Contemporary Keyboards


Essentially, a digital piano simulates the sounds and feel of an acoustic piano. For digital keyboards, the emphasis is very much on authenticity and quality of sound. This means you will typically find 88 keys and a weighted key action to give musicians an experience similar to playing an acoustic piano. However there is much more to today’s digital piano. Aside from recreating the experience of an acoustic piano, many digital pianos also offer the ability to play organ, harpsichord, electric piano as well as other instrument sounds. Also, because the instrument is digital, the player has complete control over volume output.

The flexibility of a digital piano means that during organ-led worship, the player can be the song leader, accompanist and orchestrator all at once. Yet that same instrument can change, at the touch of a button, to fit perfectly as a piano in a rhythm section, to accompany a singer and perform many other roles besides.

Using a Digital Keyboard to Enhance your Worship.
The organ and the acoustic piano have been a staple of church music for many years. In recent years, we have seen more and more worship music bands and leaders incorporate new instruments into their music. This includes acoustic and electric guitars, Bass guitars and percussion instruments. One thing to remember is that there is no better way to compliment these instruments than the addition of a digital keyboard instrument.

The digital keyboard also addresses the challenge of maintenance costs because it is virtually maintenance free. In the case of acoustic pianos: environmental influences, moving and time itself necessitate regular tuning. In the case of the digital piano, there are no strings and therefore no tuning costs.

How do you know which Digital Keyboard is right for your Worship Team?
There are three guiding principles when choosing a digital keyboard for your church:

1.) Usability – Ask yourself – Can you use this instrument today? Is the learning curve so steep that it may be weeks before you can incorporate the keyboard into your music?

2.) Flexibility – Ask yourself – Will this keyboard be useful for several musicians? Can you take it off-site for rehearsal or performance if need be? Is it expandable to accommodate future needs?

3.) Prioritize – Spend time – Identify what your digital keyboard needs to have and what you want it to have. This is good stewardship of your resources and will ensure you make the right decision for your team.

For smaller churches with more limited resources, Arranger type instruments may make the most sense because all the musicians from a large worship team are part of the accompaniments and this one instrument can add a whole new dimension to any type of praise.

For very large institutions whose worship teams incorporate guitars, basses, percussion and other instruments, a portable keyboard may be the best choice. These are designed to reproduce literally hundreds of different instrument tones, can be connected to the church PA system and can be used in varied situations.

There are many options available to your Worship Team and sometimes the answer isn’t always clear. Advice is always available from Roland Canada on which Digital Keyboard may be right for your worship team. Contact us at www.roland.ca. and click on the “Support” tab.

There is an extensive online library of Frequently Asked Questions that may very well contain the answer you are looking for. You may also pose questions directly to our dedicated product specialists through the “Ask Us” feature.