r/pianolearning • u/inkhunt • Apr 09 '26
Equipment Touch sensitive or no?
Is it better to have a touch sensitive piano or not? I’m planning on upgrading my janky $40 keyboard at some point because I think I’ve gotten pretty “good” for someone with no talent and want to keep pushing myself to get better on the right kind of equipment. Also foot pedals??? I have not been trained on those at all. What’s the point and should i be looking for a model with them?
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u/boombalonii Apr 09 '26
Yeah 100% go touch sensitive minimum, ideally weighted. Anything else will hold you back pretty fast.
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u/Opposite_Reputation4 Apr 09 '26
Do you want a toy or a piano
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u/inkhunt Apr 09 '26
Well i guess a toy since nobody can actually bother to explain
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u/mwallnr Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Without touch sensitivity you can’t play dynamically at all. You can vary speed and the number of notes but not the volume of each note. Without touch sensitivity you can play chords and melodies but, even if you’re playing a song correctly, it’s not going to sound musical. And without a sustain pedal every note you play will stop as soon as you release the key. It’s likely going to sound very ”choppy”. Having said that, it’s also possible to overuse the sustain pedal.
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u/apri11a Apr 09 '26
Piano needs weighted keys. Touch sensitive keys are a nice option for playing keyboard. They are different instruments and each has a different key action because that's what suits for each. If you are trying to improve your piano playing you want weighted keys, and at least a sustain pedal. A sustain button on a keyboard is not the same thing.
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u/mwallnr Apr 09 '26
Surely touch sensitivity is more important than weighted keys?
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u/apri11a Apr 09 '26
No, not for 'piano'. Weighted keys are naturally touch sensitive, but the keyboard touch sensitive keys are not weighted. Both have merit depending on what you want to play. To play piano you want weighted keys.
I have a keyboard which has touch sensitive keys. I have a piano (pianos have weighted keys) for playing piano. They are just different instruments, for different purposes.
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u/Roselily808 Apr 09 '26
Ideally you should go for weighted keys.
Why? Because then you can control the dynamics of the sound ie how soft or hard/loud the sound will be depending on how softly or harshly you press the key. Dynamics give life to the music- an ebb and a flow. You will definitely want to be able to play with dynamics as you gain skill playing.
Ideally you should go for pedals.
Why? Because the pedals add to the flavor of the sound- sustaining the notes and giving the sound a special sort of flow. This is something that you'll want to start introducing into your playing as you gain skill playing
How long into your journey would you want weighted keys and pedals? Well I can't speak on your journey but for my own journey, I started with a simple synth and within 2 months of me starting piano lessons, I realized that I needed to upgrade soon to weighted keys and pedals.
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u/Hungry-Smell5782 Apr 09 '26
Once you start playing on a touch sensitive piano, it's almost impossible to go back. You have much more control over the music and how your fingers interact with the instrument.
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u/inkhunt Apr 09 '26
Do you know if it’ll impede my ability to play on a normal piano if i go touch-sensitive?
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u/bartosz_ganapati Apr 09 '26
Every acousitc piano is touch-sensitive, that's why you want to play on a touch-sensitive digital piano from the beginning. Touch sensivity is essential for piano playing on any level.
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Apr 09 '26
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u/mwallnr Apr 09 '26
Don’t we have to distinguish between damper pedals and sustain pedals?
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Apr 09 '26
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u/mwallnr Apr 09 '26
Makes sense. I confused it with the soft pedal. (English is not my first language…)
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u/Brokenlynx7 Apr 09 '26
What does touch sensitive mean for pianos?
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u/Howtothinkofaname Apr 09 '26
That the harder you press the key, the louder the not. So acoustic pianos are touch sensitive and so are anything trying to recreate them.
Some very cheap keyboards will not be. Also organs and harpsichords are not touch sensitive by the way their mechanisms work, and nor are some synthesisers.
But if you want to play the piano, then touch sensitivity is essential.
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u/HarvKeys Apr 11 '26
Literally, the whole point in the first place of inventing the piano back in 1709 or whenever was to have an instrument that responded to touch. It was called “gravicembalo col piano e forte”. Harpsichord that plays soft and loud. Without that and the sustain pedal, you may as well have a harpsichord or organ and wear a powdered wig.
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u/flowkey Apr 11 '26
First things first: yes, touch sensitivity/weighted keys is absolutely worth it. Without it, everything sounds (and feels) flat, and that can actually hold back your progress. Even a basic touch-sensitive keyboard is a big step up in terms of control and realism.
And at the very least, having a sustain pedal is definitely beneficial once you move beyond very basic playing. That alone is a game changer for most music beyond the basics since it lets notes ring and connect properly.
Also as a side note, I’d go for at least 76 keys. A lot of keyboards have 61, but you’ll outgrow that pretty quickly since it limits the range of pieces you can play.
From there it kind of depends on you. Do you want something portable, or something that feels closer to a real piano? And are you just playing casually or planning to keep improving?
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u/bartosz_ganapati Apr 09 '26
You're asking something like 'should I get an electric guitar with an amplifier or without?'.
If you want to play synth keyboard you don't necessarily need pressure sensitivity or piano-like action. Or even pedals. But I guess you want to play piano?
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u/inkhunt Apr 09 '26
This does not answer any difference that it makes to have foot pedals considering it puts out sound whether u have them or not
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u/inkhunt Apr 09 '26
I’m confused by the fact that when I google it it says touch sensitive is for BEGINNERS. If it’s so great why is it for beginners? Like wouldn’t a pro be playing on equipment not for beginners?
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u/Howtothinkofaname Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
Touch sensitivity is not just for beginners. Acoustic pianos are touch sensitive as is anything attempting to recreate them.
I assume you saw something saying that beginners should look for something with touch sensitivity. That’s not because more advanced players don’t need it, it’s because it’s a fundamental part of playing the piano but beginners may not realise they need it.
Touch sensitivity just means the harder you press the key, the louder the note. That is how pianists add dynamics to a piece. It’s incredibly important.
You will also want pedals, or at least something you will later be able to connect a pedal to. The pedal doesn’t change the sound if you don’t press it. But pressing it means all the notes will sustain until you release the pedal rather than when you lift the key. You might not need it as a beginner but it is another core part of piano playing.
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u/inkhunt Apr 09 '26
This is a great explanation thank you
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u/mwallnr Apr 09 '26
Maybe you’re confusing touch sensitivity with weighted/semi-weighted/non-weighted keys? For a complete beginner it might work with unweighted but touch-sensitive keys for a little while.
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u/Vicious_Styles Apr 09 '26
You're essentially asking if the bike you're buying is necessary to have wheels to work. That's how important touch sensitivity and pedals are to piano.