The "Not So Clean Cut" Digital Divide of the Piano

In a digital piano, computer chips reproduce sounds of the piano that are stored in them. Good quality digital pianos are sensitive to weight put on keys and express different volumes similar to an acoustic piano.

Jane Shih is a engineer by trade but has a love for music that has followed her throughout the years. She has been involved with music since she was five and a half, when she started playing piano, and picked up the double bass and pipe organ at age fourteen. 

The Ability to Add More to What You Give With Technology

There are also "non-technical" differences between a digital piano and an acoustic piano. Shih describes what she sees as the main difference between them. 

As technology continues to develop who knows how close the digital piano will be like a real piano with hammers and strings. However, it does not mean that the digital piano will ever replace an actual piano.

Expression Without Added Effects

As a piano player myself, Shih's opinion is quite accurate and the digital piano is sometimes despised for the "lack of expression" in its sound quality. Although Shih loves working with a real concert grand piano, she does not completely disapprove of the digital piano. She also enjoys playing with the functions on a synthesizer and with different "voices and layers" a single piano cannot do.

Tuning to the Detail
Advancements in technology have not just impacted pianos, but have also changed how pianos can be tuned. Pianos can be tuned "by ear," where one note is tuned to a specific frequency and the rest are based off of that tuning, or each note can be exactly tuned to its accurate frequency.

To Shih, music is a very powerful form of expression and communication that speaks to everyone. People can make their own opinions from what they hear and can convey emotions through music. She sites times when she would play a powerful piece to relieve her frustrations. "Well," she exclaims, "nobody gets hurt!"

Video shot by iPod Touch with Qik.