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Joined: Jun 2014
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Hello, I am looking for a digital piano with semi-weighted keys... I already have one with fully weighted, but I find my hands get tired really fast due to them being ''heavy''... My hands are probably a bit on the weak side too... Anyone have any expieriences with the DGX digital pianos/keyboards? Any recommandtions? 
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Gabriellaa, If your hands are getting really tired very quickly, you're probably playing with a lot of unnecessary tension. Do you have a teacher? A good teacher should be able to show you how to play so that you keep your hands relaxed. Also, while some people play this way, I don't think it's a very good practice to just flex your fingers to play the keys. You can use gravity to help you play the keys with much less effort. It's hard to describe accurately, but think of raising (arching) your wrist and letting it fall. You want the muscles in your finger working just enough to prevent your fingers from collapsing and use the weight of your arm and hand to help you play with less effort. Again, a good teacher can show you how to do this. Regardless, the most important thing is to play in a relaxed fashion. When you play, a note in a song, do your other fingers rise up? Does your elbow wing out to the side? does your shoulder tense or raise itself up? Are you holding your breath? These are all signs of unnecessary tension. When you practice, go very very slowly and look for signs of tension. keep focusing on relaxation until you can play in a relaxed fashion. Anyway, I didn't really answer your question about semi weighted keyboards, but it may be that with better technique you will find that you don't need one.
Nord Stage 2 HA88
Roland RD800
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I think peterws has a DGX and gets on fine with the GHS action. Be careful though the GHS may be lighter in a traditional hammer sense, but I think it pushes back on the fingers with a spring like feel. Maybe not so good for you after all, so try one for more than just 5 minutes in a store.
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Gabriellaa, If your hands are getting really tired very quickly, you're probably playing with a lot of unnecessary tension. Do you have a teacher? A good teacher should be able to show you how to play so that you keep your hands relaxed. Also, while some people play this way, I don't think it's a very good practice to just flex your fingers to play the keys. You can use gravity to help you play the keys with much less effort. It's hard to describe accurately, but think of raising (arching) your wrist and letting it fall. You want the muscles in your finger working just enough to prevent your fingers from collapsing and use the weight of your arm and hand to help you play with less effort. Again, a good teacher can show you how to do this. Regardless, the most important thing is to play in a relaxed fashion. When you play, a note in a song, do your other fingers rise up? Does your elbow wing out to the side? does your shoulder tense or raise itself up? Are you holding your breath? These are all signs of unnecessary tension. When you practice, go very very slowly and look for signs of tension. keep focusing on relaxation until you can play in a relaxed fashion. Anyway, I didn't really answer your question about semi weighted keyboards, but it may be that with better technique you will find that you don't need one. This ^ is the best advice. Unless you are playing a digital piano which is too heavy, it is your technique which is fatiguing and may cause pain or even do damage. However, some of the cheaper digital pianos from lesser known brands have very heavy keyboards. Perhaps some of those are too heavy. Which digital piano are you playing on?
Last edited by toddy; 07/27/14 12:15 PM.
Roland HP 302 / Samson Graphite 49 / Akai EWI
Reaper / Native Instruments K9 ult / ESQL MOR2 Symph Orchestra & Choirs / Lucato & Parravicini , trumpets & saxes / Garritan CFX lite / Production Voices C7 & Steinway D compact
Focusrite Saffire 24 / W7, i7 4770, 16GB / MXL V67g / Yamaha HS7s / HD598
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The DGX-650 has a "weighted hammer action" -- the GHS action, same as the Yamaha P105 and several other Yamaha's. It's lighter than many other DP's, but it's still trying to emulate an acoustic piano. . . . You want the muscles in your finger working just enough to prevent your fingers from collapsing and use the weight of your arm and hand to help you play with less effort. Again, a good teacher can show you how to do this. And without a good teacher, it's difficult to learn. I'm inclined to agree with the previous posts: . . . The problem is probably with your technique, not with your keyboard. But some questions: . . . What keyboard are you playing now? . . . What kind of music? . . . How long can you play, before "tiredness" starts? . . . Are you just getting tired, or is something hurting? This topic comes up here, and in the "Adult Beginner" forum. You might check old threads there. . Charles
. Charles
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PX-350 / Roland Gaia / Pianoteq
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Thanks. The digital piano I have is Yamaha P105... I don't really like it to be honest... Doesnt quite feel good to play on..
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Hello, I am looking for a digital piano with semi-weighted keys... I already have one with fully weighted, but I find my hands get tired really fast due to them being ''heavy''
...
Anyone have any expieriences with the DGX digital pianos/keyboards?
Not all "fully" weighted actions are equally heavy. You might really be looking for a lighter fully weighted action, as opposed to a semi-weighted action. Semi-weighted doesn't really mean less weight per se, what it really means is that there is no mechanism emulating the feel of a hammer. To better answer your questions, it would be good for us to know which fully weighted DP are you now playing, and which DGX models you are looking at (since different DGX models have different actions).
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Your piano, P105, has a GHS keyboard in it, which is weighted, somewhat like an acoustic piano, but it's not one of the better keyboards. However, this is a matter of personal preference - some people get on with GHS very well, others make do, while some hate it. I don't think that's the cause of your fatigue, though You would not want a piano practice keyboard lighter than that, I don't think. But eventually, you'd do well to trade up to a better DP from Yamaha, Kawai, Roland or Casio. All of them produce good keyboards, Casio being the most affordable. The other three make excellent keyboards, IMO, but you have to pay over double the price of a P105. But I'd stick with the P105 for now, and get someone to coach you in the correct technique - preferably a piano teacher.
Roland HP 302 / Samson Graphite 49 / Akai EWI
Reaper / Native Instruments K9 ult / ESQL MOR2 Symph Orchestra & Choirs / Lucato & Parravicini , trumpets & saxes / Garritan CFX lite / Production Voices C7 & Steinway D compact
Focusrite Saffire 24 / W7, i7 4770, 16GB / MXL V67g / Yamaha HS7s / HD598
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Thank you. I tried one of the cheaper Casio digital pianos, and I really liked the feel of it, however I personally thought P105 sounded better.. But I thought a keyboard would be nice to have just to play around with... Is DGX 305 an alright keyboard? It has some educational programmes, which kind of interested me since Im still a beginner..
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Well the DGX-305 seems to have an ordinary spring key action, not a hammer action keyboard like a piano. It would not be suitable for learning piano on, I don't think - your P105 is better.
If possible, when you play, use the weight in your forearm (and eventually, the whole arm & shoulders) to press down the keys. When you change from one key to the next, think of it as walking, skipping or running - you shift the weight from one finger to another in the way you walk, but the finger only has to make minimal effort.
Roland HP 302 / Samson Graphite 49 / Akai EWI
Reaper / Native Instruments K9 ult / ESQL MOR2 Symph Orchestra & Choirs / Lucato & Parravicini , trumpets & saxes / Garritan CFX lite / Production Voices C7 & Steinway D compact
Focusrite Saffire 24 / W7, i7 4770, 16GB / MXL V67g / Yamaha HS7s / HD598
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Something else (besides Toddy's good thoughts):
. . . Are you using headphones?
. . . If not, where is the "volume" control set on the P105?
Check the "Adult Beginner" forum for a recent discussion on volume-setting levels.
Some people run into a problem:
. . . they set the volume control low,
. . . and then they have to pound the keyboard to get decent sound out of it.
If your volume control (on the P105) is set to less than 3/4 of "full volume", that might be what's happening. Try setting it all the way up, and see if it's easier to play.
Also, check the "Touch" setting (I think the P105 has one). See if changing it to "light touch" (probably number 1 -- read the manual) helps you.
. Charles
. Charles
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PX-350 / Roland Gaia / Pianoteq
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Thanks. The digital piano I have is Yamaha P105... I don't really like it to be honest... Doesnt quite feel good to play on.. The DGX 650 will have the same keyboard feel to your P105 I imagine. There`s not many lighter piano type keyboards around; I would concur with others suggestions concerning technique. Best wishes!
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