Because digital pianos are software-driven, they also open up exciting new ways for beginners to make music. For example, some keyboards feature lights over the keys to help you play a favorite tune, or learning programs that combine the music with an on-screen display.
Digital pianos help home musicians get more out of the Internet as well, and they can be connected not only to a computer, but to other instruments for arranging and orchestration. With memory storage setups such as Flash ROM, users can download and store new music.
There are also a number of digital pianos that offer a variety of unique functions—such as providing you with a lot of different preset and combo sounds, ones that can give you a layering effect to your playing. Some of these instruments also include a Karaoke/Video output for the next time you want to put a little life in your party.
Software
There is probably no more exciting area of growth in the piano industry than that of software technology. Science fiction writers of the past would be impressed by today’s advancements – like software that converts music files to sheet music… downloads and unzips music files and Karaoke files from the Internet… or even lets musicians print entire musical scores and analyze their harmonies and chord names. Today’s software will even let users shop for, purchase and print sheet music over the Internet, if you can’t find the score in a store.
Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote “Player Piano” in the 50s, would not believe the new software that currently exists for these instruments. For example, there is now software for the piano that will allow it to load hours of pre-recorded music, with no discs or CDs to change; everything from jazz to the classics. Should you be looking for music by a specific pianist, you will be able to find it: everyone from Floyd Cramer to Peter Nero is represented, and can keep your piano (or your get-together) humming.
But software is not just for the player piano. For the budding composer, there is also new technology galore. For instance, the first ensemble piano that features CD-R technology is now available. This piano has the capability of CD-R – meaning you can put a disc in this piano, record a CD of a song you have written or played, and, immediately play the disc back in your boom box or PC. And not just keyboard sounds; vocals, too, can be ‘burned,’ enabling any budding songwriter to produce a 16 track studio-quality ‘demo.’
Synthesizers are still very popular among jazz and rock musicians. Among the newest is a synth that offers multiple oscillator technologies and has real-time control over pitch, time and format. There are also synthesizers that give players the ability to control audio with the same flexibility as any music file, all due to new technology. This new software can take on all sorts of new musical and recording functions.