Just bought a digital piano

monquixote · July 2023

Just ordered one of these:
https://www.roland.com/global/products/fp-e50/

Very excited.

It's a Roland Supernatural Digital piano, but with the added feature of having the Zen Core synth engine they use in the Fantoms and Junos.

Any tips for an aspiring pianist who is currently a bit of a one finger wonder.

Whistler · July 2023

monquixote said:

Any tips for an aspiring pianist who is currently a bit of a one finger wonder.

Get some lessons as being able to use 10 fingers and be able to fluently move your hands will be worth it.

goldtop · July 2023

With piano, I think it's worth directly identifying your end goal. The path to playing classical piano pieces is very different to the one for playing pop-rock piano, for example. The first needs a lot of very VERY boring discipline to be nailed - best done with a formal teacher, I think.

Pop-rock piano can be self-taught - especially if you already have a good ear for picking out music. Lots of tutorial channels on Youtube for technique.

I have a half-decent ear for picking things out, and the piano is quite liberating after 40+ years of guitar. Starting from scratch has meant that I find myself pleasantly side-tracked by learning more about theory than I ever did for guitar. Mostly due to watching Beato/Michelmore/Bennett Youtube channels.

Good luck!

axisus · July 2023

Looks superb! I want something new to keep at work, but cheaper than I guess that is.

My tip is learn loads of chords. I can put up a chord sheet for most songs and bash out an acceptable backing to sing along to. It may be 'pub pianist' territory but it's a lot of fun! If I could sing it would be brilliant, as it is I just enjoy playing along to stuff.

Having said that - it doesn't work for everyone. I find it really easy but I know others who have tried it and failed. You need to have a degree of rhythm and flow in you for it to work.

monquixote · July 2023

It's coming between 5 and 6pm

Looking forward to giving it a good go.

thecolourbox · July 2023

Enjoy, looks to be a good bit of kit. I play wedding ceremonies and drinks receptions etc with a lesser model than that, though expect maybe the main difference is the extra sound engines? The sounds themselves on these are all a matter of taste but are largely decent, however I found the Roland ones felt the nicest to play when I purchased mine for my weddings. I expected to come away with a Yamaha but found the action to be very fatiguing and the sounds weren't better enough to make the fatigue worthwhile!

What kind of things are you hoping to play on it? My general advice would be to keep it simple but do the simple things as well as you can. That sounds more impressive than trying to do harder things and managing it less than well.

monquixote · July 2023

thecolourbox said:

Enjoy, looks to be a good bit of kit. I play wedding ceremonies and drinks receptions etc with a lesser model than that, though expect maybe the main difference is the extra sound engines? The sounds themselves on these are all a matter of taste but are largely decent, however I found the Roland ones felt the nicest to play when I purchased mine for my weddings. I expected to come away with a Yamaha but found the action to be very fatiguing and the sounds weren't better enough to make the fatigue worthwhile!

What kind of things are you hoping to play on it? My general advice would be to keep it simple but do the simple things as well as you can. That sounds more impressive than trying to do harder things and managing it less than well.

I think in terms of the physical action and piano sound engine it's about on par with the FP-30X but with the additional bells and whistles.

There is a shootout online with the FP-60X and supposedly that's better for pure piano whereas the FP-E50 was much more versatile.

thecolourbox · July 2023

Yes it's the FP30X I have, it's been fine for what I use it for - does your model have the downward facing speakers underneath? It takes a bit of getting used to but that might be because I like the immediacy of the piano noises coming from in front of me - through headphones or external speakers it isn't an issue.

I guess you'll get the app as well with that model, which is nice to personalise the piano sounds a bit should you wish to.

CaseOfAce · July 2023

Depends what sort of music you are looking to play on it.

I've had a couple of digital pianos in the past.

In terms of "properly" playing it (and having correct posture / technique) - I found getting a teacher and doing the Grades motivated me. Having a goal of knowing that I had to prepare a couple of pieces and nail them in 6 months time stone cold was a pretty compelling reason to practice in the evenings - as was forking out hard earned cash for lessons. As always finding the right teacher is also key - that and having headphones as you play the same piece for the 400th time in the presence of others ! ).

If all the above sounds joyless than buying a Scot Joplin book and learning some ragtime was fun - and addictive. He's not too tricky - it's not Rachmaninoff - but still can be challenging in parts.

Then again if I had my time again, using the instrument as an accompaniment to my vocals and learning pop / rock songs etc... would be the route I'd take (which is what I primarily do on guitar these days).

Of course you can do all the above.. but there's only so many hours in the day / free time / family commitments etc...

You mention a synth engine - so I'm guessing your not looking to go down a "formal" route ? In which case just learn chords and make it up as you go along! It never stopped Depeche Mode or OMD !

Good luck!

monquixote · July 2023

thecolourbox said:

Yes it's the FP30X I have, it's been fine for what I use it for - does your model have the downward facing speakers underneath? It takes a bit of getting used to but that might be because I like the immediacy of the piano noises coming from in front of me - through headphones or external speakers it isn't an issue.

I guess you'll get the app as well with that model, which is nice to personalise the piano sounds a bit should you wish to.

Indeed I think it has the same speaker system as the FP-30X.

I think the FP-60X has speakers that face upright and are tuned to more effectively give the impression of sitting at a real piano. If it's an issue then I can always use monitors so it's not a big worry for me.

monquixote · July 2023

CaseOfAce said:

Depends what sort of music you are looking to play on it.

I've had a couple of digital pianos in the past.

In terms of "properly" playing it (and having correct posture / technique) - I found getting a teacher and doing the Grades motivated me. Having a goal of knowing that I had to prepare a couple of pieces and nail them in 6 months time stone cold was a pretty compelling reason to practice in the evenings - as was forking out hard earned cash for lessons. As always finding the right teacher is also key - that and having headphones as you play the same piece for the 400th time in the presence of others ! ).

If all the above sounds joyless than buying a Scot Joplin book and learning some ragtime was fun - and addictive. He's not too tricky - it's not Rachmaninoff - but still can be challenging in parts.

Then again if I had my time again, using the instrument as an accompaniment to my vocals and learning pop / rock songs etc... would be the route I'd take (which is what I primarily do on guitar these days).

Of course you can do all the above.. but there's only so many hours in the day / free time / family commitments etc...

You mention a synth engine - so I'm guessing your not looking to go down a "formal" route ? In which case just learn chords and make it up as you go along! It never stopped Depeche Mode or OMD !

Good luck!

I'm mostly interested in popular music rather than classical although I'm not ruling out at some future point.

In terms of music I crete it's all electronic at the moment and I use an MC707 for that amongst other things so I know I enjoy the Zencore engine.

Anyone got experience of things like Skoove and other learning apps?

thecolourbox · July 2023

monquixote said:

thecolourbox said:

Yes it's the FP30X I have, it's been fine for what I use it for - does your model have the downward facing speakers underneath? It takes a bit of getting used to but that might be because I like the immediacy of the piano noises coming from in front of me - through headphones or external speakers it isn't an issue.

I guess you'll get the app as well with that model, which is nice to personalise the piano sounds a bit should you wish to.

Indeed I think it has the same speaker system as the FP-30X.

I think the FP-60X has speakers that face upright and are tuned to more effectively give the impression of sitting at a real piano. If it's an issue then I can always use monitors so it's not a big worry for me.

It's something you get used to pretty quickly, it's just that I never practise on mine (i have an upright for that, although don't practise nearly enough even on that) so i find it a bit odd sometimes when I do use it but it's not something that's going to be a problem for you at all I'm certain of that.

Hope you enjoy it, be interesting to see how you get on and what you end up doing with it.

Not sure i can offer much help regards learning apps or whatever, and I'm a really rubbish teacher, but if I think of anything based on what you say here I shall chime in if i can

greejn · July 2023

I've got some piano/theory lessons on Hubpages.com that you might find useful.

monquixote · July 2023

greejn said:

I've got some piano/theory lessons on Hubpages.com that you might find useful.

That would be grand thanks!

andy1839 · July 2023

I've got a Roland LX706, they make great digital pianos.

I have played for years, but didn't have the patience to teach the Mrs when she wanted to learn.

Shes been following the lessons on https://pianoforall.com/ and has come on much quicker than i did when i was first learning. Seems a really easy method without the misery of endless scales that ie endured.

monquixote · July 2023

I'm really loving it so far and my daughter is taking an interest

goldtop · July 2023

^ If you both want to play at the same time, see if there's a "four hand mode". Some DPs have it and it lets you split the keyboard in two and shift the lower octaves up, so that the person on the left isn't stuck playing super-low bass notes.

It lets you play a two-part piece together. Can be fun to play close harmonies, and chord + lead parts.

(You'll need a wider piano stool!)

Vintage65 · July 2023

Try Native Instruments Noire if you are hooked up to a computer, as it's the thing that keeps me playing my Digital piano the most.

Chris.B · July 2023

@Vintage65 I see that Native Instruments have quite a few piano VSTs to choose from. Would you think that the Noire is the best of the Native Instrument piano sounds?

I know it's all down to taste, but I have no real experience or knowledge, beyond knowing that I love the sound of a good grand piano. I'm in the process of learning on an ancient Yamaha keyboard and I'm looking for a really nice grand piano VST to keep me going until I have the skills to justify a decent digital piano.

goldtop · July 2023

I thought that Noire is the mega-processed piano instrument? Not an accurate grand per se.

Chris.B · July 2023

Thanks @goldtop I'll spend a bit of time listening to the demo samples on Native's website.

It's the last day of their summer sale today, so there is a bit of time pressure, unless they are one of these companies who have a sale every month.

monquixote · July 2023

The Supernatural engine on the Roland is actually very good so I don't have a big need for the complication of something else.

I have Piano V from Arturia which is fairly decent especially as a pack in with V Collection, but if I was going standalone then Pianoteq would be the direction rather than a multisample based instrument.

Vintage65 · July 2023

goldtop said:

I thought that Noire is the mega-processed piano instrument? Not an accurate grand per se.

There is a pure version and a felt version. I find myself being more inspired by the latter as it seems to aid creativity, which comes in handy when searching for new ideas. It also has a particle engine.

I suppose it all depends on what internal sounds you already have available to you. I have an old Yamaha digital piano and the keys are great, but the internal sounds are decidedly uninspiring. The other software I use is Pianoteq, which is light on resources and goes beyond normal piano sounds. If you want accuracy there are lot's of good libraries out there from Garritan, VSL, Synthogy, East West, etc., plus the all-in-one collections.

Vintage65 · July 2023

Chris.B said:

Thanks @goldtop I'll spend a bit of time listening to the demo samples on Native's website.

It's the last day of their summer sale today, so there is a bit of time pressure, unless they are one of these companies who have a sale every month.

They have regular sales and they have also taken over Plugin Alliance, Brainworx & iZotope.

Chris.B · July 2023

Thanks @Vintage65. I installed Pro Tools Intro and found a good piano Vst included. It's good enough for me whilst I learn

fretmeister · July 2023

I'm glad you got a digital one. They hold their value.

Nobody likes the ones you can only play with body parts that aren't digits.

equalsql · July 2023

It looks impressive. You never know, if you can apply yourself you just might be the next John Shuttleworth.

paulmapp8306 · July 2023

Im going to completely go against those saying learn chords.... dont. Learn how chords are made up. The Keyboard looks intimidating but its just a small part repeated over and over. If you learn the interval patterns for maj, min, maj 7th, min 7th, augmented, diminished etc - then you can play any chord a lot quicker than learning lots of patterns - particularly as in piano you can play the same chord,repeateddly in different inversions, and it still sounds different and impressive (Howard Jones did this a lot in his 80s songs).

Id also say - find a couple of scale practice exercises on youtube - ones that use BOTH hands together. You only need a couple (cant remember which I used -but I found 5 exercises played every day for 3-4 months and never looked back). Being able to use the left hand as well as the right - and independently (which is why you use both together playing scales - for instance right hand goes up as left goes down so there similar but different) is very important to any piano style.

Ive only been playing 5 years, and most people that hear me are shocked how short a time I have been playing. All self taught, and using those tips.

Cranky · July 2023

paulmapp8306 said:

Im going to completely go against those saying learn chords.... dont. Learn how chords are made up. The Keyboard looks intimidating but its just a small part repeated over and over. If you learn the interval patterns for maj, min, maj 7th, min 7th, augmented, diminished etc - then you can play any chord a lot quicker than learning lots of patterns - particularly as in piano you can play the same chord,repeateddly in different inversions, and it still sounds different and impressive (Howard Jones did this a lot in his 80s songs).

Id also say - find a couple of scale practice exercises on youtube - ones that use BOTH hands together. You only need a couple (cant remember which I used -but I found 5 exercises played every day for 3-4 months and never looked back). Being able to use the left hand as well as the right - and independently (which is why you use both together playing scales - for instance right hand goes up as left goes down so there similar but different) is very important to any piano style.

Ive only been playing 5 years, and most people that hear me are shocked how short a time I have been playing. All self taught, and using those tips.

This is pretty much what I was gonna say.

Playing chords and knowing how chords are built should go hand in hand, but they often don’t for guitar players. Piano is a great alibi for learning some more of that theory and how to harmonize different scales more interestingly than guitar allows for because 10 fingers.

Piano is also a good alibi for working on sight reading.

guitarjack66 · August 2023

monquixote said:

The Supernatural engine on the Roland is actually very good so I don't have a big need for the complication of something else.

I have Piano V from Arturia which is fairly decent especially as a pack in with V Collection, but if I was going standalone then Pianoteq would be the direction rather than a multisample based instrument.

Me and my son bought a similar keyboard during lockdown but its an 88 key model which is much too big for home use. At least in our house anyway. I am looking at mini keyboards now instead. I assume you have the space and I hope you enjoy using it. I'd like to add some keyboard skills to my limited guitar skills.

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