have a larger selection of music to choose from and you also have better manufacturers producing quality content. Some of the better manufacturers are Sound Choice, Musie Maestro, Chartbusters, and Top Hits Monthly. One thing that throws people off about this format is that you cannot play this on any regular CD player for the full features. You can play this on regular CD players to listen to the music but you will not be able to see the lyrics on the TV screen. You will need a player that can play CDG (CD+G, CD+Graphics) format if you want to see the lyrics appear on the TV screen. The other thing to note is that you won't see actual music videos in the background, you will only get a solid color background.
DVD and VCD formats are similar and any DVD player can play both of these formats. With these formats, you get a smaller selection of music but one of the advantages is that you do get videos in the background. Mind you, they are not the actual music videos that you see on MTV for example. They are usually just background videos of nice sceneries and such. Music quality can vary with DVD and VCD format but in my opinion, CDG music quality is on average better than these two formats if you go with the name brands of course. Another thing to note with DVD and VCD Karaoke Music is that they are all multi-plexed, meaning that all the songs will have vocals that can easily be removed with a press of a button on your DVD player's remote. Many people do not know this so when they started to play the Karaoke DVD and the vocals were there, they complained to the store that it's not karaoke. So with these formats, you have to remember that you can remove the primary vocals by pressing either the MPX or Audio button on your DVD player's remote. Actual button may be different depending on your machine.
Another thing to note about Karaoke Music is that it isn't completely vocaless. It's a misconception that Karaoke Music has no, and I mean no vocals. It sounds odd but that's true. Karaoke Music isn't the same as instrumental music. Instrumental music is completely vocaless. In Karaoke Music, you will always get the background vocals. Why? Karaoke music is meant for a person to sing as the primary vocalist while the background vocals in the music provide back-up, that's why all karaoke music, no matter what format, will always include the background vocals.
Now You Can Watch Music Video Online Instead Of Just Relying On The TV Station
In the 1980's, MTV brought about major changes in how we listened to music. The birth of the music video changed the views of thousands of people by combine visual and audio elements. It tested the limits by calling attention to new music. People liked what they saw and heard, the results were millions of dollars in increased record sales.
An artist uses a music video to promote their music. In past decades, they had to rely on television stations, however today music videos can be found everywhere. When you visit a movie store, or music store, you will find that there are thousands of different music videos that line the shelves.
Today with all of the changes in technology, you are able to watch music videos online. It is possible to download them so you can listen to them wherever you want to go. Another advantage to watching videos online that you have downloaded is that you will not receive any of the pop up ads that are associated with some site.
In order to watch videos online, you will need a few things. First, you will need a computer whether it is a desktop or laptop that is equipped with Microsoft Windows software version 98 or higher and a media player. There are several different media players to choose from, you can use which ever you prefer.
After you watch music videos online, you can save it to your media player and view it whenever you choose.
There are also quite a few different portable media players that allow you to watch videos online. MP3/4 players and ipods allow you to transfer your music video to share with your friends. The high quality and picture clarity are incredible.
Although there are sites that allow you to watch music video online, some are subscription based and you have to pay a monthly fee. There are however many that allows you to watch music videos online at no cost such as YouTube, MySpace and Yahoo. All of these sites have extensive lists of music videos in all genres from country and western to classical jazz; the choices are endless.
Summary:
MTV introduced the music video over twenty years ago. There have been many changes over the years, and the latest it the ability to watch music video online and to download what we choose. As technology advances, the ability to watch music videos online will advance with it.
An artist uses a music video to promote their music. In past decades, they had to rely on television stations, however today music videos can be found everywhere. When you visit a movie store, or music store, you will find that there are thousands of different music videos that line the shelves.
Today with all of the changes in technology, you are able to watch music videos online. It is possible to download them so you can listen to them wherever you want to go. Another advantage to watching videos online that you have downloaded is that you will not receive any of the pop up ads that are associated with some site.
In order to watch videos online, you will need a few things. First, you will need a computer whether it is a desktop or laptop that is equipped with Microsoft Windows software version 98 or higher and a media player. There are several different media players to choose from, you can use which ever you prefer.
After you watch music videos online, you can save it to your media player and view it whenever you choose.
There are also quite a few different portable media players that allow you to watch videos online. MP3/4 players and ipods allow you to transfer your music video to share with your friends. The high quality and picture clarity are incredible.
Although there are sites that allow you to watch music video online, some are subscription based and you have to pay a monthly fee. There are however many that allows you to watch music videos online at no cost such as YouTube, MySpace and Yahoo. All of these sites have extensive lists of music videos in all genres from country and western to classical jazz; the choices are endless.
Summary:
MTV introduced the music video over twenty years ago. There have been many changes over the years, and the latest it the ability to watch music video online and to download what we choose. As technology advances, the ability to watch music videos online will advance with it.
Child Music Boxes for You and Your Baby
A child music box is a must have for any new mother. Not only baby music boxes are beautiful and compliment the decor of the nursery, but it will also save you a lot of troubles putting your baby to sleep. Most baby music boxes are designed in a way that helps to calm your child, and make your son or daughter sleep soundly and quietly. And if your baby often wakes up at night a music box will put him or her back to sleep.
You can get more than one music box. To help your baby fall asleep you will need a box that plays some lullabies. While your child is awake you can amuse him or her with a more fun music box. Baby music box sound is very soothing for child's ears, it helps to calm kids down, make them stop crying. Calming music box will save you a lot of trouble trying to put your child asleep.
Types of child music boxes you can find
Since you are going to use your child music box often, select the one that plays more than one tune. This way your baby won't get bored with it. Some kid's music boxes play classic children's songs; they will probably work the best. Note that babies respond differently to different music, so you will have to choose carefully.
Many kids music boxes are brightly colored, which will intrigue and amuse your child. Some have popular cartoon characters, which are also quite fun.
You can also find many Disney music boxes. They usually have figures of Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbelle or Anastasia. These child music boxes are excellent gifts for baby girls. Some of these music boxes are really well done, so it will make your child happy for many years after she stops being a baby.
Another idea is child music jewelry box. While your daughter is a baby she will enjoy the pleasant music, but when she grows up she can keep her little treasures in the box. This type of music box would be very practical.
Locating your baby music box
Most shops that sell baby stuff will have a good selection of child music boxes. But you can also look for baby music boxes online. Many internet shops that sell gifts have good selection of music boxes including children music boxes. And the best thing is that you can check out several music box sites without leaving home.
Getting your baby music box from an Internet shop is very convenient. It will save you a great deal of time. And don't worry about paying extra for the shipping. Most online shops have much lower prices than ordinary stores. Also you can always find many boxes that are on sale and buy them with a discount. So after all you might end up paying less for a child music box you order online, than for one you can buy locally.
You can get more than one music box. To help your baby fall asleep you will need a box that plays some lullabies. While your child is awake you can amuse him or her with a more fun music box. Baby music box sound is very soothing for child's ears, it helps to calm kids down, make them stop crying. Calming music box will save you a lot of trouble trying to put your child asleep.
Types of child music boxes you can find
Since you are going to use your child music box often, select the one that plays more than one tune. This way your baby won't get bored with it. Some kid's music boxes play classic children's songs; they will probably work the best. Note that babies respond differently to different music, so you will have to choose carefully.
Many kids music boxes are brightly colored, which will intrigue and amuse your child. Some have popular cartoon characters, which are also quite fun.
You can also find many Disney music boxes. They usually have figures of Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbelle or Anastasia. These child music boxes are excellent gifts for baby girls. Some of these music boxes are really well done, so it will make your child happy for many years after she stops being a baby.
Another idea is child music jewelry box. While your daughter is a baby she will enjoy the pleasant music, but when she grows up she can keep her little treasures in the box. This type of music box would be very practical.
Locating your baby music box
Most shops that sell baby stuff will have a good selection of child music boxes. But you can also look for baby music boxes online. Many internet shops that sell gifts have good selection of music boxes including children music boxes. And the best thing is that you can check out several music box sites without leaving home.
Getting your baby music box from an Internet shop is very convenient. It will save you a great deal of time. And don't worry about paying extra for the shipping. Most online shops have much lower prices than ordinary stores. Also you can always find many boxes that are on sale and buy them with a discount. So after all you might end up paying less for a child music box you order online, than for one you can buy locally.
A Look At The Music Of Scotland
Traditional Scottish music even while influential to and being influenced by both Irish and English traditional music is still an art form unto itself and in spite of the increasing popularity of varied international pop music styles it remains a vital and everlasting Scottish tradition. There are numerous Scottish record labels and music festivals as well as Scottish music magazines.
Although many people in the world think immediately of bagpipes when thinking about Scottish music, bagpipes are not unique or indigenous to Scotland. Don't get me wrong, bagpipes are a very important part of Scottish music tradition but they were actually imported into Scotland around the 15th century from other areas in Europe where they are still played.
The p?ob m?r, or Great Highland Bagpipe, is the most distinctively Scottish form of the instrument; it was created for clan pipers to be used for various, often military or marching, purposes. Piping clans included the MacArthurs, MacDonalds, McKays and, especially, the MacCrimmons, who were hereditary pipers to the Clan MacLeod.
In modern times bagpipes have even found there way into many songs in pop music with rockers like Rod Stewart who was extremely popular in the late 1970's and 80's. He used bagpipes in many of his popular songs. Another more recent artist whose Celtic music has been well received is Enya.
If you haven't explored this beautiful music form I urge you to do so. Scottish music and in particular the Celtic Music of Enya can be very soothing and stress relieving.
Although many people in the world think immediately of bagpipes when thinking about Scottish music, bagpipes are not unique or indigenous to Scotland. Don't get me wrong, bagpipes are a very important part of Scottish music tradition but they were actually imported into Scotland around the 15th century from other areas in Europe where they are still played.
The p?ob m?r, or Great Highland Bagpipe, is the most distinctively Scottish form of the instrument; it was created for clan pipers to be used for various, often military or marching, purposes. Piping clans included the MacArthurs, MacDonalds, McKays and, especially, the MacCrimmons, who were hereditary pipers to the Clan MacLeod.
In modern times bagpipes have even found there way into many songs in pop music with rockers like Rod Stewart who was extremely popular in the late 1970's and 80's. He used bagpipes in many of his popular songs. Another more recent artist whose Celtic music has been well received is Enya.
If you haven't explored this beautiful music form I urge you to do so. Scottish music and in particular the Celtic Music of Enya can be very soothing and stress relieving.
The World Of Free Music Videos
There are plenty of options available in music videos. You can choose from your titles available as VCDs and DVDs. However, thanks to the Internet, you can now access music videos online as well. To top it off, if you love music but don't like spending a lot of money on CD's or fee-based music download sites, you also have an option of accessing a music download service that offers you free music videos! These free music videos could be a trailer to a new release or a complete song.
Nowadays, even the record companies are uploading the videos of their artists to promote the CD sales. These include the sites from the Big Five i.e. Sony, EMI, BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Then there are regular sites like yahoo (http://music.yahoo.com), msn(http://music.msn.com) or http://music.aol.cm etc. that offer free music videos on demand.
Most of these sites are very well organized and make your quest for a particular song easy. You can search by the name of the artist, the name of the album, the genre of the music or even top 100 music videos! The sites also have a 'help' section so if you are experiencing any problems with your search or any other technical difficulty, you have all the answers at the click of your mouse.
The sites also let you download of the latest playback software for free. There are also plenty of other sites like http://www.findvideos.com or http://www.artistdirect.com that compile music from various providers and make it accessible on their websites. These sites have titles from almost all the artists, covering all the genres.
So whether you are looking at checking out songs or albums before you actually go ahead and purchase it, or you need to play back some good music while you are surfing, there are plenty of free music video sites for help. So, play on!
Nowadays, even the record companies are uploading the videos of their artists to promote the CD sales. These include the sites from the Big Five i.e. Sony, EMI, BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Then there are regular sites like yahoo (http://music.yahoo.com), msn(http://music.msn.com) or http://music.aol.cm etc. that offer free music videos on demand.
Most of these sites are very well organized and make your quest for a particular song easy. You can search by the name of the artist, the name of the album, the genre of the music or even top 100 music videos! The sites also have a 'help' section so if you are experiencing any problems with your search or any other technical difficulty, you have all the answers at the click of your mouse.
The sites also let you download of the latest playback software for free. There are also plenty of other sites like http://www.findvideos.com or http://www.artistdirect.com that compile music from various providers and make it accessible on their websites. These sites have titles from almost all the artists, covering all the genres.
So whether you are looking at checking out songs or albums before you actually go ahead and purchase it, or you need to play back some good music while you are surfing, there are plenty of free music video sites for help. So, play on!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Shopping for a Piano: Acoustic vs. Digital
The most serious piano teachers will adamantly point their students in the direction of an acoustic piano. For serious piano studying, I agree with this completely for reasons I will discuss shortly. But for many reasons, a genuine handcrafted instrument may not be the best choice for you. With the affordability, portability, and the many features that come with digital pianos, you may wish to head the other way. Summarily, the question of acoustic versus digital boils down to a matter of authenticity versus everything else.
Mostly, the drawbacks of an acoustic piano are matters of practicality, such as price. For what you could get a new, decent quality digital piano with, you’ll be dealing with a rather meager acoustic. This can encompass a number of problems. For instance, aside from any tuning it might need, the overall sound quality of a cheap acoustic piano can be quite poor. This may not just be an issue of bad strings, but can result from an infinite number of possible factors arising from any of the complex mechanics of the piano being in disrepair. Other common problems of old pianos are broken keys and sticky keys, which is when the keys fail to spring up the way they should. There may also be faults with the framework that can range from nuisances to impending hazards. The list of the possible troubles of a bad acoustic continues indefinitely, and it is likely that the piano will need a decent amount of initial maintenance, in addition to periodic maintenance, which is likely to pull a few additional large bills out of your wallet right way.
Also, because of its bulk and weight, an acoustic may be a very difficult accommodation for people living in tight or elevated spaces, such as dorm rooms and certain city apartments. Some buildings may even prohibit pianos, particularly on floors above the ground level, because the weight and bulk of pianos make them quite cumbersome and possibly hazardous to either the tenants or the buildings themselves. This raises the issue of portability as well. Do you gig? Do you relocate frequently? Toting a 500 pound upright piano isn’t possible for most people; moving one across the room is a challenge for most people. If your music should ideally be ready to go, your hulking wooden companion is not going to be sympathetic.
Acoustic pianos also lack the many features present in digital pianos nowadays that may be valuable tools to you. For example, volume control may be necessary in dormitory, or close living, situations. Newer digitals also come with a suite of onboard functions, including on-the-fly recording, voice customization, electronic metronome, and even music mixing features, which you won’t have. You will also lack the benefit of porting your music to your PC; a simple MIDI connector would feed your performance directly into your computer’s audio card without any ambient noise or loss of sound quality, which will probably beat any recording made with an acoustic piano and consumer grade recording hardware available at a neighborhood electronics store.
In light what you’re giving up in bells and whistles, surely you will be at a degree of inconvenience being committed to an acoustic piano. Still, despite the great deal of effort digital piano makers have put into their product, none have been able to truly reproduce the sound and feel of a good acoustic piano. First, lets talk about the piano sound. To most people, casual or occasional listeners of piano music, the sounds made with an acoustic piano and a digital piano are quite identical and equally satisfactory musically. But listen closely, because there is an important difference.
A digital piano outputs high quality recordings of the sounds that were made by a real piano at one time. During the process of making a digital piano, each key of a real concert grand piano is struck a number of times at varying velocities and recorded with sophisticated equipment. This array of high quality recordings will serve as the digital voice, and will give the digital piano a rather broad range of tonality and an overall likeness of an acoustic piano in varying music dynamics. But once the notes have been recorded and finally integrated with the digital piano’s voicing mechanism, they are never going to be changed. Even though the aesthetic quality of the sound may be state of the art, it is the way the sounds should behave but cannot because they are fixed recordings that is the fundamental problem of digital pianos.
An acoustic piano uses a complex array of hammers, strings, a soundboard, and other moving parts that function in collaboration. This means that when any note is played, it is not played with entire independence, but is highly affected by the current state of the surrounding components of the piano. For example, playing a chord on a digital piano will simply result in three notes being played, as they were recorded individually, at the same time, whereas with an acoustic piano, the three notes will interact with each other through the soundboard and become a stew of vibrations, producing a different, more complex, and ultimately richer sound. Lacking this quality of pliability, what comes out of digital speakers will typically be quite simplistic and boring, and will be most unsatisfactory to aficionados of the true piano tone.
An acoustic piano is also an analog instrument, which means is has virtually infinite range. For example, there is no limit to the loudness or softness a note may be played on an acoustic piano. With digital pianos, there is a point at which a minimum or maximum will be achieved. This means there will be occasions when you will not be able to play a note as softly or as loudly as you wish. In order words, true pppp or ffff are probably beyond the scope of digital pianos without you resorting to adjusting the volume dial while you’re performing. Even if you were to do that, the tonal quality of the notes would remain static from that point on, when it would further continue to dull or brighten on an acoustic piano.
Another problem of digital devices is the matter of intervals. In photography, for example, pixels are the intervals. With a traditional film camera, the amount of detail you are able to capture is theoretically unlimited because film is a single and continuous malleable body. The “film” of a digital camera is not single or continuous but is a multitude of pixels, each of which is only able to record a solid block of color. The amount of detail a digital camera is able to capture will depend on how small the pixels are and how tightly they’re packed together. If the pixels, or intervals, are small enough and packed closely enough, the amalgam of the blocks of color they record will appear to be smooth curves and gradients to the human eye.
There is a similar issue of intervals with digital pianos, which is mainly the issue of touch sensitivity. Digital pianos have a finite number of intervals when it comes to key pressure. The more intervals there are and the closer they are to each other, the more realistically the piano will respond to your dynamics. High end digital pianos will have quite a lot of them. But digital pianos within the means of average shoppers may not have sufficient sensitivity. This means that while the vast difference between piano and forte may be noticeable, the most intricate variances of touch pressure may be disregarded. This will be quite a nuisance to pianists seeking a highly responsive instrument, particularly when it comes to meticulous classical music.
It also manifests in pedaling. Piano pedals are ranged. Between simple on and off, or up and down, there are degrees. “Half-pedaling” and “quarter-pedaling” are crude terms describing the manner of pedaling in which the pedal is only pressed partially down in order to create an intermediate effect. For instance, rather than completely depressing the pedal so that the full brilliance of a note is sustained, you may wish to depress it only half way to dampen about half of the note and let only the remainder of it sustain for a subtler, suppressed quality. Certainly a scrupulous pianist will wish to employ the complete range of pedaling available to him, which may not be represented entirely accurately in a digital piano.
Aside from sound, as mentioned previously, key touch is also an important issue. Digital piano makers these days have gone to great lengths to reproduce the feel of acoustic pianos. For the most part, they’ve done a good job. They’ve even gone as far as implementing graded hammer action, which is in line with the hammers of acoustic pianos gradually becoming lighter from left to right. As a matter of fact, if you could take a look at the inner workings of a digital piano, you would be quite surprised and impressed with the complexity of the hammer mechanics. However, as long as digital pianos look the way they do, being the shape and size they are, there is going to be a limit as to how authentically the key feel can be made.
The hammers in a digital piano are simply extensions of the pianist’s fingers. When the pianist presses a key down, it will raise the opposing side of the lever, which touches an electronic pad inside the piano that serves as the string. The hammers in an acoustic piano do not behave this way. Instead of being extensions of the pianist’s fingers, they are rather like projectiles that are sprung at the strings high above them. Imagine the carnival game where you hit the pad on the ground with a mallet, which flings a projectile up the meter towards the bell at the very top. The finger is the mallet, the visible piano key is the pad, the hammer inside the piano is the projectile, and the string is the bell. First of all, this means if you press a key all the way down but not with the minimum amount of force needed, the projectile hammer will never leave its seating and the string will actually never be struck. On the part of the pianist, this launch-pad-like action will need a slightly different technique than the seesaw-like action of digital piano hammers, predominantly in difficult works. Secondly, it will feel noticeably different under the fingers.
The only way this can truly be reproduced in a digital piano is by the use of bona-fide acoustic hammers. And there’s nothing wrong with doing that. But the problem is there isn’t enough room for them inside the compact size of most of the digital pianos today. That’s why as long as they look the way they do, the action of digital pianos will not feel completely akin to that of acoustic pianos. Certain higher end models do integrate the acoustic hammer action simply to recreate the key feel. Even higher end models, which are called “silent pianos,” integrate strings as well and are bona-fide acoustic pianos with the added ability to remove the strings from the action and toggle on digital mode in order to provide volume control! But these tend to be even more expensive than acoustic pianos.
In terms of what the average piano shopper will be able to afford, the difference in the overall performance between a digital and acoustic piano will be stark. To restate what I said at the beginning of the article, it really boils down to the authenticity versus everything else. And the authenticity is usually going to cost you more to get. What you should think about is how important it is to you that the piano truly resembles an acoustic. Are you a classical piano student looking at a long road of perfection and possibly a career as a concert performer? Then a digital piano is probably not what you want to be practicing on, even as a temporary substitution, because there is a good chance it will hurt your technique. It is possible to get financing on an acoustic piano, so I would recommend going that route, using your budget of cash as a down payment. If this is not necessarily what you have in mind for your musical venture, then perhaps a digital piano is all you require. Depending on your needs, it may not be a mere reduction of an acoustic, but a substantial upgrade with all the features you’re going to get. Typically, a digital piano will be more than enough to satisfy one’s musical appetite.
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