I used to write simple piano pieces, but I was really discouraged by the frustration I always felt when I tried to put my pieces into a digital sequencer so that I could share my work. I still like writing, and I still draw up simple motifs, some of which I've gotten tucked into the back of my mind, and I want to get back into writing. However, I don't really want to mess around with sequencers anymore. Is there any good reliable way to digitally record music? I will have a nice electronic keyboard this summer, so any information you have on recording that (And more importantly transferring it to my PC) is appreciated, but in the meantime I need to find a good, quick way to work with my acoustic piano.

ah well i just learned

get a midi output for your piano, right... step one. Play and record on your piano step two. Save it step three. replay it send the data to a program called sonar4 on your comp with the wire hooked up to your usb port with a converter for the midi. step 5 after saving and recording the file download font synth and then get various sound fonts like clavinovia piano sound font... And voila!

You have some kickass sounding mp3's

That's basically how I work:

-MIDI-out of my PX110 to the MIDI-in of my pc.
-Open Cubase with one MIDI track.
-The track receives data from all inputs and sends everything to The Grand2.
-You set the piano the way you want to and play to check if it sounds good.
-Make a mixdown and you're done.

You could always buy a Moog "Piano Bar" for your acoustic piano. It's a strip of 88 motion sensors which fits across the keys. The trouble is that it is quite expensive. I toyed with the idea but my improvisations are far too long, numerous and rhythmically complex to bother transcribing anyway. For those who want to play on an ordinary piano while recording digitally I imagine it would be ideal.

I think I'm just going to pick up a cheap MIDI controller for now. I was looking around the digital keyboards board and I think I could pick up M-Audio's basic 88-key for $200. Since I'm just trying to record my ideas it should suffice. Thank you everyone for all your help though, much appreciated. Maybe in a couple of months I'll be posting on here with a composition.

I record the MIDI signal on PC with Pro Tools platform. Then I decide later what sound I'm gonna use, if some sampler library (like Gigapiano or similar), or just as simple as recording the audio signal of my keyboard Output. Then play a bit with acoustic/mic modelling or any other not-too-fancy proccessing (EQ, compression, etc.) if it's necessary

Since i have a digital piano it's easy to record midi, or the piano sound if i want to.
Like donpipon, later i can decide what samples i will use for the composition. (i'm getting synthogy ivory next month! or should i say year?)

I use a hardware sequencer (an external one with a floppy drive) as a convenient sketchbook during composing and performing.

I then edit the performance using Cubase. Its piano roll editor is extremely powerful but must be used with care, otherwise there is a risk to "over edit" (make sure not to damage the original magic atmosphere of the performance).

It is possible to use the internal sounds of the digital piano (midi keyboard) for recording and editing. But for a more convincing result, I suggest using a software based piano and adding a convolution reverb in the final audio edit. You can even add a small pad instrument in the bass range, it can have a tremendous positive impact.