Skip to main content

Jargon busting - What are 'weighted' keys?

Hello all,
I always do my best to explain things in a clear and straightforward way, but occasionally, as I'm sure is the case in many professions, I catch myself using industry jargon or slang to describe things, this is a habit I am trying to break! So every now and then I will write a short blog to explain things in more detail, the first subject is 'weighted keys'.

If you have been researching keyboards or digital pianos then you will have certainly come across the words 'weighted keys'. What it is referring to is the feel of the keys when you press them down. Look at the piano below.



Looks like the piano you had at your Granddad's, or at your school right? Do you remember how those keys felt to press down? They were heavy, there was resistance in them. This was because on the inside the keys are attached to a mechanism called the 'action', see below.


It's essentially a series of levers that transfers your pressing of the key into a hammer striking a string, and it all looks rather complex doesn't it? - But the long and short of it is; when you pressed the key down it felt kind of 'heavy' to the touch.

Electric keyboards and pianos do not have any need for this complex mechanism because there are no strings inside to produce a sound! When you press a key a recorded sound of a piano is simply played back to you.

So, in electric pianos and keyboards the 'weighted' keys have to be simulated to get them to feel like the real thing to the player. Not all models of keyboard have any such simulation and in those cases they are called 'non weighted' keyboards. And the ones that do will use a very compact version of the action you see pictured above, see the Yamaha version below.


This is the Yamaha GH3 weighted key mechanism, it's the one they put in all of their Clavinova digital pianos. It's been regarded for years as the most accurate simulated piano action on a digital piano.

Ok, I could bore you with lot's of technical talk about how exactly the GH3 mechanism replicates the real thing, but the bigger question is WHY? Why have weighted keys? - The answer is simply because it's what traditional pianos have and that's what we're used to, and the chances are if you're going to take piano exams they'll be on a traditional piano so you'd better get used to it!

From a playing point of view having slight resistance in the keys is a benefit because they are more forgiving, if I have strayed onto a bum note with weighted keys there is a split second where I can make an adjustment before fully pressing down, this is much harder on a non weighted key. It's technique like this and the tuning of muscle memory that you can only really learn from using weighted keys, which is why most teachers recommend you practice on something that has them.

I hope this has helped! - Good news for beginners is that the prices of keyboards with 'weighted' keys has shot down recently and you can now buy one for less than £300! Like the Yamaha P45 below. Bye for now!

Click here to view the Yamaha P45 on ePianos.co.uk




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Yamaha CLP525 vs the new CLP625- let's take a look at the changes 

CLP625 So the first model in the range is the CLP625, replacing the CLP525 this model now provides a much bigger jump up from the next model down in the Arius series, the YDP163. The first thing to talk about is that the sound of the CLP625 compared to its predecessor, the CLP525 is a vast improvement now that the samples of the Bösendorfer Imperial and the Yamaha CFX grand pianos have been included. These offer rich tones to be played, and the brighter Yamaha sample compliments the much mellower Bösendorfer sound giving you a nice choice. The CLP625 also offers the new GH3X keyboard which Yamaha have been developing, and it now included synthetic ebony black notes as well as the synthetic Ivory white keys. These include 'escapement' an accuracy usually only found on grand pianos and Yamaha's 'smooth release' giving you a more realistic feel. You'll find, being the authentic ebony and ivory the keys offer you a more grippy feel, and less sloppy li

Yamaha DGX-650 vs DGX-660 - What's the difference?

I recently had the pleasure of trying out the new Yamaha DGX-660. We're getting LOADS of people asking what the difference is between this and it's predecessor the DGX-650, so I made a video to try and clear things up. As you will see in the video Yamaha have made a real effort to make this instrument more suitable for singer-songwriters, the DGX-650 was already very good if you wanted to write music, but it lacked a microphone input, that has been added in the DGX-660 along with a few more things that will be so useful for the singer-songwriters out there. We have made a special DGX-660 bundle for singer-songwriters which you can see on our website below. If you're buying for yourself or as a gift for someone else it will include all you need to get writing and get performing. (Click image below).

Yamaha P35 v P45 Comparison - Which piano should I buy?